In this moving and insightful two part series, five well known personalities, actor Brian Cox, Felicity Kendal, Fern Britton, Barbara Taylor Bradford and Kiera Chaplin, will go on an emotionally charged personal journey to investigate their family's experience of life in the workhouse. They will delve into the dark heart of Victorian poverty to unearth stories of heartache and sadness as well as tales of extraordinary triumph that help to unravel the secrets of this notorious institution.