Documentary reveals what life after prison is REALLY like 

From a woman living in a car park selling sex to strangers for £25, to a murderer trying to adjust after decades behind bars, ex-prisoners have revealed what trying to rebuild your life is really like. 

Life After Lock-Up, a new Channel 4 documentary airing tonight at 10pm, follows eight convicted criminals after their release from prison, including Gemma from Swindon, who served six weeks in jail for shoplifting. 

She’s now returned to the car park where she used to live, and sells sex, charging strangers £25 for oral sex, £50 for sex, £200 for the night or £40 for a ‘girlfriend experience’, to fund her drug habit. 

‘I love prison, I ain’t gonna lie,’ she says, citing how she had a roof over her head, a safe environment and three meals a day. 

‘When you’re living like this, prison’s a nicer alternative.’

The show also features Chris, who spent 32 years behind bars for murder at HMP Leeds, and who admits: ‘I don’t know what normal is.’ 

Mother-of-two Gemma, from Swindon, is left living on the street and selling sex to fund her drug addiction, after spending six weeks in prison 

Gemma, picture with other drug addicts, was offered accommodation upon her release from prison, but she prefers staying in the car park where she does drugs with other homeless people

Gemma, picture with other drug addicts, was offered accommodation upon her release from prison, but she prefers staying in the car park where she does drugs with other homeless people

Before she served her sentence, Gemma used to live in a car park in Swindon and returned to her former haunt after refusing the offer of accommodation following her release. 

Gemma reveals she’s left her abusive partner sixteen months before the show was filmed, and says that ‘drugs numb the pain’. 

‘You can’t beat the rush that you get from it,’ she explains, before comparing the feeling of drugs to holding a newborn baby for the first time. 

On top of her drug addiction, Gemma also suffers from mental illness and has psychosis, which makes her believe she can see the future. She says she’s felt a ‘suicidal low’ at times. 

Gemma breaks down at the end of the episode, saying that her life is 'torture' and that she just cannot keep straight

Gemma breaks down at the end of the episode, saying that her life is ‘torture’ and that she just cannot keep straight

Chris was jailed 32 years ago after he was convicted for murder. He goes back to jail within 62 days of his release after assaulting a police officer

Chris was jailed 32 years ago after he was convicted for murder. He goes back to jail within 62 days of his release after assaulting a police officer

Chris first enjoys his newfound freedom after spending 32 years in prison, but he soon returns to his bad habits

Chris first enjoys his newfound freedom after spending 32 years in prison, but he soon returns to his bad habits

Once free, she resorts back to her life on the street, living in the same car park and doing drugs with fellow homeless people. 

Chris was arrested in 1986, before the age of Internet and phones. At first he enjoys his freedom, listening to music and going for walks. But slowly, he turns to drinking as a way of coping and says it’s the only ‘comfort’ he can get. 

‘Some people thing getting released is easy, but it’s not,’ he says. 

During the documentary, he explains he was abused as a child and insists he’s not a violent man. 

It’s revealed at the end of the episode that Chris was returned to prison only 62 days after his release, for assaulting a police officer. 

Azhar's relationships with his wife broke down during his time in prison. He has to stay with his parents (sitting on the right couch) and makes the couple cry upon his return from prison

Azhar’s relationships with his wife broke down during his time in prison. He has to stay with his parents (sitting on the right couch) and makes the couple cry upon his return from prison

Azhar spent the last three-and-a-half years behind bars for burglary, but now wants to make amends and reunite with his wife

Azhar spent the last three-and-a-half years behind bars for burglary, but now wants to make amends and reunite with his wife

Meanwhile in London, Azhar has spent the last three years in prison for burglary, but has been in and out for the last ten years for a string of offences, including carrying a firearm. 

He now has to make amends to his parents and estranged wife, and admits he’s ‘brought shame’ on his family, but wants to turn his life around. 

‘I knew what I was doing, I’ve made those choices, I’ve lived with the consequences,’ he says. 

Throughout the documentary we see Azhar resisting the temptations of going back to an easier life of crime.  

A young offender named Rhys is welcomed by his mother Joy upon his release, but he has to cope with the fact he’s not ‘her priority’ anymore.  

Rhys is a young repeat offender who's spent 34 out of the last 38 months in jail. He's struggling to reconnect with his family, and to keep his act together in the first episode of the documentary

Rhys is a young repeat offender who’s spent 34 out of the last 38 months in jail. He’s struggling to reconnect with his family, and to keep his act together in the first episode of the documentary

Rhys is a repeat offender that has spent 34 out of the last 38 months in jail.  He’s broken into his own mother’s house twice and stole her partner’s work van, causing about £10,000 worth of damage, Joy reveals. 

He’s also used to picking fights and according to this mother, has assaulted ‘countless people.’

Rhys started getting in trouble with the law as a teen, and he’s struggling to get his act together and grow up. 

Life After Lock-Up airs tonight at 10pm on Channel 4.