A life less glamorous, on camera

WHY would you allow television cameras into your home for a reality-TV programme?

It must be embarrassing. Single mother, Shauna Coady, 21, doesn’t agree. She is one of the stars of TV3’s three-part, fly-on-the-wall documentary, The Estate, which airs from tonight. The programme shows the lives and hopes of the residents of Ballybeg, a sprawling housing estate on the outskirts of Waterford City that has a tough reputation.

Coady says the estate is quiet. She was brought up in Ballybeg and when she applied for a local authority house, the only place she wanted to live was in this estate. Coady, mother to two-and-a-half-year-old Lauren, lives around the corner from her parents.

Coady’s mother, who is active in the community, was asked to take part in the programme, but suggested her daughter instead. Coady was willing. “I liked the fact that TV3 were interested in my life as a single mother. I thought what they were doing sounded intriguing. The cameras weren’t in my face 24/7. They filmed me from last May to February.”

Having become pregnant at the age of 17, Coady says that part of her motivation for doing the programme is “to show young girls that if you do get pregnant, it’s not the end of the world. There’s still a life out there.” Coady works as a catering assistant two days a week, but wants to study hairdressing. Lauren, who attends a crèche, is also looked after by a friend of Coady’s.

While Coady says that her toddler daughter is like her “guardian angel,” she says that she struggles financially.

“I was filmed on what I call ‘waiting day.’ I get paid on a Thursday. One day, Katie, the camera woman, came to film me on a Wednesday. I gave her a cup of tea, but told her I had nothing else to give her, because I was waiting to get paid the next day.

“I have a certain amount of money every week. But I always worry about having enough for everything Lauren needs.

“There’s food, electricity and gas. You put yourself on the back-burner. If I have €20 left, I might buy a top, or something, if I’m lucky. But, then, I feel guilty about it. What if the child needs something during the week?” she says.

Coady says Lauren’s father contributes towards his daughter’s upkeep. The pair split up two years ago, but remain friendly for the sake of their child.

Is Coady nervous about how she will seem on television? “My friends tell me I’m one of those people you either love or hate. I’m very bubbly and outgoing. I say what’s on my mind. The producer said, in parts, I can be a bitch, but, by the end, everyone is going to love me.”

The only reality TV that Coady watches is Geordie Shore, on MTV, which depicts the party lifestyle of young people from Newcastle. She says she was surprised to find herself engrossed in the programme.

Tonight, Coady will see The Estate for the first time. “I told the crew I didn’t want to be edited in a bad way. I don’t want people looking at me and saying, ‘who does she think she is?’ I want to be portrayed in a good light. I’m not worried about it, because the producer and camera people were just so nice.”

Coady’s producer has told her that she can ring him any time. “He’s been telling me to relax and not be nervous.”

Of the filming, Coady recalls when she became emotional. “The camera man asked me if I was happy. That was it. I broke down. I am happy now. I always say that Lauren saved me. I don’t know what kind of a road I would have gone down without her.

“I wasn’t in a good place before I found out I was pregnant. I wasn’t happy with the track I was taking. I was going out too much and I wasn’t spending any time with my family. I just didn’t have time for anybody,” she says.

While besotted with her daughter and grateful for the support of family and friends, Coady says that bringing up a child alone “is the hardest job you’ll ever do. You have to be good cop/bad cop, mammy and daddy, all at once. I remember walking the floors with Lauren for five days when she was sick. I had sleep-deprivation. Nine times out of ten, it can be the worst job ever, but there’ll be just one thing that Lauren will do that makes me so happy and makes the job worthwhile.”

* The Estate, on TV3 tonight at 9pm.