Episode 1 The Town That Never Retired

I reckon we won't last till we're 73.

It would be cruel. It would be almost criminal.

How those four men in their 70s were doing a full day's work in there,

I just don't know.

I thought I was in a Russian Gulag.

In our 60s, most of us now look forward to a pension

and the chance to put our feet up,

but that's all got to change.

So we'll have airline pilots at 76 landing jumbo jets.

As the pension age soars and we have to work into our 70s,

will we be slow...

Why has that stopped?

..forgetful and unreliable?

Ooh, ow. I haven't got a grip of it.

When you get older, people think, oh, I don't need him.

They can manage without him. You're just cast aside.

Even if we are still raring to go, will anyone want to employ us?

I think you need to be a younger person to handle the job.

Now, to give us a taste of the future,

we're putting these pensioners back to work.

How will they cope under pressure...

-John, we need some main course plates, please.

-Yeah.

Can you get onto it urgently, please?

..with new technology...

-Oh, my word.

-Modern-day mixer.

Oh, my word.

..young competition...

You don't think any job might be boring?

Not THAT boring.

I felt he was a little bit cocky.

She's one of those people that doesn't like to be wrong.

..and failing health?

I really had to come to the conclusion, she's past it.

In the end, who will survive,

and will their bosses want to keep any of them on?

I'm Margaret Mountford.

And I'm Nick Hewer.

As we and our friends grow older, I've begun to worry.

As people live longer, they're going to have to work longer.

So what does that mean?

We've come to Preston,

a typical city in the North West, to conduct our experiment.

So, Roy, do you think it's reasonable to ask people to keep on working beyond 65?

No way.

You'll get one or two that can do it,

but the majority,

they'll have done enough.

Your confidence is not like it was when you were 30, is it?

-When you could jump across a ditch.

-Absolutely.

You'll have to have wardens rounding them up, won't they,

so they don't wander off?

Some aren't keen, but others need to work for the money it'll bring in.

If I had a job, I'd save the money

to go and visit my grandchildren more often.

Definitely.

I like the good things in life. I like a cigarette, I like a drink.

And if you don't work, you can't afford it.

The Government hasn't told us just how high the pension age

is likely to rise.

But we're meeting someone who's worked it out.

Recently, the Government published

a study which suggested that a third of people born today

might live to 100.

That's quite scary, actually, because it's still quite rare for people to live to 100 nowadays.

Well, yes, and the question is, who's going to pay for them?

So how high will the pension age have to go in order to cope with that?

If you take a newborn today,

it's quite likely that their state pension age may have to be 77.

And I stand here in front of you at 68

and the thought of that for me - fairly healthy sort of bloke,

hasn't had a particularly onerous life - is daunting.

In fact, more than daunting. It's horrifying.

It potentially gets even worse than that,

because if you think on to

our children's children, or your grandchildren's children,

their state pension age could easily be into their 80s.

I think it's shocking.

It'll be people in their 70s, maybe even in their 80s,

having to fend for themselves.

I think that a lot of people can fend for themselves longer than

we've been requiring them to do and I don't think it's a bad thing

to say, you're perfectly fit and active, you can go on working

for another few years, so you should go on working for another few years.

And when somebody's worked all their life, I believe they have a right

to a dignified old age, supported by the state if it's necessary.

Old people may have to work on,

but it isn't easy to find bosses who want to employ them.

At San Marco, one of Preston's leading restaurants,

owner Carlo doesn't think the old could cope.

This is a tough job. From the moment you walk in

in the morning, you're sweeping, you're mopping.

It's physical. You're constantly under pressure.

It's a fast-working environment and it's hectic.

So, pensioners are not people that you would normally even

contemplate taking on?

I don't think they would get a second look-in if they sent a CV through, to be honest.

I don't think it's the ideal environment for them

and I'd be surprised if they managed to keep up with the workload

that's going to be put onto them.

He's running this place. It's his show.

Early 30s, he doesn't think they can do it.

On the building site, they think workers in their 70s would really struggle.

There are very few people in the industry

over 70 years old at the moment

and I certainly don't know of any.

They're just not capable, physically, of doing the job.

But along with the chocolate factory, the health centre

and the estate agent, they're going to join our town that never retires.

It's Monday morning in Preston

and the first early start in years for our pensioners.

Have a nice day.

The first to arrive is 73-year-old Sheila,

who worked as a nurse and midwife for 55 years.

Good morning, Dr McCraith's surgery.

The clinic where she'll be working has 20,000 patients on the books.

It opens at 7am.

I'm not nervous about the actual work.

It's quite exciting, going back to work.

Practice Manager Gwen greets her with a modern-day induction.

This is the job description of a healthcare assistant,

-and this is for you to take away and keep...

-Right.

..so that you know what the duties are and what's expected.

Oh, excuse me. I think it's caught up with me, lack of sleep.

Next, it's the patient database.

Click onto the password.

Sheila was more used to patient records written by hand.

Just try again.

This is where I have problems.

Just click in the box till you get your cursor flashing at you.

'I do miss the banter and the company.'

You make a lot of friends amongst your patients.

I miss the companionship, as well as the work. It were a great crowd.

I'm hopeless with this. This is what gets me all...

Sheila's really struggling with the computer side of things,

because she is not computer literate.

She's not even familiar with mouse clicks or anything like that.

It's not our role to teach people basic computer skills.

We would expect anybody coming into any post nowadays

to be computer literate.

So she may really struggle because of that.

I'm computer illiterate. Always have been!

Over at the local building site, they're running late on a block of 45 apartments.

They need to plaster, plumb and wire them.

Now, a team of retired builders has arrived

to take over two flats for the week.

Going back to work will be Alan, a 72-year-old electrician,

73-year-old George, a plasterer,

and Roy, a plumber aged 71.

Get yourself kitted out.

-OK, thank you.

-Hat, gloves, high vis.

-Gloves!

-Jumper.

OK, chaps, shall we continue on?

Roy, the plumber, hasn't worked for ten years.

If I had to wear all this gear now,

all the time, I'd go and be a taxi driver.

Normally, I just have a pullover on and I've never injured

myself in 50 years, have I?

I feel like Chris Bonington with all this lot on.

When I started out in plumbing, everybody were getting

a bathroom and hot water, what they'd never had before.

Things have moved on, haven't they?

There's new methods, new materials that I'm not familiar with.

I'll not be able to hold my end up, and I know that. I'll do me best.

-Roy, what do you think about this plastic plumbing?

-Rubbish.

Why do you think it's rubbish?

Because I've had to take the kitchen ceiling down

because the bathroom has been put in

with plastic fittings and every fitting has leaked.

I mean, I've put things in 45 years ago, solder, and they're still there. They don't leak.

Right. It's here to stay, mate.

These guys are here to do a job and they've got to turn out

a quality job for us.

If they don't turn out a quality job,

what it means is that it's got to be ripped apart and redone.

To help him do a quality job, retired plasterer George

brings his own handmade tools along.

Not seen one of these in a long time.

No, indeed. That's for mixing my mix.

Stand above it, and you...

There's no problem with using that sort of kit, George.

I think you still might be mixing while they finish the flat.

It's a speed thing these days.

-Of course, it's speed, yes.

-You know?

The fact that George makes his own tools is quite interesting.

But I suppose that comes with the era he comes from.

They didn't throw anything away in those days.

George, I'll get Lee to bring his tools in.

Here we go, George.

-Oh, my word!

-Modern-day mixer.

Oh, my word. That is a tool.

I would say mine's the Terminator. Press the button, and away you go.

Yeah.

While many of our pensioners are reluctant to go back to work,

others already want or, indeed, need jobs.

So you actually want a job now? You want to work?

I would. Yes, I would like a job.

A purpose to get up in the morning

and go out and do a job.

I lost my husband, so there are days when I think, right, what today?

You're going to be a waitress for two weeks.

How do you feel about that?

I'm really looking forward to it.

Later, Ruth and two others are joining the team of

waitresses and washer-uppers at one of the town's busiest restaurants.

They may want jobs, but owner Carlo thinks there's no way

they can meet the high standards his 300 discerning customers expect.

I think age will certainly be a factor. My worst fears...

I suppose that they'll slow down the service

and they may make mistakes, forget things.

Ruth's working alongside 70-year-old Sheila.

Yeah, after we've served a bit of food,

we'll get you silver-serving some of the vegetables -

we silver-serve our veg here.

I tend to scoop it on the fork like that.

Have a go.

I want to get two together. Difficult, isn't it?

So excited.

I'm really looking forward to getting going, you know,

and the place, it couldn't be better.

I'll have a go.

Right. Everything?

Yes, please, everything.

Now, I'm struggling with these. Please bear with me.

Just use the spoon. They're terrible.

-Can I give you more?

-Oh, yes, please.

-More potato?

-Yeah, yeah.

Oh, well done.

You can pile it on there!

'I was trying to get that fork in the right place.

'I can't just get it right.'

"Just serve it with the spoon," she said.

I said, "No, I've got to learn!"

After I'd retired, I did feel as though, gosh,

where am I going from here?

Ruth worked as a receptionist before she retired.

I want to work, even though I'm 76. I want to do something.

-How's it going in here?

-Fine.

-All good?

-Yeah.

-Still up to speed?

-Yeah.

Retired manual worker John is working as a kitchen porter.

He's pleased to have the chance of a job, as he needs the money.

Anything we could change?

-More pressure in your jet.

-More pressure in my jet?

That's the first time I've heard that!

He'll be on his feet for long shifts in the heat and steam,

hosing down piles of dirty plates.

-Do you want to give me a hand unloading this van?

-Yeah.

Another one?

No.

-Can you manage that? It's quite heavy, that.

-Yeah.

Oh... Hang on. I haven't got a grip of it.

Oh, my back's starting to break. Trying to kill me!

Now, unfortunately, we'll be going back to a mountain of mess.

It's not too bad. I had a look.

You can either go back and check it out and see what it's like...

-I had a look when they were in.

-Is it all right?

-Not too bad.

-Quick fag, it is.

-Yeah...

-John?

-Yeah?

-You know you said it was all right in there?

-Yeah.

Come and take another look. Getting a bit hectic.

I've begun to worry that some of the jobs

we've placed these old people in are just too hard.

We need to make sure that they can cope.

In a practice that looks after 20,000 people here in Preston,

in your experience, could people really work properly

if the pension age was popped up to 75, even 80 years old?

By the time you're 70, your concentration,

your ability to learn how to use a computer is going to be affected.

From my own point of view, at 68, I get tired, absolutely.

And the thought, actually, of clocking on in a factory or something

at 8:30 in the morning and working until six, I would find impossible.

You know, I'd want to have a little lie down somewhere.

You might be lying down with your P45, in that case.

Yes, that's true. That's very true.

Any employer is going to think very carefully about who is given the job,

dependent not just on age, but fitness as well,

and fitness and age are interrelated,

however you wrap it up.

Next door, it's a tough relearning curve for Sheila.

I think I'll just have to see how it goes.

Literally, everything is computer.

They've got everything that they do actually on the computer.

Everything to do with the patients, the results, tests they have,

tests they need, etc.

And I'm not computer literate, really, at all.

Back at the building site, handling modern technical equipment

is proving tough for the builders too.

Either that's blunt, or I'm weak.

I'm weak.

OK, we'll leave that, and I'll try another one.

72-year-old award-winning electrician Alan is used to being the boss.

He's not used to taking orders from younger workers.

Certainly, if somebody has to give me orders to what to do,

I will be thinking, that doesn't feel quite right.

Alan, I think we'd better stop. You're struggling with that one.

Well, it's blunt, isn't it?

I don't think we've got a blunt drill bit, have we?

With the cutter, feel it through. Don't push on it too hard.

I don't feel you're safe, because we have a duty of care.

Well, listen, I make the judgement and I will risk-assess that.

No, I'll make the judgement. Let's just get one thing right.

Right. Well, OK, we'll stop, then.

Because it's me that's doing it, not you,

and if I feel any danger, any unsafety, we won't do it.

-But it is my site...

-Right.

-..and I will make that final decision.

-Right, right.

I'm not here to be trialled.

I didn't come to be trialled.

I don't feel there's any point in me staying on site any longer.

So, I will call it a day. Thank you very much.

'The task that Alan was given'

wasn't special in any way.

It wasn't set up in any way to make him look foolish.

Now, clearly, that was one aspect of the job that Alan clearly couldn't do.

In the end, Gary comes up with a compromise, and Alan stays on

and agrees to let a younger worker drill the holes for him.

I'm happy with it if he's willing to do the drilling for you.

So I have no problem at all with that.

Our recruits are nearly 40 years older than the average builder on site,

and they have three more days to prove that they can keep up.

It's day two.

Four pensioners are working at this 90-year-old factory,

supplying luxury chocolates to retailers countrywide.

The workers have to sort fillings for chocolate coating,

then pack them into assortment boxes, keeping up with the rolling belts.

Factory floor supervisor Ray

employs up to 50 workers and will soon need more.

But he's never tried the over-60s.

I'm open-minded.

My first thoughts were - no,

there are jobs out there they won't be able to do,

but there are possibly jobs out there they could do.

All we can do is try it

and then you'd be able to evaluate against the targets

that you should be hitting and whether you could hit those targets.

The older workers need to keep up with the line,

but they're already one down.

Irene's missed her first day at work for a medical appointment.

This morning, I'm going to

the hospital to have my eyes checked up,

because there's cataracts.

And if you would look at the bottom of my ear.

Good. OK.

She struggles to make ends meet on a combined state and work pension

of around £200 per week.

'That pays for everything in the house'

and a little bit over

to buy clothes, buy a bit of extra food.

Now she has a week to prove herself to supervisor Ray.

Barbara, who did make it in, is already beginning to enjoy herself.

How old am I?

Yeah.

30.

I mean, it's hardly hard work, is it?

She wants an application form to have a proper job.

Full-time.

She wants to work here full-time.

Barbara misses working and has applied for jobs,

but she's been turned down.

She really wants this one.

Where I worked, I worked with

a lot of people and I sort of felt, hmm, I miss that.

There's a supermarket nearby and they were advertising for staff,

so I thought I'd apply, because I'd done all these jobs in supermarkets.

But I didn't get the job.

Barbara seems to be doing the right speed up the other end.

Just as Barbara's getting the hang of it, disaster strikes.

Oh!

I'm sorry about that.

It was a full tray.

I think I'm going to get sacked.

Well, that's probably cost us 25, £30-worth of ginger,

that obviously has gone on the floor and had to be put into the bin.

That's about two thirds of a day's wage.

For the over-70s, it's a long day.

I'm looking forward to going home.

I didn't expect it to be this hard, no.

Ann, can you use both hands for that?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

Oh, I wonder what I'm having for tea when I get home?

My husband's making it.

Do I get a job here now?

Ask me in a fortnight.

I'm feeling absolutely shattered

and I feel like I just want to get home and have a cup of tea.

And I thought, "Oh, you'll have tea ready when I get in."

Well, if I'd known what time you were coming home...

Yeah.

-What am I having?

-Thai green curry.

I thought so. Yeah. Thai green curry.

It was quite good. We was given our overalls and silly hats.

I nearly got sacked at one stage, but still.

Eating too much?

No, no, you couldn't eat them, no. I quite enjoyed it. I'm doing a different job tomorrow.

It's a new day, and as the builders arrive on site, gale-force winds

and driving snow make conditions appalling.

This might be my last day, I think.

Or it might kill me off.

I reckon if we come on job at 70-odd,

we wouldn't last till we're 73, would we?

This will sort the men from the boys.

-That's right. If you drop down on the job.

-Yeah.

The extreme weather means work on the building site is slowing down,

as the temperature drops to well below zero.

Young man of 25, 30,

I could tolerate this, possibly all day long.

But I found it hard-going today.

It's dreadful. Completely and utterly dreadful.

It'll kill old people off. I don't think they can cope.

I mean, you're all right serving in B&Q, but not on a building site.

Well, it'll be dangerous for everybody, won't it?

Back at the health centre,

Practice Manager Gwen wants to test our retired nurse's medical knowledge.

Sheila practises on one of the regular nurses before she's allowed to treat real patients.

-Do you smoke, Sheila?

-I do.

-You do?

-I do.

Right. How many do you smoke?

About five or six a day.

So, you're more or less a social smoker?

Yes, I am, really, yeah.

Just see if you can stop.

If you can't, just keep it to the five a day.

-Yeah.

-All right?

What about alcohol, Sheila?

Yes, I'm afraid so.

You drink?

Yeah, I'd say a bottle and a half a week.

-A bottle and a half?

-Yeah.

So, perhaps it might be a good idea to cut that down a little bit.

Maybe, you know, one or two glasses at night.

And then at the weekends, you could probably have a little bit more.

What do you drink, actually? Red wine or white wine?

-It's red wine.

-Red wine.

-Yeah.

Actually, it's quite good for you. Yeah, so see how it goes.

-I'll try and change.

-Yeah, yeah.

I want to give you some feedback on how I felt that went.

I think at the moment,

if we brought a patient in,

the advice that you would give them, maybe regarding alcohol,

not be as quite up-to-date as what we would need you to be...

-As what you want it to be, yeah.

-..able to tell them.

It's possibly just been something we've presumed you would be aware of

with your nursing background, but these guidelines change all the time.

As I say, I suppose I was over-sympathetic with

the patient in some respects, if that's the right way of saying it.

I think the next stage for her is going to be to study

the guidelines

as quickly as she can to see if she can absorb that knowledge,

and then we'll look at it again

and see if we can put her with a patient once she's up to scratch with that.

Until then, it's not appropriate for her to be actually doing

a consultation with a patient on her own.

With the weather still terrible, we've come to check on our builders.

-Oh!

-This is beastly.

Hold on tight, Margaret.

Well, Gary, how are they getting on?

I think they're finding the weather a little disturbing this morning.

The cold weather as well. They're doing quite well, actually.

The knowledge is coming out. The skill sets are coming out.

They're doing a full day's work?

They're doing a full day's work, just like the rest of the guys on site are doing, yeah.

They're really getting on with it.

They're lasting the day and lasting the course,

so we'll wait and see at the end of the two weeks just how well they're looking then.

-Well, George, I've been watching you.

-Yes, yes.

How's it doing?

It's not so bad. OK. And I'm quite enjoying it at the moment.

-This is tough work.

-It is tough work.

-This is heavy stuff.

-Very physical, it's very physical.

Yeah. I mean, this is pulling on my shoulder,

and you were filling this, I reckon, probably every minute.

Minute maybe, every minute. Oh, yes.

How many of these would you go through a day?

-Six to eight tubs. Maybe more.

-This is hard work.

It's quite hard work. Maybe ten tubs some days.

-Yeah.

-It's quite hard work.

Are you all right now?

Was it as bad as this yesterday and the day before?

No. Cold yesterday, but not as bad as this.

But apart from the cold, how do you think you're doing?

Reasonable. Reasonable.

Are you enjoying it?

Six o'clock is early in the morning for this young man.

-Is that when you have to get up?

-Yeah, quarter to six.

-It is a bit early, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-When are you on site?

-Eight o'clock.

-Eight o'clock, until...?

-Five.

-Five.

-Long working day.

It is a long working day, yeah.

-Whoa.

-So, how are you coping?

-It's early days yet.

How are the old knees going?

My knees are quite good, really.

And working overhead?

Yeah. I'm managing that as well.

Well, I think I was colder in there than I have ever been,

and how those four men in their 70s were doing a full day's work in there,

I just don't know.

I thought I was in a Russian Gulag.

-No, really! It was impossible, and yet they're doing it.

-Yeah.

And they're doing it from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon.

I said to George, the plasterer, I would prefer to eat my own leg

than to be asked to do this on a permanent basis.

Impossible. And yet, he loves it.

Well, what shocked me was how well the two I spoke to were managing.

I mean, it's a long day, it's a cold day. They were keeping up.

One said he couldn't quite handle some of the heavy aspects of the work,

but he could do everything else.

They were both holding their own with the youngsters,

doing a full day's work. It's incredible.

The builders may be battling the elements...

And Sheila's struggling with modern medicine.

..but perhaps an estate agent's is somewhere the over-70s can succeed.

Two pensioners, Marie and Jim, will need their people skills

to sell and rent houses.

Good morning, Garside Waddingham. Can I help you?

There are 120 properties on the company's books,

and their boss, Kevin, expects staff to close seven or eight deals every week.

A young couple come in and are confronted, you know,

by somebody that looks remarkably their granny, you know.

Is there a natural sort of, what do they know?

I think that it's fair to say that some young people will look at

the older generation as if they're a different species to themselves.

But I think that most people will react favourably to anybody who

provides them with the information they want in a positive way.

Now, down to the nitty-gritty.

We want you to go out

and to show properties to a variety of applicants.

The objective, quite simply, is to win us some business.

So, you'll be going out separately.

We've got two cars lined up for you.

They're both with our company logos on, so they're nice and recognisable.

Both manual cars, so hopefully, that's OK from your side.

Not for me, quite honestly, because I'd rather drive an automatic.

You'd prefer to. OK, that's fine.

-If that's OK?

-You've got your car here.

Marie has a two-bedroom house to let.

The viewers are arriving in ten minutes.

As she's using her own car, she runs into problems,

as there's no map or sat nav.

I have no idea where it is.

I'm just going to try and hopefully follow what I think is the right...

-If you go straight down...

-Yeah.

..through the first set of lights, you'll see a petrol station on your right-hand side.

Well, I now have to go back along Newhall Lane,

find a garage and turn right.

Meanwhile, Jim arrives at his property.

There's no garage at the traffic lights.

We're near the town centre now, aren't we?

Oh, how are you?

You all right? Nice to meet you.

-My name's Jim Hewitt.

-Nice to meet you.

Garside Waddingham. Come in.

I have a copy of the spec, if you just want to walk around with it.

Cheers. Thank you very much.

Completely lost. I should be in that lane.

Hi, Julie. It's Marie.

I've got a bit lost because I've come a different way than what was originally planned.

Where is that from here?

-Thanks very much. Appreciate it.

-Thanks a lot, now.

-Nice to meet you. Thank you.

-And you. Bye-bye.

Viewing over, Jim heads back to the office.

Marie finally finds the property,

but mistakenly drives down a one-way street.

Oh, gosh, are you all together? Hi, I'm Marie.

After keeping everyone waiting for ten minutes,

Marie tries to show them into the house next door.

Oh!

No wonder I couldn't get in number 52.

You've got a mirror in there, which is useful.

Do you want to have a look yourself? Have a look round.

Thank you.

'I don't like being late for an appointment.

'You're on edge'

before you get in there anyway, because of the fact that you're late.

You just have to apologise and hope that they understand,

and they were very understanding.

Give us a ring if you've got anything you need to ask.

OK. That's brilliant. Thank you.

All right. You're welcome. Bye-bye, now.

Oh, that was so embarrassing!

I met them and introduced myself and then directly went to next door

instead of the door I should have gone to!

To be honest, I thought it was a bit unprofessional,

especially when they've got numbers they can ring

and let people know that they're going to be late.

But she was only ten minutes late.

I was more shocked that she come the wrong way down a one-way street.

That's the most disastrous viewing I have ever done.

Marie's had several jobs during her working life,

including a short previous stint as an estate agent.

Nowadays, though, with a husband still at work,

she tries to fill her time with hobbies.

I don't think I wanted to retire, but I just felt that

I couldn't really keep up as well as I did when I was much younger.

The job would make me get up in the morning thinking, right,

you've got to make yourself look presentable to go out and work.

One achievement I want to do next week, it will be to sell a property.

That would be absolutely wonderful.

Factory worker Ann is used to getting up early,

as she takes her grandchildren to school every day.

I miss having my grandchildren

and it's a big part of my life to have them in it.

The fact that I'm going back to work

is going to make things very difficult for my daughter.

She will either have to have some

time off work, or her partner will.

Irene is at work now, after her hospital appointment earlier in the week.

She's working on ginger fillings.

-Are you all right, Irene?

-Yes, yes.

Irene needs to sit down, which is OK,

but the speed does need to improve.

The factory supervisor was one of the few bosses who thought

old workers could be in with a chance.

We've come to find out whether he still feels the same.

Can you do it?

Of course I can! I'm younger than you, you know.

It's like how you do a horse. Put your foot up, come on.

-There we are. See how easy that was?

-Thank you.

Smell that chocolate.

It's busy, isn't it? Very clean.

-How's it doing?

-Not so bad.

You enjoying it?

Yes, it's lovely.

Lovely, is it?

You're having to break strips of mint...

Break them neatly, Ann, I don't want any breakages.

..and then you put them...

Six in a section.

-Yeah. That's quite fiddly work.

-It is.

Yes, I'm doing two at a time.

-How many are you doing at a time?

-Five.

Five?!

And you reckon you could carry on doing this and be happy at it?

I wouldn't like to do it for a long time, though.

I bet you don't normally get up at 6:30, do you?

No, I don't.

Because I take my grandchildren to school.

-You're doing a service to enable your daughter to go to work.

-Yeah.

Who's going to do that when you're working till you're 78?

Well, I speak to loads of grandparents at school, if they're collecting their children,

so there is a lot of us doing it.

-How's it going?

-All right.

-You enjoying it?

-Oh, yes.

-What have you enjoyed most?

-This.

-This one?

-This one.

-And why is that?

I'm sat down all the time. I'm not stretching. Because of my ankle.

-What have you done to your ankle?

-I broke it in three places.

So obviously, walking around is more difficult, then.

-So a sitting job is easiest.

-Yeah.

And how about you, Barbara? How are you getting on?

-Oh, I'm enjoying it. It's great fun.

-Are you?

-Yeah, great fun.

-Great fun?

-Fun.

And do you think this is a suitable place for people in their 70s to work?

-Yes.

-Yes.

Both of you think that?

Yeah.

When I walked into that factory

for the first time,

I thought to myself, an elderly person could work happily in here.

It was chummy, it was sociable.

Well, there did seem to be a general level of optimism that they'd be able to hack it

and keep up and, after a few more days,

you know, they'd be on a par with the rest of the workforce.

Well, what sort of puzzles me, in a way, is that Ann told me

that she takes the kids to school, the grandchildren to school, twice a week and picks them up.

What's going to happen in the future? Who's going to do that?

A lot of younger people, they often expect the grandparents

to work, in effect, full-time, looking after grandchildren...

-Yeah.

-..so that the children can go out to work.

Maybe in the future, the young parents are going to have to

pay their parents to look after their grandchildren.

At the building site, the development is still running behind schedule.

We, as a company, have got a profit margin to maintain,

and these guys have got to show that they can turn the work out

to meet those profit margins.

Can the older workers catch up and finish their jobs on time?

George has one day to plaster the living room.

What we're not sure about at the moment is how fast you can go,

-whether you can keep up to our production standards.

-Oh, right.

We'll leave you alone to get on with it, and we'll come back and see how far you've got.

I'm fairly confident, actually.

Just a question of whether my energy lasts. That's the main thing.

Not knowledge or skill, it's the energy.

But determined, yeah, I'm pretty determined.

Roy has four rooms to plumb.

-So I'll pop back and see you a bit later.

-Very good.

-Cheers, Roy.

-If I've not done a runner!

See you later.

I'm under pressure.

And Alan's task is to wire the reception rooms.

I know we'll make it. Never lose on my team, you know.

Belly pork, pig's cheek, one salmon, sauce separate.

Can I get you something to drink?

As the lunch service gets under way at San Marco, we've come to see

whether our three pensioners can change owner Carlo's mind about older restaurant staff.

Do you want the sweet menu?

Er, no.

I'm going to have vanilla ice cream with walnut and maple.

Walnut and maple, right.

-I'll just have an espresso, please.

-Oh, right.

-Well, she looks pretty good, doesn't she?

-And she's got that wonderful...

charm you find in people of her age.

Well, not everybody has it.

Oh, Nick!

-Is that for me?

-That's a pleasure.

Have I got to eat all this?

-My goodness!

-Enormous!

When we met Ruth a couple of days ago, she was really excited about starting to work

and she struck us as a really warm,

friendly, active person, and that's what she's like here, isn't she?

I think she's great.

Fits in perfectly. Looks right.

Only question, I guess, is,

is she still on her feet at the end of a long day?

And what about the pace behind the scenes?

-So, John, how's it going?

-It's going pretty well.

It's a bit hectic at the moment, because they're busier than yesterday.

This looks like bloody hard work, John.

It looks hard, but really, it's not as hard as some jobs I've done.

Coming back from retirement after years away from work is tough for most of our pensioners.

But at the estate agents, it's personality that matters.

We were worried about Marie's chances earlier in the week,

so has she improved enough on the viewings to make a deal?

Come on, Margaret.

So you've been briefed now. You can answer any question?

I'll try my best.

Right, would you like to come through? This is the living room.

-Quite spacious, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Have you got the brochure?

-No.

-Oh, there you go.

-Thank you.

Right, shall we go on to the kitchen next?

Now, what you see is what you get.

I mean, have you got washing machines, fridges?

Because I don't think they're included.

I think her manner is very nice and I think that's important.

And I think that young couple trusted her.

Why are you moving?

-We live in a shared house.

-Oh, right.

And it's our first place together.

-Oh, nice. Oh, that's lovely. So, you work locally?

-We do, yeah.

Yeah. OK. This is the bedroom.

She engaged very well with those young people.

The negative side of it is that she was a facilitator.

She was showing them round without any attempt to persuade them

this is just the place for them.

Chop that off and you'll have a walk-in wardrobe.

Well, if there's any questions, just ring the office, or you can ask me now, if you want to.

I don't think there's any questions. Have you got any questions?

Will Marie thrive in today's world?

I think she may well be able to,

and I think agents need to make people trust them,

and if they try to sell in too pushy a way, that puts a lot of people off.

To persuade somebody that it's right, and they actually accept what you're saying and do a deal,

is what generates the business

and the income for that company, her company, and pays her wages.

And I thought that, to be quite honest with you,

there was no attempt...

..to seal a deal.

I actually thought that she handled that aspect of it quite well.

But then I hate things being sold to me,

and if somebody tries to push something to me, I won't buy it.

Ruth, our waitress, is determined to convince the restaurant

she's right for the job.

After a long shift, she's practising at home.

Slip out of my hands, actually.

Anyway, as long as I get them in.

It's the final day of the first week of our experiment.

Before they started, the bosses doubted older workers would be able to hack it.

But in the next ten years, nearly half today's over-50s

will have to work into their 70s to make ends meet.

So, do our employers want to keep anyone on, or will they choose

to send our over-70s back into retirement?

To help him decide, factory boss Ray wants to judge how the recruits

are affecting his production quotas.

This morning, we hit 584.

I've got a target for the day and if I'm not reaching my target,

I get a bit of grief.

I'd expect to get 1,000 cases through today,

or 1,000-plus, actually.

Just watch this girl.

If everybody in her team's going at that speed, then I'll get the figures that I need.

On the peppermint crisp packing line, the pace is still slow.

I've put four ladies on packing mint crisp

and, so far, not so good.

I'm not really getting into the swing of it.

Not very good at this, am I? Wait a minute. Just put another in. Right.

People do go at their own speed, but normally, it would be a quicker speed.

Just my ankle, that's all.

I broke it in three places, so I've got arthritis in it now.

-Through falling down a manhole.

-Oh, heck.

Aching all the time.

Can you have a new one?

My regular girls are packing as well,

just to try and keep it going a little bit.

This has been the most frustrating job.

There's more chocolate in this bin than there are in the boxes.

We're wasting product,

which means there might not be enough for the order that it's been made for,

which means someone's got to run that machine, make the chocolate again.

Just more cost all over.

I'm going to go get some more baths.

I feel as though I'm slowing,

so it's giving them twice as much work to do.

And I felt guilty about that.

I watched those girls work and, really, they are like lightning.

But over on strawberry creams, one worker, Barbara,

does seem to have cracked it.

I prefer this than downstairs.

Because downstairs, you're sat on your bum, and my bum aches.

At the start of the week, site manager Gary

had low expectations for our over-70s builders.

Now, let's see whether they finished their tasks on time.

-How we doing, George?

-OK. Not doing so bad.

You've got about 35 minutes left now.

I know, I know. It's close. It's very close.

What's your chances?

Oh. Evens. Possibly.

-Evens?

-Yes, yes.

Provided I don't tire, I'll be OK.

I'll see you in 35 minutes.

No pressure there, then(!)

There's method in making it right on the dot to the last minute,

because if I finish 15 minutes early, you might say, come on, another job for you.

I think you need at least ten minutes cleaning up.

Oh, dear me, we didn't say that when I started. Oh, crikey.

A job's never finished, George, until the place is cleaned up.

-Morning, Al.

-Oh, morning, Gary. How are you?

-How you doing?

-I'm all right.

We'll be finished on this one by lunchtime.

-You think you'll make it, then?

-I know we'll make it.

I'm glad that Alan did stay and he stuck out the week.

He's a great, positive attitude.

I thought he was a little bit down earlier on in the week

after that incident with the drill.

But he's took it on board, he's bit the bullet, he's come back,

and he's sort of proved us all wrong, I think.

I got me own little drill out. Beautiful, that, isn't it?

And you're managing better now with it?

-Oh, three seconds per hole.

-Three seconds a hole.

-Yeah.

-Proves it, then, doesn't it?

-Absolutely, yes.

-Horses for courses.

-Roy!

-Hello!

Have you got a minute, bud?

Yep. I'm coming. Coming.

I think you completed the laundry, the guest suites

and the toilet. So how've you found it?

Because you didn't really use the pipe work, did you?

No, I've never used this sort.

-Plastic.

-Plastic. We've always used copper, you see.

You just get into it, don't you?

Yeah. Well, we're really pleased with what you've done for us. Well done, cracking job.

Yeah. I've enjoyed it. Some good lads on here.

-Can't pull you on the quality whatsoever.

-No, no.

-Are they going to fire me off, or what?

-For nothing else, you're entertainment value.

Yeah, yeah. I thought it might be something like that.

I must admit, I'm pleasantly surprised.

I've been grafting, but it's a new technology for me, and new material.

I think you've done bloody well. Really pleased.

-Oh, thank you.

-Great job.

We're really, really pleased that he's hit the targets

and he's done very, very well.

I can't say no more than that.

Job well done. I always thought I would achieve the target.

At one stage, it was touch and go.

I thought, no, at the end of the day, if I keep pressing on,

knowledge and skills, ability to learn,

I don't think you lose that ever.

Not until you get, you know, really old age.

But it's your physical wellbeing that tends to suffer.

He's performed really, really well, he has.

I think he's put a lot of effort into it.

Whether he could carry on doing it every day would be a different matter.

I don't know. But what he's done so far, he's tremendous.

He's keen, he's eager, and he's a good bloke.

The builders may have regained their boss's confidence,

but what about Sheila at the clinic?

Just take a seat, Mr Flanagan.

Today, she's doing her first patient consultations.

20 are booked into five-minute slots.

We'll check your blood pressure next week.

So, make an appointment for one week.

-OK. All right, will do.

-All right. Lovely to meet you.

-Thank you.

-OK. Take care.

Next, they're letting her do blood tests.

First, she practises on a member of staff.

So I need a brown and a pink tube.

So, Gwen, how has she been doing?

I expected her to be able to do blood tests

and just have to learn our templates for doing the checks.

Put the needle on, but you never pull the first one back.

It's only the second one that you pull back

because the blood's flowing.

Yes, it's coming back a little bit now.

I just hope we've got some good veins, have we, Lorna?

It's going to be hopefully

just a small scratch.

Yeah.

Holding on to it.

-Easy. Just move it slightly.

-Yeah.

She should just flow.

Now, why has she given up?

Just press on there, love.

Well, why has that stopped? Look, it wasn't out, was it?

What went wrong?

I think a lot of it was dexterity with her hands.

I think she knew the techniques, but it was physically very difficult.

Main thing I found difficult, I think,

was the fact that everybody was watching me.

I'm very much out of practice.

Do you think that's age-related in some way?

I do. She has mentioned that she's had a couple of operations on her hand...

-Right.

-..and I think it's limited what she can do.

I've had a carpal tunnel operation on my right hand

and it is a little bit stiff.

Not blaming that, but I think it makes things a little bit

more difficult, because I haven't as much movement in it.

So, in terms of her being a healthcare assistant here,

she can't do the full range of activities that you expect someone to do.

So do you think that, with a bit more time,

Sheila will be able to do all these things?

Personally, I don't.

Sheila might have another opinion.

She might feel that she could hone her skills again.

Gwen is 59 herself, but continuing in work means she's kept up-to-date.

Coming back from retirement means Sheila hasn't been able to keep up.

I really had to come to the conclusion that at 75...

she's past it.

She would never learn.

She would just rely on what she's picked up over the years.

That's not good enough any more. What could she do

if she can't come back and work here as a nurse?

I sort of thought about it and, you know, I don't know.

Ten years from now, 12 million people will have to work well into their 70s.

Because I'm older, I found it a lot more exacting than it was

when I was younger.

I appreciated why they didn't allow me to do any more,

but I've enjoyed it very much.

But at the restaurant, has the owner changed his mind about older workers?

It's the busiest night of the week at San Marco, so the pressure is on.

Tonight is the night. I've been told by Carlos that there are 300 booked.

Oh, I'm shaking.

Can I take your order?

-Deep-fried brie, please.

-Sorry?

The deep-fried brie.

-Deep-fried...?

-Brie.

Brie. Right.

Fettucine...

Table nine is away.

Back in the kitchen, John, who wanted a job for extra cash, has been

on his feet all evening, washing piles of pots, cutlery and plates.

-John, need some main-course plates, please.

-Yeah.

Can you get me some urgently, please?

Be really careful. They're hot.

Call her a doctor!

-Thank you very much. Perfect.

-OK.

What time are we on? Nine o'clock.

We've probably done about 250 people already.

-Ruth, what you doing?

-I am, I really am!

-No!

Sitting down on the job. You can't do that.

-He insisted.

-He insisted? You have to refuse.

-What do you think of her?

-Yeah, she's bang-on. Delightful.

-She's lovely.

She just sort of doesn't look right on a busy evening like this.

She'd be perfect for Saturday afternoon, when my mum comes out.

Yeah. She sticks out a bit, I suppose, because we are a young crowd.

I think she's doing really well,

considering it's a hectic, hectic place to work

and even a lot of the young people that work here really struggle.

I can't believe that she's 75. That's unreal.

I'd be happy to work by her side, if she got a job here.

She's been very good. Nice to chat to,

you can get along with her, as well as work properly with her. She'll do her job straightaway.

John is an absolute legend today.

He's really stepped it up.

He's stepped up to the mark. He's been under pressure.

The plates have been piling up

and he's been coping like someone who's been there for a long time.

He's like a whirlwind.

It's just been great. I seem to have managed it all.

Well, I knew I would get tired because I'm not a late person normally,

but I think you can go to a point and you get over that point.

But, normally, I wouldn't

be up at this time, I'd be in bed, like, two hours ago.

I didn't think Ruth would do as well as she has done.

She's found her confidence.

Everyone speaks highly of her, the staff and the customers.

She's been great. A breath of fresh air.

Well, it's the end of the first week and what have we learnt?

That we've got a bit mixed bag and, frankly, some of them can't hack it.

They're really struggling.

Don't be such a pessimist, Nick. Some of these people are going to succeed.

They want a job and I think they're going to prove they can do it.

Week one, Margaret, only week one.

Let's see who's still standing at the end of next week.

To find out if older workers really have staying power,

our bosses wanted to try the best for a second week.

It's time for them to choose which of the elderly they'll keep on.

At the estate agents, has Kevin been impressed enough to keep on

either of his older workers?

I think Marie, a lot of people said to the staff afterwards

that they were very pleased to be dealt with by yourself.

We just feel that maybe you're slightly more keen to

get into the employment side.

I think maybe I should ask you to stay with us next week

and ask Jim to enjoy his continued retirement.

I've certainly enjoyed doing it for a short while.

In reality, I wouldn't like to do it on a full-time basis, no.

I'm quite emotional about it, quite honestly.

I didn't think I was going to be able to manage it.

I feel a different person, actually.

No-one at the factory has matched the regulars. Will any be kept on?

Sheila, you did go faster today than you did the first day.

Barbara was the fastest of you all and did a good job.

-Ann, we're going to let you go, today.

-That's great!

I've enjoyed it, but, yes, I'm glad to be going. Yes.

I think a week working was long enough for me.

Irene feels she's too tired to continue.

I wanted to work.

I wanted to prove to myself I could do the job,

but my body was starting to tell me I'd done too much.

At the restaurant, have our pensioners done enough to impress the bosses?

-So, Ruth, you did Saturday night service. We did 300 covers on Saturday night.

-That's right.

We thought we'd give you a bit of a test,

-and I think you passed it with flying colours.

-Oh, good.

John, Saturday was the test for me and the way you performed,

it was brilliant.

'It's success. The most reluctant employer is keeping two of his retired staff for another week.'

On the construction site, Gary has been genuinely surprised

by the performance of our retired builders, but does he want them to stay?

Some of us thought you might have struggled a bit, but I'm glad to say you've proved us all wrong.

Unfortunately, we can only keep two of you.

George, the work you've turned out has been second to none.

Roy, we can see that you've got all the skill sets there

and the knowledge.

-It'd be great if you'd come back and stay with us for another week.

-No problem.

You sad to be going home, or are you quite relieved about it, really?

I'm sort of, I'm glad I'm going home. I'll meet the wife again.

Next time, those who are staying

face young competition.

I think an older person would struggle massively.

Do you not think any job might be boring?

Not THAT boring.

How will they compare?

She's doesn't like to be wrong.

I thought he was a bit cocky.

And who will the bosses want to hire?

In my eyes, she's a waste of time.

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