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I was on Benefits Street – producers treated us like a freakshow but now I’m a catwalk model and pals with Tom Cruise
SHE was portrayed as a single mum with lofty dreams of becoming a model - though she could barely afford to pay the bills.
But Benefits Street star Sherrell ‘SB’ Dillion, 35, has come a long way since the 2014 Channel 4 reality show, which followed families living in poverty in Birmingham.
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From mingling with the world’s biggest film stars to being Beyonce’s body double (twice), the mum-of-two, from Druids Heath, has worked hard to make her dream a reality.
Sherrell was one of the few Benefits Street stars that had a job; producers claimed 90 per cent of James Turner Street residents were funded by the taxpayer.
She tells The Sun: “I watched Benefits Street for the first time last month and it made me cry, because of how far I’ve come since then... knowing how much pain I was in and all of my struggles from my past.
“I have mixed emotions about the show because it was watched by millions and all we received was a £50 Morrisons voucher.
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";Producers could have helped us. That should have happened. Instead we were treated like a freakshow.
"I didn’t get an agent or any help. Everything I've achieved since is from my hard work, I struggled and hustled my way up."
Escaped violent ex
The show was one of many times Sherrell nearly “made it”.
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At 14 she was scouted, but she claims her violent and controlling ex stopped her attending auditions and shoots and would attack her “for looking pretty”.
“One day he beat me up for 12 hours,” Sherrell says through tears. “It started at 7am and ended when Emmerdale started.
“I remember trying to force my son back to sleep so that he couldn’t hear. After that I was dragged by my hair and held hostage.”
The abuse came to an end after Sherrell’s colleague called the police. While the thug was sentenced to two years imprisonment, he served just 12 months.
Sherrell says those painful memories shaped her, and her motivation for modelling is “to show young girls that their past shouldn’t define them”.
Waxing miracle
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Sherrell scraped together a modelling portfolio and her career eventually took off, with shoots in London, Paris and Milan.
She also appeared in music videos for rappers Big Narstie, Zimbo and D Double E.
One of Sherrell's most memorable modelling jobs was being used as a body double for Beyonce's waxwork at Madame Tussaud's in London and Las Vegas.
She recalls: “I was told I ‘fit the criteria’ and I was like, ‘Me? I’ve got no boobs, no bum?’ I thought it was a joke. It was baffling to me.
“They told me it was Beyonce before she had children and claimed she didn’t have curves either and that it was all camera tricks.”
At the London-based studio, Sherrell spent three hours mimicking a pose from Beyonce's 2018 Coachella performance.
I always joke that I’ve got the face of Kelly Rowland, the voice of Michelle Williams and now the body of Beyonce. You may as well call me Destiny SB
Sherrell Dillion
“It was really special because Beyonce had a say in who was her body double," Sherrell says.
"She picked me and was happy with me being used as the model for her body.
“I absolutely love it that I’m in Madame Tussauds but whenever I tell people my body was used for Beyonce they don’t believe me.
“I always joke that I’ve got the face of Kelly Rowland, the voice of Michelle Williams and now the body of Beyonce. You may as well call me Destiny SB.”
Pals with Tom Cruise
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Sherrell has brushed shoulders with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Daniel Craig.
She claims he winked and smiled at her while she was working as an extra on the James Bond film No Time To Die in 2018.
But her most memorable encounters were with Tom Cruise while acting in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One last year.
Sherrell claims she built up a rapport with the actor and says he referred to her by her nickname on Benefits Street - ‘SB’.
“Every day he would smile at me as we walked past each other and I would say ‘Wagwan, TC!’ and he replied, ‘Hey SB!’,” she says.
Every day Tom Cruise would smile at me as we walked past each other and I would say ‘Wagwan, TC!’ and he replied, ‘Hey SB!'
Sherrell Dillion
“I didn’t tell him that it stood for ‘sexy bitch’ but I’m sure when he saw me he must have thought, ‘She’s one sexy bitch'.”
Sherrell appeared in scenes set inside Birmingham's John Lewis store, which was transformed into Dubai Airport.
She adds: “I had an amazing time, I used to see Tom all the time and he was really friendly but his security were very cautious and didn’t want him to engage with us.
“I used to fist bump him every day, it was our little thing and he seemed to like it - all I needed was to be one step closer and I could have been his next girl.”
White Dee was 'only one to benefit'
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While mingling with the stars is fun, one of Sherrell’s biggest achievements is graduating from university with a BA in Leadership and Management Skills for the Workplace last month.
She says: “My daughter led me to take the course, one day she came up to me with a certificate for being an amazing mum.
“She wrapped it up into a scroll like a diploma and it made me think, ‘I want one of these in real-life.’”
Through hard work Sherrell has been able to forge an impressive CV - but not all of her co-stars have been as fortunate.
People always say it should have been me that got the agent and appeared on Big Brother but that never happened. Instead I had to struggle and hustle
Sherrell Dillion
Three years ago crack-cocaine addict James ‘Fungi’ Clarke died from a drug-induced heart attack after becoming homeless.
In 2016, Samora Roberts, known as ‘Black Dee’, was sentenced to six years in jail for possessing live ammunition and crack cocaine with intent to supply.
The show's breakout star was Deidre ‘White Dee’ Kelly, who reportedly earned £50,000 for her 2014 Celebrity Big Brother appearance - despite having stolen £13,000 from her local authority to fund her lover’s crack habit.
“It was only White Dee that got anything out of Benefits Street,” Sherrell says.
“People always say it should have been me that got the agent and appeared on Big Brother but that never happened. Instead I had to struggle and hustle.
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“I grew up on benefits because my mum was claiming them so I know how much of a struggle that life can be.
“That’s why I’ve always worked so hard. My first job was at a local corner shop when I was 12; I earned £25 a week. It made me who I am today.”
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