Episode 3 Show Me What You're Made Of

Hansa, Kazia, Noah, Josh and Saf

are now in the middle of their epic working tour of the UK.

And we're heading 100 miles south

to a London bus garage.

Loads of you will go to school on a nice clean bus in the morning.

But have you ever wondered what happens to those buses at night

and how they end up ready for us all the following day?

In the evening, when everyone else is getting ready for bed,

around 3.5 million people are getting up and going to work.

Over the next two days, our five

are going to be joining them,

putting in a night shift,

helping to keep the country running while the rest of us are fast asleep.

Today on the buses, are Kazia and Hansa finally lost for words...

Is that sick?

..will Noah manage to keep his crown...

Budum-shh!

..and can they work together as a team?

What are you doing?

I'm going to kill you with a brush.

In Merton, south London,

it's 7pm and the bus cleaners are just beginning the busy night shift.

9,000 buses run on the streets of London each day, and there's

nearly two million bus journeys taken in the capital every year.

That's lots of passengers creating lots of rubbish.

So each night, our buses are swept, scrubbed and washed.

It's hard, physical work - will our five be up to it?

I want you to meet three important people.

We've got Guy here, and he is the manager of the cleaning company.

And we've got Paola and Andy.

Hi, guys, welcome to Merton Bus Garage.

In this garage, there are going to be, coming in tonight, 170 vehicles.

We work for dynamic cleaning, and we clean and park up and refuel all

the buses, and tonight you guys will be joining the cleaning team.

'The kids don't look keen at all, but there's worse to come.'

So you've come on a good day, Friday I guess is one of your busiest days.

It is.

What do you typically find?

Day-to-day rubbish.

Empty cans, empty coffee cups, we get the occasional vomits.

-Vomit?

-That's the worst.

-And they get dirtier the later on at night it becomes.

-Disgusting!

-We've just eaten, guys, come on.

-THEY CHUCKLE

How many of you take the bus to school?

OK, so the pressure is really on for you two

cos if you got on a manky bus, I'm sure there'd be a lot of moaning.

'And all this hard work has got to be done when they are usually in bed.'

All our staff clean the buses

between seven o'clock

and two o'clock in the morning.

They will then sleep for the rest of the night

and then wake up later on ready to be back for work the next night.

More to the point, when do WE sleep?

I'd imagine the same sort of time.

It's a challenge working at night

because I don't think anybody really, particularly likes it.

I wouldn't even like it in the day.

THEY LAUGH

If they don't like the job, what will they think of the uniform?

-What?!

-I'm going to hate the clothes more than the actual work.

I look like a traffic cone.

Guy told me that he sometimes finds poo on the buses as well.

Don't even tell me that!

Who takes the time to have a poo in a bus?

They're just, like, sat there crouching down.

'This job could be their worst nightmare come true.'

Noah, have you got what it takes to clean up someone else's poo?

-Nope.

-You've got a reputation to uphold.

You've been the star employee over the past two factories.

This is where it falls.

Yeah, this is where, you know...

This is where everybody else is determined to get

the poo just before Noah.

But tonight, maybe even Noah will miss the bus...

..because cleaning these red beauties is not for the faint-hearted.

How about we open the windows? It's getting hot in here.

All of the 170 buses that come back to the garage every night

have to go through this giant bus wash first.

Our kids have never been on a bus journey like this one!

As the kids get off the newly washed bus, the stench of the dirty water

is a stark reminder of the unpleasant job ahead.

The smell is the recycled water.

It smells like my school bathrooms.

Smells worse.

These girls had better toughen up

if they've got any chance of beating Noah.

That's because Noah's excelled at every factory so far.

Would you offer our Noah a job?

Yeah, I would offer Noah a job, yeah.

I'm going to offer a job to Noah.

HE SINGS

Now up until this point,

I do feel like everyone has seen Noah as this unstoppable force almost,

so I'm keen to see what the girls are going to do

to try and knock him off his perch

and, you know, win the battle of the buses.

Girls.

It's time for you to up your game. You know Noah has just been

star employee over the past two factories.

You can't be happy with that.

He said he doesn't like cleaning.

He said he's not going to do anything gross

like pick up poo or wee,

so hopefully he will get a really pooey bus.

-Really?

-We've found his weakness so now it's time to pounce.

You've got a strategy which is...?

-Teamwork.

-Teamwork.

Teamwork makes stream work.

The girls might be fired up about beating Noah...

..but now I've heard that he wants to see me.

Noah.

You all right, dude?

Yeah.

What's the story?

HE COUGHS

Um... I think I have had a sort of allergic reaction to some

sort of peanut thing.

Feeling pretty rubbish?

Yeah, definitely.

Not great at all.

You know, your health comes first

so if you go back to the hotel, have a good sleep,

and then hopefully, fingers crossed, you can come back tomorrow.

Yeah. You know, this is, like, probably going to set me back a bit.

Poor old Noah has had to bow out before he's even begun.

And it's a shame because I think he was desperate to keep this reputation

that he's earned, but it does give the others the opportunity to shine.

SHE WHISTLES

But they'll be doing a lot more than shining if Paola has her way.

Really good sweep.

Don't miss anything.

Ready?

With Noah out of the picture, the team are split into pairs

to clean a bus each.

Safia and Josh are working together for the first time.

You sweep and you take the chewing gums.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Let's go upstairs.

And immediately things start to go wrong.

If you go upstairs to sweep, I'll do the windows down here.

-I want to do the windows.

-Oh, fine, you do the windows, I don't mind.

-But then you got to do the gum upstairs.

-Fine!

Saf's track record so far has not been great.

It's disgusting.

It's like really horrible work.

So that is a sign, "Seams not matching."

I'm not happy.

I think, Saf, you were in the bottom two yesterday.

You came in today still whingeing about the squidgy strawberries.

And when she saw others succeed, she decided things had to change.

No more nice Safia.

Tonight, Saf is so determined to be promoted,

she wants Josh to do everything her way.

I have done the corners, it's just like bits of mould though.

-No, look, there's like lots of bits and stuff.

-No, there isn't!

You've got bad eyesight.

Look, watch this. Right, are you ready?

Look at all that stuff coming out of there.

-No, there is nothing coming out.

-There is.

There's nothing coming out!

-You're imagining things.

-Ugh.

I'm going to kill you with a brush.

Back home in Leeds, Josh is not used to doing much work at all.

I never do anything around the house

because I don't really see anything that needs to be done.

If Mum shouts at me and says,

"Josh do this for me and you can have a pound,"

I'm like, "You give me a pound anyway so I don't need to do it."

Josh hasn't done a hard day's work in his life.

Never seen him do a hard day's work. Never.

Josh is used to getting what he wants.

I really love Mum and Dad and stuff, but I also see them

as a piggy bank. Like, they have all the money.

Be nice, give them cuddles, you get the money.

I'd like Josh to understand the value of money

and what happens from working hard.

And so far, he hasn't impressed at any factory.

How's Josh done?

He just lacks that little bit of drive.

Oh, that's clever.

But Josh has decided tonight he wants the promotion

as much as Safia.

I really want to try in this one because I haven't been hired

in the past two and I just really want to do it.

And that means they've got to stop arguing.

It's like we've got to go upstairs and do upstairs as well

and then we finish this when we come back down to do the windows.

Cos we're coming back down here anyway.

Yeah, but why don't we do one floor at a time? So, like, sweep it, then

-do the windows and then do upstairs, sweep it and do the windows.

-Fine!

With a fight about to break out on one bus,

Kazia and Hansa are having their own problems on another.

Hashtag gross.

What do I do with the gum?

Oh, don't bring it near me.

It's got like hair attached to it and everything.

It's disgusting.

I don't like being on night shift.

I'm already really tired and we've only just started.

The level of chat on the upper deck is just ridiculous.

Look.

Why would you leave a perfectly good box of chicken on the bus?

It's popcorn chicken as well. It's the best one.

They're talking, talking, talking.

Get it right.

All they should be doing is cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

And their snail's pace is not going down well

with Andy, their supervisor.

-Seven minutes a deck, one of our cleaners.

-What?!

We've been doing this for ten minutes and we're nowhere near done.

Cos you're not getting yourself into a system, are you?

Can't believe people actually leave buses in this state.

Looks like it's going to be a long night.

Hello.

Oh!

How are we getting on? Have we got happy workers here?

-Yeah.

-Sort of.

'Oh, dear, these two are barely speaking to each other now.'

And how have you found it working together?

We argued a little bit.

You know, there is no time for slacking.

Because Paola needs to get them started on the final stage -

mopping the floor.

Are you a happy boss?

Not really. They need to finish today!

You understand? Paola's got to send this out,

it's got to go out tomorrow morning.

Yeah.

-Come on, come on.

-Sorry.

Over on the girl's top deck, they've made a grim discovery.

SHE GASPS

What?

Is that sick?

That's disgusting.

Argh, that's gross!

I'd rather be sick into a handbag than on a bus.

So, who's going to get going? Who's going to clean that sick?

Joint effort, I think. It's only fair.

Yeah, I think we've got to go for it.

-We can't be wussies.

-Exactly.

Help me. I don't know what to do.

Do you just sweep it?

'I admire your spirit, girls,

'but I've never seen anyone mop like that.'

Girls, it is a bit of a swimming pool up here.

There is way too much water.

Back on the other bus, they've also been outmanoeuvred by a mop.

I've never used a mop. I mean, I've never needed to.

What, you weren't watching when she showed us how to ring it out?

-Yes, I was.

-No, you weren't or you wouldn't be doing it like that.

And the night-time niggling knows no end.

I'm annoyed.

He's just tired and wants his beauty sleep.

Cos Saf can't concentrate on her own work, so she criticises mine.

Oh!

This is really wet. Oh, my God.

What, is this bad?

Of course it's bad.

With mop mayhem on both buses,

Andy and Paola decide to pull the kids off the job.

It's really wet!

All right, guys.

I'm not impressed.

It's like a rooftop swimming pool up there, girls.

It is so wet.

What I'm going to have to do now is get my guys in there

to finish it because that vehicle can't go out in service like that.

It's got to be done.

Whilst Andy's team clean up our lot's mess, I take the chance

to show our kids how differently the workers here behave.

How do you do, Sandro?

'For Sandro and Daniel, from Madeira,

'this job is a route to a better life.'

Thank you!

So, you came here when you were 18.

My first job in the UK, I start 12 hours a day.

I work seven days a week, no offs, so I'm tired.

And the money is bad, 150 a week.

THEY GASP

So nothing.

My dream is me and my brother work with each other

to get a house here in the UK.

If you've got a house, you can go home and it is yours.

You have something that is yours.

If you want something, you have to work.

This is pretty impressive. You know, these lads left

their island at 18 not being able to speak any English whatsoever,

come to a foreign country and make it their mission to find a job.

If you have a dream, you can work with them

and then you get something in the future.

And the dream today for Saf and Josh is promotion.

We get word that Andy's team have finished drying off the wet buses

and he and Paola are ready to give the kids feedback on their work.

Right, that's it.

The end of the first task here at the bus depot.

Andy, how did your mob get on?

-Not very well.

-Oh.

The sweep, that weren't too bad.

The mopping, well, it looks like a swimming pool upstairs on the bus.

That was your area.

I think that was my fault, the top floor, definitely.

I take full responsibility for that.

Well, Paola, can you tell us how your gang did?

-Was there a bit of arguing going on, on your bus?

-Yes.

Both have been starting to fighting each other for who is going

to be taking the chewing gums and sweeping.

Saf said to do, like, bottom floor, like, half do it and then go back up

-and then come back down.

-No, I said we do what we can and then come back

-cos we had to mop anyway.

-But I thought...

Then you forgot to do...

There is no use arguing now cos we're all here.

We just have to get used to working with each other cos originally

I think Noah was going to work with you and I was with the other girls

so we weren't expecting having to work together.

Andy, any promotions?

Unfortunately not.

-Both demoted?

-Yeah.

OK, so, Paola, are you going to promote or demote

anyone on your bus?

Demote.

-Both?

-Yes.

-Both demoted?

-Yes.

'Demotion across the board, but for Saf, it is a devastating blow.'

Darling, don't get upset.

It's been a long night for these guys

but tomorrow's another chance to prove themselves.

We are literally going to go in there

and be on it like a car bonnet.

Tomorrow we are going to come back a lot stronger

-and we're going to try...

-Definitely.

..so much harder and work as a team, yeah.

So the end of day one, or should I say the end of night one,

and what a reality check.

You know, a man down before we even get going

and the four remaining, they just couldn't hold it together.

You know, they didn't complete the task, there was

a lot of arguing resulting in the first group demotion.

Hardly the best of starts.

Our kids were only here from seven till ten,

but the real workers stay long into the night.

It's now past midnight and I want to catch up with Sandro,

one of the twins we met earlier.

What time did you start?

I started about seven in the evening.

In a typical shift, you will start at 7pm and then finish at 3am?

-Yes.

-But today is a bit different?

Yes, it is a bit different because he asked me

to do another extra because the guy didn't come in.

I'm not live far away from here, it's more easy.

Your bosses know that you are a very hard worker.

Yeah, yes, because this country give me so many opportunities.

And what do you do with that money?

Do you save it, do you send it to your family?

I save it sometimes,

but sometimes I just send it for my mother.

Because they don't have a job.

So, at 20, you have come to work abroad

so that you can...

..provide for your family back home.

Yes.

Just a really impressive, lovely guy.

You know, it is amazing to hear just how hard he works.

Our kids are fast asleep, they will be tucked up in bed now,

they have no idea the kind of sacrifices he is making.

And he's doing all of this so that he can provide for his family

and give himself a comfortable life here in the UK.

After seeing how the guys reacted on their first ever night shift,

it's been decided that they probably haven't got what it takes.

So we're going to give it another go, but today we're on a day shift.

I'm really hoping they pick up the pace and improve.

And guess who's back!

Budum-shh!

Our kids are keen to fill him in on what he missed last night.

-You were so lucky.

-Exactly.

It was horrible.

We had to clean up sick.

And popcorn chicken and chips.

And then Kaz went, "That's a waste."

Popcorn chicken is my favourite!

Not any more though.

How are we all today?

I'm good.

-Noah's back. Noah is back in the building.

-Here again.

-You feeling OK?

-Yeah, I'm good.

So, Noah, you're going to be working on the demotion task.

Even though you weren't here and you didn't technically get demoted.

-Poor Noah.

-No, that's fair enough, fair enough.

Yeah, you've got a point to prove.

They don't know how hard you work.

Chop chop!

'With Noah back on the team to help them

'maybe they can all get back on track today.

'Let's see!'

SHE WHISTLES

The average London bus drives nearly 200 miles a day through the

filthy city streets and someone's got to clean off all that dirt.

OK, guys, today we're doing the cleaning wheels

and I hope this time you do it well. OK?

Yeah, we will.

-ANDY:

-And no arguing.

-Yes!

I want to see really shiny wheels.

Paola shows them how it's done.

-That's a lot of dirt coming off them wheels, guys.

-It is. Look.

JOSH GASPS

'That's just one wheel!

'These guys have got to do four each.'

-You can do that?

-ALL:

-Yeah.

-You sure?

-ALL:

-Yeah.

But this time, I want to see a really good job.

Today they've all been separated

because they did such a bad job of working together last night.

The night one was horrible.

But maybe with Noah back on board, this team can turn it around.

You enjoy?

Yeah, it's better. I like it more than the other one.

Well done.

This time you're doing well.

I prefer this job so much more.

It does feel like a new team.

Everyone is definitely applying themselves. They are trying harder,

except for Noah, which is really surprising,

cos ordinarily he is the one that wants to impress the most.

It's just repeating yourself over and over again,

which really isn't that fun. It's quite boring.

What's up? What's going on?

Not much except for an incredible backache

and the blood circulation to my leg is now stuck.

And you haven't even been working half an hour.

No, but I'm pretty sure it feels like I've been working for 20 years.

Noah may have lost his mojo but Saf and Josh are steaming ahead.

It's my third wheel and both of them have been pretty good this side,

so I'm happy.

I hope now I can employ all of you guys and you will be working for me.

-That will be good.

-Paola, you're happier?

Now, I'm happy. I see a good result.

For Noah, however, things are going from bad to worse.

Ah-ha.

Ah-ha. You cheating!

-How?

-He is cheating.

-How?!

-Look at that! I just found it.

Ah-ha!

That's not really good. Come on.

I give you more dirty now because you're cheating.

Noah gives it one more try for Paola.

SHE WHISTLES

Guys, you have five minutes remaining. Come on.

Five minutes and I'm only on number three.

I've been working fairly slow,

which is not normal for me.

Whilst Noah struggles to get up to speed, Josh and Saf finish first.

-JOSH:

-Paola. I think I'm done.

Well done. I'm happy.

Yep, perfect.

Well done. This time you do it really, really well. I'm happy.

Josh, how did you find this task?

It weren't exactly clean.

I got it everywhere, but I got to do four wheels, so...

-You've done four wheels?

-Yeah.

-That's incredible.

Noah, your first job here in the bus depot.

Yeah...

What do you reckon?

Not my favourite job.

It's interesting cos I normally find that you are keen to please.

You know, you're desperate to show your bosses what you can do.

I don't think there was that fighting spirit here today, Noah.

No, I agree.

-Saf?

-I really enjoyed that.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

I don't know why, but I kind of like cleaning stuff now.

Wheels, I quite enjoyed it.

Cos you done well this morning and that was a demotion,

so we're going to try a little bit of a promotion now.

You're going to be doing window cleaning.

Yay! That sounds quite good.

You've got an hour to do these.

These have got to be done before this afternoon

cos they are going back out in service.

And if they aren't done, it means I'm going to have to

pull my guys off their job to come and mop up your mess.

'The pressure's on. These buses have to be back

'out on the streets of London in just one hour.'

All aboard to Hogwarts!

-Do you want to wash and I'll dry?

-OK.

Josh and Saf have made such a comeback, they've been put back

together to see if they can settle their differences from last night.

We're doing, like, it together this time

-so there is less chance...

-Yeah.

And I think it will work quicker as well.

I feel like Josh and Saf have gone into this task today with

a direct plan.

They have been very quick, there's been no arguing.

Let's see how they get on.

Now we're working as a team. Good, quiet.

-That's what we want.

-Yep.

The speed in that! Whoo.

You going to come and do my windows for me at home?

-Really sweaty.

-Depends on how much you're paying us.

Whilst Saf and Josh clean up their acts,

the other three are just messing around.

Oh, I'm the bus driver, guys!

Could I not stay in here, please?

Look!

Wait, wait, wait. This still being wet.

Noah, you didn't do a good enough job.

I'm a bus driver.

I got a steering wheel, look.

Stop talking and work!

I don't know what's going on with Noah.

I can't quite put my finger on it.

Normally, he works so hard.

I don't know whether he doesn't like the environment or maybe

he has just run out of steam.

HE LAUGHS

Hey, Paola.

Noah's balloons are the last straw for Paola

and she blows the final whistle on the task.

-SHE WHISTLES

-Guys.

And just in time, Josh and Saf finish their bus.

-Done!

-Done!

Paola's a lady with high standards.

Has anyone done enough to get offered a job?

Time to find out.

OK, guys, so welcome to the boardroom.

So, as you can see, Guy has come back.

You've now had first-hand experience of what it's like to work

in the world of cleaning and also at night-time.

And I think it's fair to say that you've all struggled.

You now understand what it is like to work a night shift

for many people.

I have a lot of respect for people that work night shifts and have

to get up in the middle of the night and come to work.

I couldn't do it.

Kaz, I feel like every time I had a conversation with you,

you were almost getting annoyed with the people who were throwing

chewing gum on the floor or had left their chicken and chips.

I swear, if I ever see anyone do it again, I will slap them.

No joke, I will. It's unnecessary.

They can easily put it in a bin rather than put it on the floor

and make more work for other people.

And, Saf, you were up and you were down and you were a bit emotional.

I think when I get really tired, I tend to be overemotional and,

like, crabby about everything.

And I think Josh got the hard end of that.

-There was a lot of bickering going on.

-Yep.

But fair play to him, he has come through.

-PAOLA:

-Today really, really impressed me. I am really happy.

Excellent feedback. How did our Saf do?

I think she's coming today with the attitude - "I'm going to

"prove them all wrong."

Yeah, I gave it 100% today.

She tried. She tried really hard.

Thanks.

And can we speak about Noah?

I know Noah we didn't have for the entire time, he was a bit poorly.

There was a lot of moaning from you, which I don't normally hear.

I don't know.

Cleaning is just not exactly my strong point, I don't think.

I don't really like messy jobs, if you get what I mean.

No-one enjoys it but it's a job that needs doing.

There is just so many places that remain open throughout the night

that have to be staffed up, so it is a different world altogether.

So, you know how this works. Guy has had a conversation

with his colleagues and they've decided collectively that some of

you would be employed, were you old enough,

and some of you wouldn't.

So, Guy, if you could enlighten us, put us out of our misery.

There are two of you...

that would be offered a job, if you were old enough.

Safia...

..and Josh.

How about that?

I think it would be fair to say that Josh would be the star employee.

Noah, you've lost your crown. You've lost your crown to Josh.

Oh, he's a dude so that's cool.

A girl will get it next time.

Next time on Show Me What You're Made Of...

The kids hit a fish factory.

It's really cold and slimy!

Can they cope with the smell...

HE GAGS

..and their toughest boss yet?

Don't be rude. You're wasting my time.