According to Brian Belton, researcher in Gypsy culture, this Channel 4 series has set back public attitudes to Gypsy culture by 40 years… Yes, it was very entertaining, and eye opening, but it was not representative of what Gypsy life is like in the UK.
Most Gypsy families live in houses, not caravans. Literacy is poor, as shown in the programme. They experience high rates of racist abuse, despite the tendency to romanticize their culture. Not surprisingly, privacy is extremely important. There is a fear of children being taken away by social services, which may manifest as failure to engage with any welfare services, including health. Gender roles are very important, and men may not wish to engage with women professionals and vice versa.
Cleanliness is very important in the culture – toilets are usually not found inside caravans, bowls will not be used for both food preparation and washing clothes, dogs are not allowed inside homes etc.
The use of the name Traveller is confusing, given that an ethnic identity may not be predicated on a nomadic lifestyle, and the clear differences from the New Age Traveller lifestyle.
Because there are few places left for Gypsies to live, they often have little choice about where they camp, and this will often be close to settled communities. Since the 1994 Criminal Justice Act, local authorities are no longer obliged to provide authorised sites (where families would pay Council tax etc for services).  These official sites were often in poor quality areas eg next to motorways/runways.  90% of Gypsy planning permissions are rejected.
Romany gypsies are the biggest group in the UK, probably originate from North India originally. The Romany language has given us “pal”, “lollipop”, and Hickory Dickory Dock (possibly, various theories). Irish Travellers are the next biggest group, and a more recent phenomenon (200 years old rather than 500 years old) – both are recognised by the Race Relations Act given their shared culture.  They have their own languages (Romany and Cant) but do intermarry.  For the first time the Census will offer these ethnicities as a tick box.
http://www.gypsy-traveller.org/pdfs/working_health_gypsies_travellers__guide.pdf