Skyscraper Window Cleaning World's Toughest Jobs

This programme contains strong language

For many young Brits, life has never been more of a struggle.

-There isn't any opportunities.

-They may be broke...

Well, that's my money gone, going on a bet.

I've never been in so much debt in my life.

..stuck in a rut...

What's the point in getting up early?

I haven't got anything to get up early for.

..or just want more...

Two days a week I have to do this, digging shit out of a hole!

..but now...

..they have the chance of escape.

Around the world,

there are manual jobs where young people can strike payday gold.

'There's definitely some good money to be earned.'

'It sort of comes down to the individual'

and how much money do you want to make?

A couple of years ago, I made 100 grand in 36 days.

The catch? They're some of the toughest jobs on the planet.

Ah, covered in cow shit 24/7,

and if they're not shitting on you, they're running at you.

Now, young Brits in need of a cash injection...

I'm not coming home until I have that money.

..are being given the chance to earn the big bucks.

Getting kicked, getting head-butted - mental.

The most brutal job I've ever done in my life.

And it's no good complaining cos we don't give a shit!

And it could change more than just their bank balance.

Who would have thought I'd be doing that ever in my lifetime?

The question is, can they stand the pace?

Why is there guts and shit in here?!

I will shove a fish down his throat.

Or will the punishing world of manual labour...

Argh! Brent!

I can't do it.

SHE RETCHES

I can't handle this. It's hurting me.

..send them screaming back to the UK?

SHE YELPS AND GIGGLES

I just desperately want to go home.

Meet...

Three young Brits desperate to get their lives in order

and make some serious cash.

'When I left the Army, I had about 20 grand saved up -'

no debts, no bills.

Erm, now I'm in about seven grand in debt

and I'm pretty much desperate now.

I do need the money and I need

to provide for my little girl.

'I use a payday loan. I pay it back when I get paid next'

and then I'm back to square one with no money

because I paid the payday loan.

Now I'm going to have to use a payday loan again.

Oh, God, I'm in the... Ah!

I am so stressed out

with my financial situation.

'I owe so much. I've not got work any more,'

so every month I don't get anything.

Now they have the chance to seriously raise their earnings,

if they can handle some seriously high-level grafting.

Skyscraper window cleaning in Canada -

a profession fraught with danger.

The moment you don't feel fear is the moment you're going to mess up,

and you're going to go plummeting into the ground.

On the shores of Lake Ontario lies Canada's commercial capital,

Toronto.

It's a city of windows where daredevils in the sky

risk it all to earn hard cash.

You could fall right off here and die in a second if you're not safe.

Daydreaming, not being focused on the job,

not paying attention to the weather, it may kill you.

When something goes wrong in the air,

you find God and you try not to wet yourself.

'You've got to be a little bit crazy.'

You've got to love your life on the line.

If you love to be in the situations when...

when you make a mistake you die, this is the job for you.

Every year, thousands of Brits land Canadian work visas and head west.

One of the best-paying manual jobs is cleaning skyscrapers.

If you are good at this,

you have the ability to earn 40 to 60 an hour.

You can earn up to 2,000 a week.

The sky's the limit.

The best part about this job would be the money, I'd say, and the view.

Nobody else gets a view like I get every morning.

The industry attracts young rookies every year,

but not everyone can hack it.

After a day's work, OK, there's going to be muscles

that are going to ache on them that they never even knew they had.

Now I'm thinking, like, "What have I got myself into?"

There's plenty of people in the world,

there's no way they can do this job.

What if I pass out? Oh, my God!

What if I fell? What if I dropped?

I won't look down, I'll just keep focusing on the people

and maybe give them a little Beyonce,

a little hand gesture, and they might be, like, "You're so brave."

'I'll take anything, innit?'

Need the cash, don't I?

Dom, Darcie and Stephen have each been offered a job for three weeks.

Starting at the bottom, they could earn up to £400 per week.

Bernard, I'll see you on the other side.

But, armed with one-year Canadian work visas,

the three Brits have the opportunity to extend their stay.

The man they will need to impress is British expat Neal Dance.

The boss of the cleaning company, he has lived in Canada for 25 years.

I'm expecting a lot from these British workers.

The more they work, the more money they make. That's it. Period.

-Hi, there. Darcie?

-Yeah.

-I'm Neal Dance. How are you?

-I'm all right.

-Good to meet you. How was your flight?

If they get to stay, their earnings could climb up to £1,000 per week.

-Hello.

-Who are you?

-I'm Dom.

Nice arms, sir, we're going to put those to work, trust me.

-Thanks.

-As long as they're not for show

and they're good for scrubbing. OK.

-Hi, there.

-Hiya, are you all right?

-Yeah, man, I'm great.

-And your name is?

-Stephen.

-Hi, my name's Ste.

-You all right? I'm Darcie. Hi.

-Pleased to meet you.

-You, too.

-Hello, mate. Dom.

-Nice to meet you.

Is anyone bricking it or is it just me?

I don't think it's hit me yet. It probably will when I'm up there, but not now it hasn't, no.

-Yeah.

-I'm not scared, like, on a plane,

but, like, if it's going up a ladder,

I'm proper, like, I'm going to poo. Like, I'm going to poo my pants.

18-year-old Stephen, from Merseyside,

is no stranger to airports.

He's studying to achieve his life's ambition.

In the future, I want to be a trolley dolly.

This is my favourite bit of my course in cabin crew,

and it's, like, a flight simulator set up, basically.

Hello. You all right? Would you like a tea or coffee?

'Like, seems, like, I just love it.'

Like, I love doing the safety demonstration.

'You can do it sexy as you want, like.'

You can't do it that on the bigger airlines, I bet,

but maybe the low-cost, you might be able to get away with it.

But pursuing his dream has got Stephen in serious debt.

Oh, God!

And now he desperately needs to earn some money.

Oh! Ah! Ooh!

Oh, God.

'I actually need to be able to afford'

my driving lessons and then I'd have to get a car

so I can actually get to the airport

for like three o'clock in the morning.

And then low-cost airlines, they actually make you

pay hundreds of pounds just for like training to be cabin crew.

I'm in debt with college, I'm in debt with, like, phone bills.

I took, like, an overdraft out

and then I owe my mum, like, more than 400.

And, at the moment, my income is zero. Nothing.

'I'm not on benefits or anything, so it's quite difficult.'

I'm living off my mum really.

Would you like any sugar?

With the money he earns in Canada,

Stephen hopes to fuel the next stage of his trolley-dolly dream.

Hi, ladies, would you like a tea or coffee?

But money isn't his only motivation.

Since coming out at 15, things haven't been straightforward

with all members of Stephen's family.

Why would you want to go into a job that's really difficult?

I do feel like I have to prove something to some people,

that I am tough and stuff and not just a flamboyant...

-Wimp.

-..wimp.

'He used to be close to his dad, but since coming out'

he feels that Dad's distanced away from him.

So I think it may be to prove to Dad, as well.

Because all he wants is to be loved, I think, our Ste.

I will prove it, though, like, by doing a manly job.

Now in Toronto, Stephen has the opportunity to show himself,

and others, what he's really made of.

He cries at lifting furniture, so God help him doing windows!

When I saw you, I was, like, "Oh, God, he's a manly man,

"he's going to be, like, get away, Ste."

For the first time, the three Brits get a view of the skyline

which will be their workplace for the next three weeks.

How high are these buildings?

So, on average we're working around 700 to 800 feet.

Oh! OK.

Like, am I actually going to be able to do this, Darcie?

-I'm not Spider-Man.

-See this one here?

Oh, God, look at that. Look at that!

-Oh, my God!

-Oh, for fuck's sake!

Argh!

22-year-old Londoner Darcie had a difficult start in the UK.

It definitely wasn't easy, like, as an immigrant family

living in and out of B&Bs when we first got here.

It was really horrible, cramped, one bedroom.

I remember fighting with my brothers, like, who'd sleep on what side

and kind of things like that.

As they grew up, money was always tight,

and in her teens she started getting into debt.

'When I first took a payday loan out, I was 18.'

Who would give a payday loan to an 18-year-old? Seriously.

Now studying and still paying off her loans, Darcie is stuck at home.

'The only way I could pay off my payday loans'

was to use my student loans.

'That's why I couldn't move out like everybody else did'

when they went to uni and college and things like that,

because I had debts to pay off.

But money isn't the only thing keeping Darcie at home.

I feel like I'm responsible to help my mum,

like with the family around the house, with my brothers.

Darcie's pretty much like the gel

that kind of holds the family together.

She always has been like that.

This will be Darcie's first time away from the family

and her first taste of independence.

I want to learn to take care of myself.

I need to kind of like break free from my family.

I'm still kind of scared, because all I know is being here.

But I guess that's the whole part of growing.

It is... It is a good idea.

This... This will be a great chance, like,

just to push myself over the edge, literally.

For the new recruits, it's straight to work.

Neal wants them to experience what it takes

to be a skyscraper window cleaner.

This is their make-or-break day.

I'm going to be taking 'em up to the 48th floor

of the Bay Wellington Tower.

I'm going to be looking for their reaction,

to see if they're going to go white knuckle on me.

If they can't handle it, that's them done, I don't need 'em.

The three Brits know this job demands a head for heights.

But none of them have ever stepped outside at over 600 feet before.

So come on, then.

So here we are, guys. So you're in a safe position now

and I want you to look over my shoulders, OK?

And what do you see? Windows.

And do you know what we do?

We clean those windows.

Every window represents a dollar.

So, follow me, guys, come on.

I'm going to show you where you guys are going to go in a minute.

-You're hilarious. You're fucking hilarious!

-Can I put my glasses on?

-Your glasses?

-Yeah.

So...I just step over the tracks...

This man is crazy!

-..and I'm on the edge of the building.

-What are you doing?

OK? And I can have a nice experience, being on the edge here,

looking over.

I can look over this way, I can do...

Right, OK.

So, who's going to go first?

Me first.

OK.

OK, come on over. Not a problem. Here we go.

-OK, so...

-Whoa!

This is the city of Toronto. OK, all right.

See the people? Don't they look like regular size, man?

-Eh, like what the hell?

-Yeah.

OK, have a look? Can you reach?

Yeah, come on, you can go further, come on.

Come on. Come on. Come on, you can do it.

So, at some stage of the game,

-you're going to be playing on one of these buildings.

-Wow!

-All right.

-I can't explain that feeling, man.

-No?

-I can't.

I just feel like a fucking...

A load of energy just rushing through my body.

25-year-old Dom has a history of seeking adventure.

'When I was younger,'

I always used to play Army with my mates, with toys, Action Man.

I didn't want to go to college, so I joined the Army at 16.

GUNFIRE

Dom served in Northern Ireland, Belize

and did two tours of Afghanistan.

It's an adrenaline rush.

A lot of us were like we can't wait till our next one.

Everyone's looking forward to first contact.

Pretty much all of us, we enjoyed it.

But after fighting it out with the Taliban

and leaving the Army, Dom moved back in with his mum

and had to take a job selling double glazing.

'It's like going from one extreme to'

something that's just so boring and mundane and just grim.

It's a bit of a come-down, massive come-down.

I could see the difference in him from when he came...

he first came out of the Army. He was quite quiet and quite reserved.

Their policy was you've got four weeks to make at least one sale,

but they got rid of me in three, so I must have been pretty shit!

Now, Dom spends his time on a desperate job hunt.

I've been looking for gym work,

warehouse work, also a bit of labouring, cleaning.

But I thought as a soldier

serving the country you'd get a job straightaway,

with that being on your CV, a lot of people would want to snap you up.

But it doesn't work like that.

The bills are mounting up and he's heavily in debt.

Here's one from Halifax credit card,

4,417. That's my favourite one, yeah.

But Dom doesn't just have to worry about himself.

Faster, faster!

Although he doesn't live with two-year-old Lexi and her mum,

he takes his role as a dad very seriously.

Yeah!

'Not being able to provide for my daughter as I want to

'and as I should be able to, it's quite heartbreaking to me.'

And it's upsetting. Most of all, it's upsetting, yeah.

You can see all the way down to the street level.

Dom has a chance to try a new career and finally make some money.

The biggest reason I need a job is to support my family.

I haven't felt that alive since I was in Afghan,

when I was getting shot at.

-OK.

-Argh! My heart's beating...

Now, it's Darcie's turn.

Take my hand, baby!

Having previously only worked in retail,

she's way out of her comfort zone.

That's it. Go on. The other one. Perfect!

OK. Come on, you can do it.

-Right, lean forward.

-Argh!

See, it wasn't that bad, was it? OK.

-Don't move me too quick, please! Oh, fuck!

-No, come on, you've got lots of room there, look.

-No, no, don't touch the rope!

-Yes, you do.

-Don't touch the rope! Don't fucking touch the rope!

I never touched the rope. Put your foot here, come on. Come on.

-Sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you.

-No, no, you can hold on to me,

if you want. No, it's OK, I can understand.

Despite her nerves, she's keen to get a souvenir.

-Ready?

-You want that selfie, you go for it, bud.

-Cos I'm not going to do this again.

-Oh, you are!

Which leaves Stephen.

I've just had a little prayer.

Little prayer, yeah? It's always good to have a little prayer sometimes.

-DARCIE:

-Ste, you're going to do it.

Let me just pretend I'm doing cabin crew. "Ladies and gentlemen,

"I'm just getting off the aircraft for you and saving all your lives."

-Right.

-NEAL:

-You're good? Okey-dokey.

Spider-Man.

Still connected, remember? We show that you are connected.

-Oh, fucking hell!

-OK. So, all right.

You're all right, bud, you're all right. There you go. Peek over, peek over.

-You can get a little closer, come on. I know, it's...

-I'm shitting my pants!

No, you're not! Come here, come here. All right.

-So now look over the city.

-That was hilarious!

Checked already, you're all good. All right?

Lean into it, lean into it. Look.

-Like I'm doing a pose.

-Yeah, posed!

I've always wanted to be a model.

Bet you they're laughing at me in the offices, aren't they?

Like, "What is he doing?!"

I think they're actually working!

Oh, it is a long way from home.

And it's a long, like, way from, like, ground, as well.

Like...

Oh, fuck.

I don't want a hug!

But the experience has provoked more

than just a fear of heights for Stephen.

I feel, like, oh, I'm just a wimp.

You're not a wimp.

The first question I would ask is who's your judge?

-Who's judging you as a wimp?

-Who do you think?

Like, my uncles, my dad.

Steve, who's here right now calling you a wimp?

-You!

-That's the thing. Listen...

-So you're your own judge right now, buddy.

Don't cry. Don't cry.

Listen, I don't know why you care about what people think so much.

I used to be like that. It didn't get me nowhere.

I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks about me.

They can suck a dick. That's not my problem.

Come. Don't cry. OK?

You're not a wimp.

So don't say that again or else I'll beat you up! Got it?

Cheer up.

'I think they realise that this isn't just a walk in the park.'

And I think Steve is going to be the trouble child

for getting over the edge of the building.

He needs his confidence built up and, erm, you know,

he'll get over it. He has to, else he isn't going to have a job.

From the safety of their hostel,

the new arrivals anticipate the weeks ahead.

'I think Stephen, Dom and me will be able to do the job.'

I don't know, we're all... We've all got different personalities

and we're very strong minded, like in our own way.

'I've been out of work for a while.'

I'm raring to go, I'm ready to go.

I can't wait to get up there.

I'm just feeling too overwhelmed with everything.

Like, I've never felt like this, like, for a long time.

But this is getting me really, like, overwhelmed,

like, seriously.

Did I pack my straighteners?

Yeah.

It's 7am in Toronto and time to get ready for work.

Neal has a team of 60 working on buildings across the city.

The new recruits will be starting with the basics -

learning on the job with Trystan.

And the first task is mastering the tools of the trade.

The fewer movements we make, the easier it is.

One window might seem easy,

but it gets slightly more difficult when there are thousands of them

to clean and you're dangling on a skyscraper.

It's not as easy as it looks.

Not bad for your first attempt with the left.

-Do you think so?

-Yes, I think you have natural talent.

One down, bend, up, down and swipe.

And I can't fucking get rid of that bit again.

I wouldn't be happy if my window cleaner did that to me.

It's now time to tackle the grime outside.

For speed, Trystan needs the new recruits to use both their hands

when they're cleaning.

Left hand for the left window, right hand for the right window.

I can't do left.

You will at the end of this session

be neither left handed nor right handed.

Oh, for goodness' sake!

You're making it a little more complicated than it has to be.

Nice turns.

Oh, seriously, I'm not in the mood, like...

I get frustrated easily.

I just can't do window cleaning, like.

I don't know why I've been...

You sound like you're convincing yourself that you can't do this.

-Cos I know I can't. It's too hard.

-No, it's not too hard.

My left hand doesn't function and I'm not...

It just needs a bit of practice.

Mmm...

The seemingly simple task

has triggered old insecurities for Steve.

HE SOBS

Can't work with men.

They're just...

..intimidating.

I just don't feel comfortable working with, like, other men.

I've just... I've hated it, like, with school, going into sports...

I fucking hate it, like, working with men, like,

getting bullied on catering courses, like, everywhere.

I just don't like working with men.

And I just feel like they're taking the mick out of me

cos I just can't... I'm not practical.

Dom's getting all, like, fucking, "Oh, yeah, you're doing good."

I can't fucking window clean it for shit.

I'm fucking shit, like. I don't like it.

I've never been this emotionally stupid.

Since his father left the family home when he was a baby,

Stephen has gone through tough times

without a close male figure in his life.

I came out to my dad, erm, by text message

and that was, like, a few months later of coming out

to like my mum and my family and my friends

because I felt like he would be, like,

the last one to, like, accept it.

I got a text back saying, "Is this a phase?"

And then, erm, the connection between us started going

and I just don't think...

Well, I personally don't think that he accepts it that much.

And maybe doing a tough job will actually

show him that, actually I'm quite capable,

I'm still, like, a man, I'm still, like, his son.

After work, Neal wants to see how his new recruit has been doing.

Today was the first time you really tried to use a squeegee, right?

-Oh, yeah.

-So what sort of expectations

-did you put on yourself?

-I just thought it would be easier.

Yeah! What did I tell you day one?

I told you day one it looks like it's really easy, right?

But it actually takes some form of skill.

-You're not going to learn that overnight.

-I'm scared if, like, I'm annoying everyone, though,

-like, because I can't do it and they'll just...

-Who gives a fuck who you annoy?

I don't care who you annoy.

Remember, time, practice will get you there, baby.

-It's just doing me head in, cos I know...

-Yeah, yeah, yeah,

but da-da-da-da-da-da! Stop right there.

Right now, you're moving beyond today.

I'm asking you to be patient and I'm asking you to believe in you.

-Right, OK?

-Yeah.

-So don't listen to anybody else.

In fact, don't even listen to you.

Just listen to my instructors and listen to me, right, OK,

and clean a window.

Period. That's it, baby. All right?

Yeah.

Ow!

Over the next few days, Stephen is out with the ground crew.

You've got to put more into it, put more shoulder into it.

My muscles are not used to this.

If I get a tan, though, I'll be fine.

Time is money, bud, you've got to keep going here.

As are Dom and Darcie.

You've got to put your back into it more, Dom. That's it.

That's it.

-Did I do it?

-You did. You did.

Get in!

Doing it here is one thing,

but doing it up in the sky is a whole other ballgame.

Guys, we're going to take a look at the future you.

Now they've mastered cleaning,

Trystan wants them to see what they'll be doing next.

-Right here?

-And we see a set of ropes.

-And we see a person up there.

-Oh, my God! Oh!

-Oh, I can't do that.

-Are you fucking...?

SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

-Oh, my God.

Oh, my God! Oh, my God! She's going to fall.

-Stop! Be careful!

-Oh, my God!

Be careful.

And, at this point, it's just business as usual -

wash a window, squeegee a window.

Ooh, it's hurting my head, looking at her.

Oh, my God, why is she swinging so much?

Oh, she's swinging. Oh, fuck off!

Do you guys think you can do that?

-Yeah.

-No.

Back at their hostel, they have a well-deserved night off.

It feels hard. Wait, tell me how far up.

-Say when.

-There, cos if you go too far up...

-Here?

..it'll hurt. No, Darcie!

-It hurts.

-The vein in your head's starting to come out.

Oh, my God! When does the burning come?

When does the burning come?

After days of unfamiliar hard work, Stephen's body is paying the price.

Darcie! Oh, sorry.

Oh, my God, that, like, seriously...

No, no, no, no, no.

-Ooh!

-Feel better?

-Fucking feel worse, Darcie.

-Oh, fuck off, you ungrateful shit!

Going over the edge of a building for the first time

is the scariest moment for any skyscraper window cleaner.

How are you doing?

And now it's the Brits' turn to take that leap.

Are you all right?

OK, so you're going to go over the wall with Krzysztof today.

-Are you all looking forward to it?

-Yeah.

Good.

I'm going to go first to just get it out of the way.

So you're going to be the first one over the wall?

Well, well done. I like the fact that you jumped to the plate.

The rope, just throw it over the edge.

The bosun's chair is a short wooden plank suspended by ropes.

It takes nerves of steel.

But to make the big money it has to be mastered.

I'm doing the teeth chattering thing. God!

'How am I going to sit in that, like, seriously?'

How am I going to get off the edge? It's scary.

It's, like, I don't want to commit. Like, I don't really want to die.

OK, Stephen.

STEPHEN CHUCKLES

To get into the chair, you need to climb over the edge

and push yourself off the wall to sit down.

-Oh, Krzysztof...

-Go. Go! You're good.

Everything's fine.

But, at over 100 feet in the air, it's a huge challenge.

OK, hold on.

I'm going to stand here, and, just in case, I'll hold you, OK?

-Yeah.

-Go. I got you. You're not falling anywhere. Go.

Stand on your chair. Go, go.

-Yes, I'm on it.

-Good.

-Oh...

Stand on it. Hold the rope.

-You OK?

-Oh, it's moving side to side.

Yeah, a little bit. Now I'm going to sit on my chair and I'll show you.

-I'm shaking.

-Yeah, that's fucking perfect, man.

You've got to slip your legs in and then you've got to sit in it.

-Oh...

-So, look, move your chair off, slip your foot in there.

-Slip your foot...

-Can I just keep hold?

Slip your foot in. Slip your foot in.

-Now the other one. Now the other one.

-Oh, f...

The other one. Slip it in, slip it in.

-There you go.

-Good! Good.

-Argh! Oh, my God!

-Yeah, there you go.

Oh, fuck!

Stephen must guide himself down the building.

Just descend slowly.

Krzysztof has his own way of making new workers learn

that they're safe in the chair.

What was I saying, Darcie?

Oh!

Oh, Krzysztof!

Krzysztof, I nearly fell off the swing then.

-It's all good, man.

-I nearly cried then.

OK.

Oh, you're making me... Right, I'm swinging, look.

So, look, see, now you're comfortable swinging.

Yeah.

Krzysztof's methods might seem extreme...

I'm getting more comfortable.

Quite shocked still that I'm like dangling off a building

on a rope! I'm swinging, like.

Having got to grips with the chair, Stephen returns to earth.

-There you go. You did it, man.

-My bum's gone dead funny.

-I did it.

-You did it.

I just felt like I actually achieved something

that I would never ever, ever, ever, ever do.

He forced himself to do it. No, he's a brave man.

He was terrified and he said, "Fuck it, I'm going to do it."

-And he did it.

-Yeah.

-Great job!

-I'm a brave man.

Talking to the other male trainers, which I'm not used to,

that's really like had a big impact on me.

'And having them there saying,

"You can do this. I'm really proud of you. You've gone so far,"

that's just like a really nice thing,

hearing that from, like, a man.

OK, let's go.

Next up, Dom.

OK, now, just go over the edge,

hang yourself on your very favourite chair.

You're almost there. Yeah, you're almost there, man.

-Where is it?

-Sit on your chair.

-Go on, Dom.

-All right, all right, good.

Right, let me just get... Let me just get used to this.

I'll swing about a bit.

-You good?

-Yeah.

-OK.

The ex-soldier might be used to keeping a calm exterior...

You're doing really good, Dom.

Thank you.

..but Krzysztof needs to push Dom further.

-BLEEP!

-OK!

-Cheers for that, Krzysztof.

-Oh, any time, buddy.

-Yeah?

-All right, all right, all right!

-HE CHUCKLES

-OK!

-BLEEP!

-All right, all right, all right, all right!

-OK?

-OK. Yeah, I'm fine, yeah, yeah.

-We're good.

-STEPHEN:

-Krzysztof, you need to behave!

I think you're a natural on the rope.

-Is it all right to be a bit nervous?

-Yeah, of course, that's normal,

but I think, you know, couple of weeks of practice,

I think you're going to be making good money.

I think you're going to do good.

Now, it's Darcie's turn.

Slide your legs in. Slide them in.

And she gets into position with ease.

There you go. You did it.

Oh, my God, looking down!

Argh! Oh, my God!

I thought I was going to be more nervous than this.

Your hand in between for... Yeah.

But, even with a safety rope attached,

when she starts to descend...

Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! No, no, no, no!

-I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared!

-Everything's fine.

..something changes for Darcie.

The hardest part was going over the edge.

-This is nothing.

-OK.

See? It's perfect.

-SHE SCREAMS

-It's fine. You're doing fine. That's normal.

-Oh, my God! Oh, my God! No!

-You're doing good.

It bounced. It fucking bounced!

You're hanging off the ropes, of course it's going to bounce!

Everything's fine.

(Oh, my God!)

Now they're both over the edge, there's no way back up.

I'm right here, Darcie, I'm right here.

Everything's fine, you're safe.

Oh, why the fuck did I sign up for this?!

You're doing great.

-OK, can we just get down?

-Don't panic.

Just take deep breaths, don't panic, you're doing great.

-You're doing great.

-I don't know,

cos I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.

Still more than 80 feet above ground,

Darcie is now in full meltdown.

-Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

-Everything's fine. OK.

-It's swinging!

-Yeah, of course, that's...

-Oh, my God, no, it's swinging!

-It's like you're on a swing.

My knees are shaking!

OK, we're almost down. We're almost down.

I don't want to do this any more.

-I want to get off.

-You can't, go down.

That is the only way you can get off this is to go down, Darcie.

Inch by inch...

Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

..Krzysztof helps Darcie to lower herself down the rope.

Keep going. Stand up.

You're on earth!

-Oh, my God, I'm so proud of you.

-I'm never doing that again.

I honestly thought that we were going to have to rescue her.

It was insane.

It was, erm, yeah, it was definitely the most scariest rookie I ever had.

So, Darcie, second time's going to be easier.

I'm not doing it again.

Don't give up after first time because it was hard.

I'm not doing it again. I almost had a panic attack.

-I'm not doing it again.

-You did fine, though.

-I cried my fucking eyes out!

Darcie's battled with anxiety since she was young,

but she's had to hide it.

On the outside, I show...

I have to show that I'm strong and tough.

Cos if I show that I'm vulnerable all the time,

people are going to kind of like see it and then take advantage.

And I don't want that.

So my guard will always be up as far as I'm concerned.

Darcie, her mum and brothers struggled as refugees in the UK.

But five years after they arrived,

Darcie's father was finally able to join the family.

When my dad came, it was... It was really fun.

For those first five months he was there,

or should I say those last five months, it was... It was good.

But he passed away on Boxing Day in 2001.

I think we got the call on Christmas night.

Like, I think, like, my mum just...

Yeah, I think the whole street heard her scream.

Darcie felt she had to stay strong to keep her family together.

I have to be tough about it.

But, you know, sometimes when I want to cry, I do kind of cry,

just not around people.

Now she's desperate to be independent and work away from home.

But not being able to handle the chair means her job prospects

could hang in the balance.

I'm not doing the bosun's chair again.

I'm going to speak to Neal

and see what else he can sort out for me.

We'll see if he's got another job

or another way for me to earn money.

Hi, there.

Neal needs to know what's going on with Darcie

and what can be done about it.

I felt like I was OK when I first got over the wall.

-Yeah, yeah.

-But then, like,

the descending and stuff like that, I started to panic.

All righty. Well, listen,

you had the strength to go over the side of the building, right?

-Yeah.

-OK. Do you know what we're going to do, Darcie?

We're going to throw you in the swing stage

and see how that happens, because we've got to get you producing, OK?

Don't discount what you can and can't do right now, OK?

You think about it tonight and then, tomorrow,

-it's a brand-new day and we can start again, OK?

-OK.

-All righty? Are you good with that?

-Yeah.

Righto, man.

It's halfway through their stay in Canada,

and things are set to get tougher for the three Brits.

Before work, Dom finds time to call his daughter.

-Daddy?

-Hello, poppet.

Oh! How are you? You look pretty.

Daddy loves you.

Are you going to blow me a kiss?

It makes my day talking to her.

All three are now heading for different locations

out in the field, working alongside the pros.

How are you doing, man?

Dom will be swinging in a bosun's chair

off a tricky 17-storey building.

He should be shitting himself!

He will be once he gets his ass over the edge!

Stephen is on ground work.

And Neal's given Darcie another chance to show

she can handle heights, working on a swing stage with 25-year-old Brent.

-Hiya.

-Darcie, I'm Brent.

-I'm Darcie. Are you all right?

-Nice to meet you.

-Erm, we're going to be cleaning this building today.

-OK.

Start from the roof, come down.

Lots of work to do, so let's get started.

The swing stage hangs from the roof of a building

attached only by cables.

For safety reasons, workers have to operate in pairs.

Are we going to be swinging a lot?

Just whenever we move, really.

Good? Here, you want to go first, Darcie?

Oh, God!

Oh, my God!

Don't jump!

-Are you OK?

-Yeah, I think so.

-We're going to go down. You ready?

-Yeah.

OK. It's not bad.

It's OK.

-OK! No. No.

-No?

No, it's swinging.

HE LAUGHS

-You want to go back up?

-No, give it a second.

Maybe I just need to adjust.

Concentrate on the fucking windows.

Don't look down.

Don't look down.

But the further the stage moves down,

the more it swings out from the building.

I feel like an old lady!

Oh, God, Brent, you're making the fucking thing shake! Please!

-Hey, do you want to go back up?

-Yeah.

OK. We're going up.

I'm really sorry, Brent.

Darcie's fears have got the better of her again.

Oh! It's swinging. It keeps swinging.

The bosun chair was swinging, that's swinging.

Oh!

She... She's not too comfortable with the swinging of the stage.

Brent calls the office for support.

She had enough.

Without a co-worker, he could lose out on a whole day's pay.

Are you going to get another partner?

I need at least one other person to be on the stage,

just for emergency purposes.

Oh, I'm sorry, I feel shit for you.

No, no, don't. Seriously. If you can't, you can't.

There is only one worker close by who might be able to help...

Hi.

-'..Stephen.'

-Swap over.

-'He's been asked to step in for Darcie.'

I'm going to go, then. I'll leave you two to it, yeah?

-Yeah, you'll like it on the floor. Be good.

-Later.

-See ya.

You'll be good, man.

-Oh!

-You're good.

I should be on that floor right now.

We'll get to the floor in no time, bro, no time.

But Stephen, like Darcie, is a novice on the swing stage.

So... Argh! Brent!

Oh, fuck, that's made me... Oh...

You're good, buddy.

Oh-h-h!

Cheeky... Oh, this... Oh!

I feel, like, all right, actually.

It's a bit, erm, when it moves, but, to be honest,

I've just got this thing in my mind today

where I just have to get the job done.

200 feet from the ground,

Stephen has 20 storeys of windows to clean.

Just getting used to the swinging.

This is just like severe turbulence on a plane.

I'm used to, like... I need to be able to do this

for cabin crew, like, as a flight attendant.

I'd never go on an aeroplane, I've never been on an aeroplane,

-I'm terrified of 'em.

-See, Brent,

I could help you to feel comfortable on the aeroplane.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there's a lot of turbulence on board today.

"Please stay calm, breathe and relax, I've got it all sorted."

Brent will get paid today after all,

and Stephen will get paid 5.50 an hour extra for working high rise.

Yeah, that's scary shit,

but I'm just going to focus on my reflection - my beautiful face!

BRENT LAUGHS

'Steve helped me out big time, you know?'

It was awesome, it was good of him,

cos otherwise I'd be sitting at home not doing anything, so he did good.

Say when you're ready. You good?

'I think I did quite well today.'

People back home, they'd look at me and they'd be, like,

"Is that you, Ste?" They'll actually have to blink or something

because they'll be, like, "Ste doing this? Like, come on!

"Like, are you being serious?" Me, doing this.

Across town, Dom has been tasked

with cleaning the 17-storey Metro Centre on the bosun's chair.

It's a notoriously tricky building to handle.

There's some buildings out there that, still, once you...

When you get over the wall, you get a little chill up the ass

and this building's one of them, yeah, sometimes.

Fucking hell!

After getting over the top a first time,

there's a difficult second ledge to negotiate.

Oh, fucking hell, boy!

Oh, man!

It's fucking scary, boy.

Dom's now experienced enough to descend solo.

I don't think it'll ever get boring for me,

cos, erm...

even though I'm scared, it's still exciting!

Even though I'm fucking shitting myself, it's still exciting.

Even though these ropes sound like they're going to fucking snap,

it's still exciting!

I feel happy. I feel happy doing this.

And it's been a long time since I've felt happy doing a job.

It's been three years since Dom left the Army.

Pretty much saw a lot, yeah.

People getting blown up and shot.

That's what happens in war. I mean...

people get killed, don't they, in war.

Since then, he's struggled adjusting to civilian life.

'I couldn't stay in a normal job for long.

'I could probably do it for a few months.'

It sort of eats you up and then you just think, "Why am I here?"

It's, erm... It's probably, erm...

Understand it a bit better if you've been through the same sort of thing.

Hello, Neal, how you doing?

Neal also served in the British Army.

Dom wants to talk to him about how to move on.

When I got out of the military, I felt totally lost

and not able to fit in to England. I could not live in the UK.

And it was that experience of being...

I felt totally rejected by the UK at that time.

I felt the same, really.

When I left the Army I sort of felt a bit lost, didn't know what to do.

It's up to you to get yourself together.

And that's it, man, but use what they gave you.

What did they give you?

They gave you discipline, they gave you a way of organising stuff,

right, OK, and a mind-set to get forward.

So they gave you something.

You just have to take what they gave you from that setting

and apply it to this setting, right, for you.

You give me 100%, I give you 100%, OK.

So I'm more than willing to get you into a space where you can be

established here and you can feel comfortable and go to work.

And then I leave it into your hands.

I will just give you the opportunity,

then it's up to you, right.

And if you ever need a talk, I'm gonna be there, man.

Neal's offer of a permanent position, with potential to earn

up to £1,000 a week, leaves Dom with a dilemma -

to go home to his daughter or stay in Canada and send money home.

I think I could potentially earn a lot of money here

and to be able to provide for my little girl and...

he's given me a big opportunity here, so...

And he's helped me get a lot of things off my chest as well,

personal issues as well.

So it's not just work-based he's, er, helped me out with,

it's other stuff.

Before Dom has to make that decision,

there's still a week of work ahead.

Stephen and Darcie don't yet know if they'll be offered longer contracts.

You guys are pretty cool, so.

You wouldn't think that someone like me

would get along with Dom, and vice versa,

then all of us getting along together.

When I saw you I was like, "Oh, she's going to be loud,

-"isn't she, she's..."

-GASPS: Did you?

All the way through this, you've been saying "I can't do this,

"I can't do that", but you actually get on with it.

-Yeah.

-And you actually do it.

You underestimate yourself way too much, like, you really do.

People at home would say to me, "Oh, yeah,

"you can't do anything like that."

It seems like you care too much about what people think,

but that's not the case.

You want to show others you're capable of doing this

-kind of stuff without caring about what they think.

-Yeah.

-The amount of time we've been here, you've done well, mate.

-Yeah.

Considering you've been putting yourself down

at the same time whilst doing it!

Back at the hostel, Stephen is thinking about life

when he does return home.

I'm just writing, like, a letter to my dad.

It's going to be difficult cos this is like the first time I've ever

told him how I'm feeling about not seeing him and stuff.

So it's going to be quite...

It's going to be quite hard.

But I need to tell him, cos this is what I've been thinking quite a lot.

"Hi, Dad, you're probably wondering why I'm sending you a letter.

"I'm currently in Canada working as a window cleaner.

"Being here has made me think a lot about how I want our

"relationship to be close and a proper dad-and-son relationship.

"I feel like we have distanced away from each other since being young."

HE SNIFFS

"And it has had a big impact on me as I've got older.

"I've found it hard to actually say this to you.

"I just feel like I've not been able to talk to you.

"And maybe I don't know if that's why one of the reasons that I feel

"so intimidated around men,

"because I never had the father figure around me."

Like, I still love him. I love him loads.

Love my dad.

After more than three weeks in the job, it's time to get paid.

Hey, guys, how are you?

Hiya.

-Good to see you again, bud.

-All right, how are you?

Oh, I'm great.

So, it's, er, the final paycheque today for you guys, eh?

So I've got the money on me, so, er, let's go for it right now.

Who do I have first? Darcie.

-All right, and there we go.

-Thank you very much.

Thank you.

They've each made between 990 and £1,100.

Oh, shit! OK.

Oh, wow, that's a lot, isn't it? Oh, thank you.

Yeah, it's a good start, yeah. I think it's a very good start.

It's a fucking good start.

So first of all, guys, just thank you for making the effort,

really appreciate it, and like I said, the door is open

for you to come back and hopefully I'll see you again soon.

Neal's been impressed and has given all three of them

the option to stay on.

See you later.

-I got money!

-I can pay my bills!

-OK.

-Yeah.

Dom would have the most to sacrifice.

It's been an emotional decision

because it's quite heartbreaking to miss out on a lot.

She's my...my only little girl.

Um...

I'm going to miss, miss, miss her, miss her little face,

miss cuddling her.

I think I've come to a decision. I'm going to stay here.

Poppet.

-Yeah.

-Ha-ha.

You're seeing Nanny on Monday, aren't you?

I'm not going to be there.

Daddy's going to be staying here for a bit.

I'm not going to see you for a while,

but when I come back, we'll have a good time, yeah?

Yeah?

Blow me a kiss. Mwah.

Bye-bye, Lexi.

Love you.

It is a bit, er, upsetting.

However... I think I'll be able to make a better future for her

if I stay here for a little while.

But Dom's not the only one who's decided to stay.

After her traumas in the air,

Darcie's found success working in a team on the ground.

I'm going to be working here for another couple of months,

so, I guess that's how much I like the job now -

in your face, three-weeks-ago Darcie.

You missed a little spot there. There you go.

Everybody I've met so far on this trip has definitely helped me

and like pushed me further into becoming independent.

Having anxiety, I'm always around people,

cos I always depended on people.

Now...

I think I can step into the real world safely and say,

"Hey, I can make it on my own."

Dom is thriving working in the bosun's chair.

Today, he's on the 53-storey Canada Trust Tower.

It's a little bit high, yeah.

Everything's back on track now.

I mean, um, the future looks a lot more positive than what it did.

Ooh!

However, yeah, I'm not going to be with my little girl as much,

but...she's got a good mum looking after her.

Oh, I'm sure I'll look back in time and I'll say, yeah,

I made the right decision.

Yeah, well, this is going to be my workplace for the next few months.

It's quite...

It's quite breathtaking, actually.

I still can't believe I'm here.

But given this, given this opportunity means a lot to me,

it means a lot, so much.

I think this job is, um, this job's for me, it's for me.

Stephen has decided to go home and complete his cabin crew course.

But before leaving, he has one more job -

on the monumental 72-storey Scotia Plaza.

-Hello, Stephen.

-Hello, nice to meet you.

-I'm John.

-Oh, nice to meet you.

John is a veteran window cleaner

and they'll be working 900 feet above street level.

I'm feeling really confident, to be honest.

Yeah, you just have to do it, don't you?

I like it.

I'm dead proud of myself, I really am.

It's like a huge accomplishment, like, in my life.

I fucking nailed it... Like, come on, let's be honest, I nailed it.

And Stephen's enjoyed his day with a new workmate.

Like, when I came here three weeks ago I'd find a guy like John

really intimidating, I'd be dead scared to approach him and stuff.

And now, like...

I don't feel like that, I don't feel intimidated.

You held your own out there.

We went all the way into the boom, you didn't... you didn't panic,

you didn't whimper, you didn't cry, you took it.

-Thank you so much.

-You did a great job.

-Thank you. Means a lot.

-Thank you. You did the work.

Feel dead confident, feel like I can be me.

Don't have to act, like, manly, so, yeah, feel dead good, yeah.

Two months later, back home in Merseyside,

things have changed for Stephen.

Since coming back I'm up-to-date with all my bills, I'm really happy

cos I've got no stress now and I'm just...

ah, it's a relief.

And the letter he wrote from Toronto has had an impact.

So I got a text from my dad and it said, "I'm proud of you, son,

"see you soon, love, Dad."

We met up about a week later and we just started talking

about general stuff, about me having a job and everything like that,

it was just a general conversation what, like, a dad and a son do.

And it felt really good. From now it's a good, positive step.

So I'm not looking back, I'm moving forward.

There's a light in the tunnel and I'm going to aim for that light.

Next time, cattle ranching in Australia.

Ooohh!

But will our Brits have a beef...

This is roaring good fun. A lot of adrenaline.

They're unpredictable.

Oh...

..with one of the world's toughest jobs?

Fuck off!

I'm sweating, I'm so scared.