Shoes Show Me What You're Made Of

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

our five caused chaos in a cosmetics factory.

Tom, we've had a bit of a situation here -

this isn't looking good, is it?

Bubble baths and glitter soaps were a step too far for the boys.

He's really winding me up!

And it was a clean sweep for some in the boardroom.

..And that would be the girls.

Amazing!

Today... Will they be able to put their best foot forward

in one of their toughest jobs so far?

How will they handle their strictest boss yet, in a shoe factory?

That robot is your inspiration!

It's never late, doesn't answer me back -

so this is what you guys need to work like!

And what happens when there's a surprise choice for supervisor?

I'm worried he'll let power get to his head.

This is Show Me What You're Made Of: UK.

Our pampered five are continuing their working journey

around Britain.

This time, I'm taking them to the UK's

biggest shoe manufacturer, near Wigan in Lancashire.

Us Brits love our beautiful shoes.

It's no surprise last year we spent nearly £8 billion buying them,

with the average man owning 12 pairs,

whilst the average woman owns a whopping 27 pairs of shoes.

But our Madz is way above average.

I probably own around, like, 40, 50 shoes.

40 or 50 pairs?

Yeah, I own quite a lot.

Mr Lucas...!

Up until this point, all of your bosses have said

they DO see potential,

but you haven't quite nailed it. Is this going to be your factory?

I've got a really good feeling that I'll do well in this factory.

I really like shoes - I own about 20 shoes now, and trainers.

-Really?

-Yeah.

So clearly these five love shoes.

Let's see if that passion still exists

after two days making them.

This is the Hotter shoe factory.

They make almost 2 million pairs of shoes every year -

that's one pair every 20 seconds.

The company was founded almost 60 years ago,

and for the next two days, our five will be hot on the heels

of over 500 members of staff here,

hoping to prove they're good enough to be offered a job.

And who have they got to impress?

Company director Robert, and factory manager Joan.

Hello!

So, Robert, can you tell us what it is that you expect

-from your employees?

-They've got to work hard,

but you've got to work efficiently, as well.

Joan knows this factory inside out. She's got very high standards,

she's quite a hard taskmaster.

I expect them to meet targets and deadlines,

and I expect no messing round. Full concentration required.

If this doesn't happen,

then actions will be taken.

Follow your lead. Thank you so much.

It's clear Joan's a stickler for rules,

and now they're employees here, she wants them to look the part.

Get your tops on, guys - come on, quick...

And before they set foot on the factory floor,

our novice shoemakers must clock in like all of her workers.

Put your card into the top. Let go of it...

There's no turning back now. You're mine!

Please don't make me regret this.

'I am loving Joan.'

Each pair of shoes goes through 14 different stages,

and just 10% of the work is done by machines.

But they're pretty impressive.

That's the roughing robot. It's never late, doesn't answer me back.

So this is what you guys need to work like!

-That robot is your inspiration.

-It is.

Joan, how long have you been working here?

-35 years.

-So you've been working here all your life, then(?)

Yes!

See what I did there(?) Charmer.

Forget sucking up to the boss, Tom -

90% of the shoemaking here is done by hand.

You'll need to roll up your sleeves and get working to impress Joan.

How tiring do you think that'd be?

-Very.

-Very tiring.

-Very tiring. It's very, very physical.

-Highly demanding.

-Something I like. Physical.

-Something Lucas likes!

-Something you might be good at.

-Yeah.

'Well, let's see -

'because now it's their turn to get stuck in on the production line.'

So, welcome to your first task...

Joan's set a tough challenge, partnering them with the machine.

They'll be working with the electric scissors

on a process called flash trimming -

removing excess polyurethane from the soles of the shoes.

When you trim these products,

it's got to be really, really flat

it's got to be smooth and perfectly trimmed.

How many do we have to do?

Well, on this operation you need to do 100 pairs an hour.

In the same time, Joan's workers would trim 160 pairs.

OK, guys. We know what our target is -

three, two, one...

Let's go!

Oh, no...

This job is all about hand-to-eye coordination.

If they mess up, the shoes will be ruined.

It won't go in!

-Is yours going in?

-Yeah.

-Mine's not.

Nothing gets past Joan, and as she keeps tabs on the group

she's noticed that some of them already struggling.

Well, it is making me a LITTLE bit tense...

Your quality's not quite up to standard at the moment, Maddie...

-OK.

-..and you're not really quite going quick enough.

Two stations down, Tom's steaming ahead -

but in this task quality is just as important as quantity.

-Tom...

-Yeah. Look at this.

-Do you think that's acceptable?

-No.

It's rubbish!

At her station, Madz's love of shoes is translating to her work.

Let me have a look at this one...

Madz, look at that. It's excellent.

Thank you!

Joan's keeping an eagle eye on all of the group,

but one of the five is really standing out.

Lucas - very good.

That's the best one.

-You have an eye for detail. Well done.

-Thank you.

Now I'm being told I'm doing a good job,

it kind of makes it feel special for me.

Lucas is a master of hand-to-eye coordination.

In fact, he could win a medal in it.

Do not let me down!

He's getting quite good.

Praise isn't something Lucas is used to.

Lucas, you're getting water everywhere...

He's had a bumpy ride so far.

He's really winding me up!

And in three factories,

he's got himself demoted four times.

I'm going to have to take you off this job. OK?

Lucas's remarkable turnaround

has been picked up by his fellow workers.

I'm very surprised at Lucas,

cos he's normally messing about, not doing the task.

I'm trying to concentrate and do my best,

and just...just focus.

I don't think anyone was expecting it - ever.

-Lucas...

-Yeah?

How are you? Good.

I actually think I might make it to 100. It's good.

-I feel like we may have found your factory!

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

He has struggled to focus in every single factory, apart from this one.

They could be developed. Under the right person,

he will go to the top of the mountain for you.

-Look at him!

-Yeah.

You know, he's so focused there.

And he really wants to win.

Each of our five's performance is crucial,

because at the end of the task Joan will decide

who has earned a promotion, and who will be demoted.

OK...

That's it, your shift's over.

Stop. Turn those machines off.

As the factory day comes to an end,

Joan's ready to reveal who's put their best foot forward.

The group's target was to trim 100 pairs of shoes each

in an hour.

Your boss, Joan, has assessed your worth.

If we could start, please, with Eloushka, Joan.

I thought your quality was good,

but your performance could be increased.

You done 36 pairs.

Maddie,

unfortunately your quality wasn't so good,

and in the hour, Maddie,

you completed 23 pairs of shoes.

Need more from you, Maddie.

Tom...

-I thought your movements were very quick...

-Thank you.

..but I thought your quality was very, very poor.

You achieved 30.

-Madz...

-I thought your quality was excellent.

And you done 37 pairs.

-Thank you!

-Well done, Madz.

-Thank you.

And finally...

how has Lucas done here today, Joan?

I thought your concentration was exceptional.

You actually achieved 54.

So, well done, Lucas.

Lucas, you must be absolutely delighted.

I never had anyone, like, so confident in me,

except for my mum and dad. So...thank you.

So, Joan, can you tell us who you will be demoting?

Eloushka,

Maddie and Tom.

And promoted is Lucas

and Madz.

-Amazing. Well done!

-Well done.

I knew I'd make it one day.

I do think he's supervisor material,

but we'll see how it goes tomorrow, and then we can look again.

How do you feel about the fact that Lucas has done

so amazingly well in this factory?

I'm sort of surprised.

Is there any part of you, Eloushka,

that's a tiny bit envious?

There's more than a little bit.

STACEY LAUGHS

So there's the potential for you to be made supervisor tomorrow -

you've just got to play your cards right.

Yayyyy!

I'm really over the moon, and I'm so happy I've finally got promoted,

and then possibly become a supervisor.

This has...got me up.

I don't think I'm going to sleep tonight.

The idea of Lucas being a supervisor...

It's like a horror film.

SCARY MUSIC

With disappointing results from the demoted three,

they have got a long night ahead of them.

They're lucky enough to have almost everything they want at home.

..but I want to show Maddie, Eloushka and Tom

what life COULD be like for them

if the shoe were on the other foot.

So I brought them to Wood Street Mission in Manchester,

a children's charity. Hey, guys.

It's been helping local families in need for almost 150 years.

-Hi, there.

-How do you do?

'Rosanne Sweeney is the manager here,

'and oversees the charity's community shop.'

Well, we're sorting school uniform for our shop upstairs...

And this all looks brand-new.

That's right, we kitted out

about 2,500 children the new school year this year.

'Donations that come in include food, toys and clothes,

'which are all on offer in the shop.'

How does the system work here?

You don't need money to buy items -

families basically get a budget,

a points allocation based on the number of kids they have,

and they can come in and spend that in the shop.

It's amazing.

We're helping a lot of great families, great kids.

What, thousands of kids that need your help?

Manchester actually has one of the highest rates

of child poverty in the country,

and one in three children living locally

are living below the poverty line.

It really does give you a reality check -

I mean, I knew there was a LITTLE bit of poverty,

but I just didn't know to this extent.

Back near Wigan, I've got a very different evening planned

for the promoted pair.

They're meeting a family who have the shoe factory in their blood.

Hi, Lucas, how are you? I'm Sue. Come on in.

Sue, her son Mark and his partner Donna have worked at the factory

for over 60 years between them.

And I'm hoping their combined experience

will show Lucas and Madz

that hard work brings its own rewards.

So, where do you guys work?

Well, I work in the factory myself,

I'm downstairs where you've been today,

I'm the team leader of all them groups.

I've been there since I was 15.

Well, I work in the contact centre.

I started off there 11 years ago taking orders on the phones.

I now run my own team.

I actually met Mark there,

and that's how we ended up getting together.

I find it quite nice how your mam started working there

and then you followed in her footsteps.

And I find it even better how you met your partner,

and now you're all, like, one big family.

So, you work there happily, basically?

It's hard work that's earned Lucas and Madz their promotion.

And with the chance of becoming supervisor,

Lucas has a question for Sue.

Is there, like, any tips you can give me?

Just keep looking that everything is ticking along.

There's some that don't like to be told,

but you're in that position and you HAVE to tell them.

So it's like "firm but fair".

Firm but fair.

Good luck, and I hope you get it tomorrow, eh?

Back in Manchester,

to get an even better insight into Wood Street Mission's work,

our trio is meeting one of

the 3,000 families who make use of the services on offer here.

Whoo-hoo!

'NK and her husband have four children.

'And as well as RECEIVING help,

'she volunteers here, too.'

NK, would you be happy to explain to us

how this charity helped you and your family?

The programme that helps with the school uniforms and shoes,

that's a big relief for me.

So it takes some of the pressure off?

It's hugely stressful

trying to find the money all of the time,

to buy your kids everything that they need.

It's not an easy task at all.

Being one of four,

when it comes to buying school uniforms

and buying new shoes,

it really rounds up to a lot of money.

My parents don't have to worry much about the uniforms, cos, like,

you've just spent all your money on the uniforms

and they won't have, like, enough money for other things.

That makes total sense. And I think our three,

they're the first to admit

that they do expect a lot from their folks. Right?

Well, I'd ask my parents, "Can I have these new shoes?"

"Can I have this new top?" and I expect to get it.

So when I don't get it, I'd be really upset

or I'd really mad at my parents.

If I ask my mum for something, like, I will really want it, but then

if I don't get it I understand that my mum knows what I need.

If we

grow to accept what we can get, then we'll be happier.

What do you make of that, Eloushka?

Quite often I'll see, like,

the latest item of clothing

and I'll go and tell my mum,

"I need this now."

But then, actually, in the real world, you don't need it.

Do you guys wear second-hand clothes,

and if you do, do you mind or...?

I don't actually mind wearing second-hand clothes,

because at least since they're clothes

it doesn't matter where they come from.

If they're clean, I can still wear them,

and I'm grateful because there's nothing wrong with it.

Meeting NK and her family

is certainly proving to be an eye-opening experience

for our demoted three.

Now I'm going to go home,

I'm going to sort the clothes I need and want,

and just donate them.

-Really?

-Yeah!

-It's good to hear that. Thank you.

So, it's the morning of Day 2 here at the shoe factory.

Lucas has got a lot to prove today -

he needs to show Joan she was right to believe in him.

The other four have to recognise

that he was promoted fairly and squarely,

and if he IS made supervisor they have to accept that.

'And I want to make sure he knows what's at stake here.'

It's clear that yesterday you absolutely impressed, you nailed it,

and Joan has placed so much faith in you.

What I don't want you to do is mess it up today.

She's like a mum to me now.

Like, I feel like she actually has

so much confidence in me, I don't want to let her down.

OK, guys. Come on. Clock yourselves in again.

But Joan's a hard boss to please.

I expect you both to do well,

so I expect a high level of concentration from both of you.

The promoted pair have been tasked with gathering online orders

before they're sent out to customers.

They'll be working in the warehouse,

plucking shoeboxes from the shelves and stacking them in a cage.

It's all automatic. The target is 80 pairs in one hour.

So go on your cage, and off you go.

The huge warehouse is the size of a football pitch,

and stores 350,000 pairs of shoes.

Every week, 70,000 are ordered online and shipped to customers.

You all right, Lucas? Let me see. EB03B02...

-You don't have that one here.

-It's there. What's that?

-Oh. OK.

EB07...

Come on, you've got to move a bit quicker.

In her aisle, Madz has hit the ground running.

8A03. Here we go...

It feels easy, but obviously

I need to be quick. And fast.

AH07A05.

-SP9...

-How d'you do it?!

AH07A07.

This ain't fair!

Lucas is struggling to locate all of his orders.

I can't find 7.

AH07A02...

He hasn't quite mastered the numbering system.

It's tricky to find things, that's what makes it really irritating.

Wow! Where's... # A, B, C, D, E, F, G... #

H. This way.

Across the factory floor,

the demoted three are on cream and polish.

It's their job to clean and shine 30 pairs of shoes each in an hour -

that's half of what the professionals would do

in the same time.

Get the sponge. Dip it in the cream... Yeah?

..and it's got to be spread out evenly.

I love cleaning stuff.

-OK. So you should be good at this, then, Maddie.

-Yeah.

Once you've creamed the shoe...

Oh, wow!

So then, you polish the shoe.

-It sounds simple enough...

-Let's go!

After a poor show yesterday, this is Tom's chance to turn things around.

-Would YOU buy that?

-Yes.

Good.

And he's not the only one looking to up his game.

Eloushka missed out on a promotion by a whisker.

So she wants to do well now.

And with a little help from Joan...

Put your fingers inside...

Hold it like that.

You can go all the way round.

-Perfect.

-Thank you.

'All of the demotees seem to be pulling their socks up today.'

-Mandy...!

-Yeah?

-How's it going?

-Erm, I'm really enjoying the task.

I'm finding it quite... relaxing in a way.

I think my speed is improving, but I'm going to up it even more.

Next door, Tom is now buffing his way to shoe-shining success.

I've got the hang of it now.

Can you see that?

With one final cream and polish...

Eloushka managed to shine 25 pairs of shoes -

five less than the target.

Maddie left an impressive 32 gleaming,

and Tom outshone them all, with a total of 40.

When I was little I struggled to get my shoes on.

My mum would always tell me, "Stick the tongue out."

So... It still doesn't work!

There you go. You can have that one.

No. Wrong way.

This way...

Back in the warehouse, with the supervisor's job on the cards,

Lucas knows he has to deliver.

Joan...!

But nailing the online orders has been tough.

He turns to his new boss and mentor for guidance.

Lucas, tell me why you're struggling.

I don't know - I literally don't know the place and it makes it just

a bit annoying. Like, 05, I've got no clue what that is.

05 is this whole deck.

And that one there is 06.

So 7 would be...

-There.

-07...

-BEEP

-Perfect.

OK. Nice.

Perfect. Well done!

That's it, you got the hang of it now.

Joan...?

I saw that you went to help Lucas.

-I did.

-He was going "Joan, Joan! Where are you?"

He's doing fine now.

And now he understands, he's away, and I can see the enthusiasm.

Both him AND Madz. They're really enthusiastic.

High praise indeed!

But I still believe Lucas can go the extra mile.

I can't begin to tell you, Joan, he's like a different...

Is he? Really?

Finally.

BEEP OK, guys...!

Lucas... Madz!

-Madz...?

-Yeah. I'm here.

Oh...! SHE LAUGHS

-OK, that's it now. Time is up.

-Time's up!

Joan is going to assess your work,

and then we're going to catch up, ready for the final task.

-Hello!

-Shut up.

After a good effort from both promotees,

they've managed to stack 65 boxes.

But has Lucas done enough?

It's up to Joan.

-Hiya, Lucas.

-Hiya.

I know you started off a little bit slow this morning,

but once you understood the locations

you were right into it.

You concentration's been absolutely full-on.

So what I'd like to do with you on the last task this afternoon is,

I'd like to make you the supervisor.

What do you feel about that?

Like, over the moon. Awesome.

It's tough, and you might have to fall out with your friends...

but you've got to make sure that this production line works.

News of Lucas's rise has reached the others -

and not everyone's celebrating.

We don't want Lucas to be supervisor.

He messes around a lot,

and even though he's done really well in this factory,

I'm worried he'll let power get to his head.

-Yeah.

-He's the kind of person who would.

Well, whether THEY like it or not,

Lucas is at the helm for the group's final task.

And his first job is to brief his team.

I expect quality and speed.

And work at your best.

If you don't achieve or perform,

you're not only letting yourselves down -

you're letting Lucas down, as well.

The four are working on the finishing line.

This is the last stop

before the shoes leave the warehouse

to go to the shops or customers.

Target is 85.

And you have one hour to complete it.

So... Get working.

Tom's job is to stuff the shoes with tissue paper, and tag them.

Eloushka's on quality control, and tying laces.

There's a mark on the leather that I can't get out with a crayon.

So that's going to be a reject, OK?

Maddie's making box lids and on final inspection.

At the last station is Madz, who's boxing the shoes.

I'm not liking it.

I think it's because I find it too tricky.

Supervisor Lucas keeps an eye on each part of the process.

Tom, unfortunately, this is kind of poor. No rough edges, OK?

That was, like, my first one.

-JOAN:

-Do you think that's excusable because it's his first one?

Just for once. Cos I'm a nice boss.

Joan is by Lucas's side to offer support and make

sure everything is ticking along as it should be.

But it isn't.

We're never going to reach 80 or 85, are we?

If Tom's not putting them on quick enough,

they'll never come off the line at the other end in that speed.

Tom, I think you might need to speed up a bit more,

otherwise we won't hit our target.

It feels like Tom is struggling in terms of speed and because

he's at the start of the production line it's evident,

so all eyes are on him.

But Tom doesn't think the problems start with him.

I'm not really slowing down the line cos they're the last pair I did

and Eloushka hasn't got to them yet,

so I don't think it really makes a difference.

-Lucas, is there, like, a label in there?

-Should be, yes.

Tom, I've got to put a label in this one.

-What's that?

-Size seven.

Thank you.

Yeah, that WAS my fault!

Funny man Tom is seeing the funny side.

Tom, you're not moving quick enough.

But he's still slowing the team down so boss Lucas has taken action.

-Maddie, go up the line and help Tom, OK?

-All right.

Don't forget about him, he needs your help.

-Can you grab me another pair of shoes?

-Sure.

-That one there.

I've sent Maddie down there to speed Tom up and to speed the line up.

We need to make 85 so if we work a little bit faster...

It looks like Lucas's quick thinking is paying off.

-Yeah, they're doing much better now.

-Yes, look at that.

-And your team is working really well for you, as well.

-Yes!

But you're the one who's leading them,

you're the one who's guiding them.

You're doing an excellent job right now,

the line's not slowing down and I'm really proud of you.

-Buddy! Keep at it.

-Yeah, cheers.

As the clock strikes the hour, time's up on the final task.

OK, guys, we're finished. Well done.

Under Lucas's guidance,

the team have managed to work through 59 pairs of shoes -

just 26 short of their target of 85.

In the boardroom, waiting to judge their efforts,

are Joan and company director Robert.

OK, gang, your big boss is back in town.

Joan is telling me that you've worked hard, committed yourself.

-I thought they worked absolutely fantastically together.

-OK.

-If we start with Tom. Tom didn't start off brilliantly?

-He didn't.

But he did have very quick movements, Tom,

he worked really well. So well done, Tom.

How was Madz?

In the first task, she done very well.

So much so that she got promoted.

-I'm happy that I did as well as I could.

-Maddie, oh, Maddie.

She's an absolute sweetheart but we've had issues with speed.

You sort of need to start thinking yourself,

to use your own initiative.

Eloushka, the question on everyone's lips -

how was Lucas as a supervisor?

I have to say he did surprise me.

-I thought he did actually do quite well.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-She was very respectful towards Lucas.

-He deserved it.

For the first time, I'm proud of you, Lucas.

-Lucas!

-He was racing ahead.

He had a different technique to the rest and he was so focused.

What has Joan done that has made such a difference?

You really had so much confidence in me.

You gave me the help I needed whenever I needed it.

You respond really well to encouragement,

but I think you need to learn to respond

without the encouragement, as well.

OK.

Some of you potentially could be hired, were you over 18 and

seeking employment.

Joan, please may you tell me the names of the children that

you would be willing to hire, if you could?

Tom.

Madz.

Eloushka.

-And Lucas.

-Congratulations.

Who would be your star employee, Joan?

-It has to be Lucas.

-OK, Lucas.

Congratulations.

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

Slow down, yeah? I've had enough of you.

-Our five start work with thousands of chickens on an egg farm.

-Whoa!

A little bit of chicken korma would be lovely.

Will they get in a flap?

-Or will everyone keep their heads held high?

-First time lucky.