Trouble at the Top (6 Parts)

Synopsis

Series following individual business bosses through a year in their lives, charting the challenges they encounter during what is a pivotal, and often turbulent, time as they tread the line between success and failure.
1 (producer Mary FitzPatrick): Sir Freddie Laker, who introduced the concept of cheap, no-frills flights with Skytrain, went bankrupt in 1982. Now in his 70s, he has started Laker Airline, a transatlantic service betweeen Britain and Florida, and to catch the holiday season, operates under a 12-week deadline to have his fleet of DC-10s totally refurbished, employ and train new crews, and organise the catering.
2 (producer Bill Grist): Gerald and Vera Weisfeld sold their chain of cut-price shops for £50m but then decided to gamble their money and reputations to launch a new kind of department store in Scotland. Shows the efforts in the run-up to the store’s opening.
3 (producer Bill Grist): Jonathan Heynes, formerly of Jaguar, arrives to rebuild Reliant, maker of the Robin three-wheeler, a company that has gone bankrupt three times in five years. Heynes believes he can succeed, even with an ageing product and an outdated factory.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 5 x 40 min.

Year of production

1996

Availability

Sale; 2000 sale: £65.00 (+VAT +p&p) each 2000 sale: £200.00 (+VAT +p&p) series of 5

Notes

Broadcast on BBC2 from 8/1/97.

Documentation

6 (producer Robert Thirkell): An update to a 1996 programme following Janet Street-Porter’s struggle to set up a new cable station, Live TV, but eventually gave way former ‘Sun’ editor Kelvin MacKenzie. The programme revisits the station to find out how Mackenzie’s formula, which includes topless darts and weather in Norwegian, is working. (THIS PROGRAMME IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE.)

Subjects

Business studies

Keywords

cars; civil aviation; job satisfaction; leisure industries; manufacturing industries; motor vehicle manufacturing industries; retail businesses; television services

Credits

Producer

Bill Grist; Clare Duggan; Mary FitzPatrick

Contributor

Robert Thirkell

Sections

Title

Freddie’s back

Synopsis

1 (producer Mary FitzPatrick): Sir Freddie Laker, who introduced the concept of cheap, no-frills flights with Skytrain, went bankrupt in 1982. Now in his 70s, he has started Laker Airline, a transatlantic service betweeen Britain and Florida, and to catch

Title

Surprises in store

Synopsis

2 (producer Bill Grist): Gerald and Vera Weisfeld sold their chain of cut-price shops for £50m but then decided to gamble their money and reputations to launch a new kind of department store in Scotland. Shows the efforts in the run-up to the store's open

Title

Robin rides again

Synopsis

3 (producer Bill Grist): Jonathan Heynes, formerly of Jaguar, arrives to rebuild Reliant, maker of the Robin three-wheeler, a company that has gone bankrupt three times in five years. Heynes believes he can succeed, even with an ageing product and an outd

Title

Shape up with Lord Thurso

Title

Seeing is believing 2

Title

Nightmare at Canary Wharf 2: Kelvin’s revenge

Production Company

Name

BBC Television

Distributor

Name

BBC Active Video for Learning - now BBC Learning

Contact

Carolina Fernandez Jeremy Wilcox (CF - for educational enquiries JW - channel sales manager)

Email

BBCStudiosLearning@bbc.com

Web

https://www.bbcstudioslearning.com/ External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 20 8433 1009

Address

BBC Studios Limited
Television Centre
101 Wood Lane
London
W12 7FA
UK

Notes

The BBC Active company has now been absorbed within BBC Learning, a division of BBC Studios. It was originally a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Pearson Education. Formerly known as ‘BBC Worldwide Learning Studies’ and before that as ‘Videos for Education & Training’