Nottingham actress Samantha Morton said Universal Credit could be forcing women into sex work.
The Minority Report actress, who was born and grew up in the city, was being interviewed on The One Show when she made the comments.
Samantha, 41, was on the show to talk about her upcoming Channel 4 drama, I Am Kirsty - an hour long film about the struggles of a single mum.
It is one of three films - each with a different lead character - which also includes one with Line of Duty actor and Nottingham native Vicky McClure.
When asked about the story line, Samantha said she had been reading a lot about poverty sex work.
She said: "With the benefits changing to Universal Credit and single parents being penalised by this Government, and the coalition government before, people that have literally nothing, nobody to turn to, are sadly going into sex work to literally just feed the kids or pay the rent.
"I was working a bit with Central Women's Aid, a charity in Nottingham, and also looking at how with the cut backs all the women's refuges were being closed down across the country more people were being taken into care, I was in care as a kid.. all the cut backs at grass roots levels.
"That level of abject poverty – like Victorian England we are talking – what are women forced to do?
"That's what Kirsty is about - it is based on my childhood a bit and it is also based on research."
A Department for Work and Pension spokeswoman responded to the comments.
She said: “We’re committed to ensuring people can get help when they need it most – advance payments and budgeting support are available and rent can be paid directly to the landlord where necessary.”
The two-time Oscar nominee recently opened up about the 'tough time' she spent in a Nottingham homeless hostel when she was a teenager.
Morton has previously spoken out about abuse it is claimed she suffered while in care as a child. Her intervention came after the investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.
Since securing her first role as Clare Anderson in TV drama Soldier Soldier in 1991, Morton has gone on to star in a range of TV shows and films, including the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Most recently she has portrayed Alpha, the leader of The Whisperers faction in post-apocalyptic TV drama The Walking Dead.
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