"Wait, I Can't Have It All? There Must Be Some Mistake!"

Charmaine Parkin, 34, from Hove, said she was forced to use food banks to feed her children.

She alleges the six-in-one benefit system discriminates against self-employed people.

Is she a plumber? Gas fitter? Architect?

When the actress, producer and director split from her partner in October 2017, she tried to claim Universal Credit. But a measure called the Minimum Income Floor (MIF), which aims to ensure people who are self-employed cannot get more benefits than if they were on minimum wage, would have left her with just £8.98 if she paid her rent.

Ms Parkin’s lawyers say she would have been £393 a month better off if she had quit her career and claimed the equivalent of jobseekers’ allowance.

So, why doesn't she?

She said: “Working in the theatre has always been my passion and it is what I am trained to do but the nature of the work means that my earnings can vary a lot from month to month.

“It has made me feel like I have to choose between being a good mother and pursuing my chosen career path because it is no longer possible to support my family by continuing the type of self-employed work that I need to do as a theatre practitioner.”

Well, welcome to the real world, sweetie. You have had children. You're now a parent. Did no-one tell you that this involved sacrifice?

Her lawyers, Leigh Day (Ed: Well, well, well....), claim MIF is “unjustified discrimination” and are applying for a judicial review to get it changed.

Of course they are. Because who's paying? Not her!