Film makers Love Productions said the series, which was filmed in both Birmingham and Stockton, portrayed the reality of life for those who they say were often ignored.
"If you watch those series now, you’re beginning to see what was going in the country; a disaffection with mainstream political parties," producer Kieran Smith said.
"These are programmes that are giving people a voice and showing how some people are having to live."
Alex Cunningham, the former Labour MP for Stockton North, objected to the making of the series and argues it was exploitative.
"It was poverty porn," he said. "They were exploiting people, the things that they filmed, the people they spoke to, and I’m sad about that."
Some of the residents from the series are still living on Kingston Road now, though one of those filmed at the time, Neil Maxwell, was convicted of murder in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.