Dee Kelly has opened up about a terrifying attack against her family (Picture: Channel 4)
Benefits Street star Dee Kelly has opened up about being threatened with a knife in a terrifying attack on her family.
The 52-year-old – who is also known as White Dee – said that she and her family were subjected to a ‘campaign of terror’ by her daughter Caitlin’s ex-boyfriend.
She admitted: ‘I thought we’d be killed. It was a living nightmare.’
Dee insisted: ‘I thought being on Benefits Street was hard but it was nothing compared to what we’ve been through.
‘When I saw that man standing there with a knife in the doorway of my bedroom, my blood went cold.
‘I honestly thought that could have been it,’ Dee – who has since launched a charity to combat knife crime and youth violence – continued to tell The Sun.
The Benefits Street star said of the attack: ‘It was a living nightmare’ (Picture: Instagram/Dee Kelly)
She insisted her family have been left ‘traumatised’ (Picture: Channel 4)
She went on: ‘Knowing that someone is willing to come at you with a knife in your own home was petrifying.
‘The whole thing has left my family traumatised and scarred for life.’
Dee said Luke Shervington tried to break into their home a second time but was caught by police after they found him hiding yards away with a 21 inch knife in his bag.
He was then handed a 23-week suspended sentence for possessing an offensive weapon and for common assault, The Sun reported.
Dee has been left terrified by the attack and is constantly looking over her shoulder, branding the punishment ‘an insult’.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dee slammed Benefits Street’s production company, claiming she and her neighbours had been ‘stitched up’.
Dee also accused Benefits Street’s production team of stitching her up (Picture: PA)
She insisted she wasn’t aware of the show’s title and thought she was filming a documentary about community spirit.
Dee claimed she was only told what the show would be called a couple of weeks before it hit TV screens.
She said: ‘It stuffed us… If I could turn the clock back I’d go back to the pre-Benefits Street days.’
The show first aired in January 2014 and was filmed on James Turner Street – where Dee used to live – in Birmingham.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Confusion as First Dates episode is pulled from Channel 4 schedule at last minute
‘I thought we’d be killed. It was a living nightmare’.