Two Suffolk authorities are to feature on BBC television.

The ‘champion of consumer rights’, Matt Allwright, is heading to Babergh and Mid Suffolk for the BBC daytime series The Housing Enforcers.

The show sees Allwright join council teams as a trainee housing officer, separating hovels from homes in sixteen locations across the UK.

For many, mortgages are unaffordable, council houses are full, and the number of new houses built each year is half those needed.

In total, more than eight million people rent their home from the council or a private landlord. The last time the number was this high Britain still had food rationing.

In the series, which comprises of 20 45-minute episodes Matt confronts dodgy landlords, unwilling tenants, nightmare neighbours and he’ll come to the rescue of those in need.

The producers, Twofour, worked with Babergh and Mid Suffolk district councils to secure access to housing officers working in the area.

Staff from the councils’ housing team spent two months earlier this year filming with the production company across both districts. They visited a variety of different tenants, each with their own particular problem or issue.

Officers were keen to show how different their role, and the challenges they face, in a rural area compared with more urban councils across the UK.

Gavin Fisk, Babergh and Mid Suffolk’s corporate manager for tenant services, said the team worked hard to show the production team all aspects of the work they face on a day-to-day basis.

He said: “The work of housing officers often goes unnoticed.

“We expect this series to highlight the challenges faced by our staff everyday while managing rural housing.

“Housing officers are often unsung heroes whose work has a direct impact on the lives of those tenants they come in to contact with.

“Officers involved in the filming really enjoyed working with Matt Allwright and members of the production team.

“We hope the TV series to show just how diverse, sometimes difficult, but above all rewarding, the work of housing officers is.”

Ian Watson, community housing officer for Babergh and Mid Suffolk, added: “It was great having some time with Matt – he understands the housing issues and is genuinely concerned for the tenants and how we deal with them.

“I am looking forward to seeing how our work compares with the other councils up and down the country.”

Housing Enforcers begins today, at 9am, on weekdays on BBC One.