Is My Job Killing Me?

Straight up with those arms...

Tara Hammett is a fitness instructor from Swansea.

When her husband, Justin,

swapped a job digging the roads

for a job in the offices of the DVLA,

Tara noticed a change.

Within a couple of weeks,

we noticed that he wasn't feeling as fit as he used to,

and not as strong as he was.

His fitness was deteriorating.

If Justin could change in weeks,

what happens to people when they sit down to work for decades?

Tara resolved to find out

and change things for the better.

Look at all those cakeys!

What she did was challenging...

terrifying...

and sometimes confusing.

-All right, babes?

-Mm-hm.

Shock to the system.

It shook the lives of all those it touched

and challenged offices everywhere

to rethink the way we work.

The government office of the DVLA

is based in a 16-storey block in Swansea.

It's dominated the city skyline for 40 years

and today employs some 5,000 local people.

To find out if any of them share her husband Justin's experience,

Tara has permission to meet

some of the people who work inside.

Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions

whilst you're busy working away there?

I'm just wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions today.

-Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?

-No, that's fine.

Excellent.

-You're sitting down, I'd say, 95% of the time.

-Oh, my gosh.

I've been doing this job now for 13 years,

and the result is lots of weight put on and stuff like that.

I have no motivation to do anything when I get home.

I've only been here this month so far, it's a new job.

But I'm finding myself becoming lazier.

Four out of five of us now work at desks jobs,

and studies reveal that inactivity

in work can quickly lead to inactivity at home.

I've been here a couple of hours chatting with people.

It's like some kind of infectious sedentary disease.

I hope I'm resistant to it!

-I think it's about time I got up and did something, to be honest!

-Yeah.

I'm going to have a think about it.

Tara is scratching the surface

of an issue that is sweeping Western society.

Hi, I'm just going to come down the Dragon now.

50 years ago, it was discovered that people who sit down all day

are much more likely to live shorter lives than people who move around.

Since then, we have been increasingly sitting down to work,

getting bigger and dying earlier.

Tara wants to see if she can help

and wants to test her ideas on a team drawn from across the DVLA.

Definitely.

Definitely going to be working with this one.

She's definitely in.

Yeah, that'll be fab.

Having made her choice,

Tara's ready to meet her team for the first time.

Morning, guys. How are you all feeling? All right?

First of all I just want to say a big massive thank you

for all agreeing to take part in this experiment.

First things first, we're going on the bus.

I want to check you all out.

Life's changing now!

Before Tara begins in earnest,

she's taking her team to Gower College

for a full health check.

All right, OK, jump on, then.

Tracy Phillips is a self-confessed sugar addict

who avoids exercise at all costs.

They're very accurate, these.

Kirsty Evans joined the DVLA a month ago

but has already putting on a stone.

Ashleigh Williams has a secret

that means he won't up his heart rate.

Rob Hudson is embarrassed to be outrun by his daughter.

184.5.

Jackie Francis is a serial dieter who wants to stop bouncing back.

And Carole Hughes put on so much weight sitting still

that her knees crumbled.

168 and a half.

Tara's first discovery

is that her team share their experiences and issues

with people from right across the country.

I think, in Wales, they're typical of people

who work in offices,

remembering that we are one of the fattest nations on earth.

It's a fact that's now hitting us hard.

It's the biggest cause of death, obesity, in this country.

It can cause heart disease.

It can cause cancer.

It is causing an epidemic of type 2 diabetes.

It is a huge problem that needs to be addressed

and it's getting worse.

Tara has asked her team to bring a packed lunch

to get them through the afternoon,

but she's surprised by what is produced.

Strawberry-flavoured cereal. Would you like some?

This pot will probably last about two days,

-and I'll just graze at it throughout the week.

-And is this for afters?

-Yeah.

-Very interesting again. That's another first for me.

Some jelly jots and now strawberry cereal shapes.

18-stone Tracy has been processing driving licences

for the agency for six years.

In that time, she's put on four and a half stone.

After just a few minutes,

Tracy drops out of the afternoon's first test.

Deep breathing. You're doing fab.

That's good. Catch your breath back.

That's it. No, you did amazing. Well done. Big, deep breathing.

That's it. Good job.

That's it. Your breathing's come down loads and loads. You're doing fab.

OK?

I always feel as if people are staring at me.

I always feel as if somebody's whispering.

Kind of, "Look at her,

"look at what she's wearing,

"she's too big to be wearing something like that."

-INTERVIEWER:

-How much exercise do you do now?

Honestly? I walk to and from the car

from the office, and that's about it.

The tests show that inactivity and poor diet

have resulted in every member of the team

being heavier and less fit than they should be.

The real surprise is for the DVLA's new recruit, Kirsty Evans.

There's 26% body fat,

which is not obese, but it is more than the average

for women, more than you should be.

'With young women, sometimes they can look in good shape,

'but when you actually test them,'

what we find is there's very little muscle there,

and what you're seeing is all fat.

The calculation takes into account the visceral fat,

which is around your organs, inside your body.

It's much more detrimental to your health, and that you can't see

from the outside.

The whole team are in shock. Everyone's like,

"You're the smallest person on the team. How can you be overweight?"

But if that's what they say, that's what they say, isn't it?

She looks lovely, but she's not of a healthy body.

If she's not careful,

if she sits down at the desk in DVLA for the next 20 years,

things could get out of control.

Though the toughest news of all is kept for Tracy.

Anything over 35, 40,

would be clinically obese.

Your BMI came out as 48.

That means there's a high propensity for certain diseases,

especially cardiac, heart disease.

It's classified as morbidly obese, because it is likely

-that you will cut your life shorter than it should be...

-Yeah.

..by the fact that you carry it. OK?

You've made probably the hardest step.

-One month with Tara, and you'll be on the road to recovery. OK?

-Yes.

But then you've got to keep it going.

-You've got to keep it going for ever.

-Mm-hm.

-All right?

-Yes.

-So I hope you understand. And you will do it.

-Yes.

Until recently, Swansea was characterised

by the physically demanding jobs of heavy industry.

It's been estimated that someone working with steel,

tin or core would have been using 350 calories every hour.

As those traditional industries declined,

a new kind of work began to appear,

spearheaded by a major arrival in Swansea in the early '70s.

-NEWSREADER:

-The system for licensing drivers and vehicles in Britain

has been changed, and most of the work transferred

to one single central location.

These girls have found themselves a new job.

They work in the Department of the Environment's

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre in Swansea.

Built specially to issue licences for every driver and vehicle

in Britain,

it's a place crammed full of up-to-date methods and ideas.

While traditional industries demand 350 calories per hour,

office work needs less than 100.

The rise of the office has helped to make us

the least active generation that there has ever been

and contributes to the expanding waistline of the nation.

When I started working here,

that's when it started gaining.

I lost a lot of weight

where I worked before.

It was a physical job.

But here it's just a gradual thing.

You don't really notice it going on until all of a sudden,

you're like, "Whoa," you know?

One doctor has recently said

that Wales is now hurtling into an ill health tsunami.

OK, so, nice and high with those knees...

Tara is setting up the barricades.

She wants to reboot her inactive team by getting activity

into every working day.

Five, four, three, two...

She's arranged a month-long programme of lunchtime events

and is starting with a short, sharp work out.

Flipping 'eck, man, I'm going to have to give some punishments, ain't I?

It comes as a shock to the team, especially Tracy,

who has always struggled with exercise.

All right, Trace?

How was that? OK? Are you all right?

OK, and relax.

'I tried to do a 10K walk last year,

'which was a disaster.'

When I was telling people about it, it was like, "You, seriously?

"You're going to do that? It's never going to happen."

Because you're the overweight girl,

you're not going to be able to do it.

I didn't actually complete it. They were right.

I did only manage to do about 2K

before it was just too much.

Later that evening,

Tara calls to see Tracy at home.

-Hello, Tracy.

-Hello.

-I've come for a chat.

-Do you think it's time for a chat?

-Yeah, certainly. Come on in.

Let's do it. Oh, wow, look at this here. You've got a treadmill.

How long's that been there for?

About a year, coming up to.

-Doing a good job of holding your clothes up.

-Yes, awesome job.

-Come through.

-Fab.

-We know that your diet is not the best.

-Yes.

All the things that you are eating

-and what you've been choosing is around. Just get everything out.

-OK.

See all the cupboards here?

-Obviously filled with Jaffa Cakes.

-OK.

Biscuit cupboards. Lots of chocolate biscuits.

-Yes. Oh, my gosh!

-This is my snack drawer.

-Oh, my goodness! How deep is this thing?

-Fairly deep.

To be fair, those are Ian's for work.

Do you get tempted by these?

Sometimes. More tempted by those.

Hi, Ian. Come out.

-I've been raiding the cupboards here.

-OK.

And your name comes up quite a lot.

In all honesty, Ian does everything.

I am the pampered princess who sits on the sofa, reads her books

-and watches TV with the dog.

-OK.

I don't do anything.

Ian does the cooking. He does the shopping. He does the washing up.

He does the laundry. He does the ironing.

He takes the dog out for a walk. He does the cleaning.

He does everything.

Do you think you're doing Tracy any favours by actually agreeing

-to do it all?

-Probably not, no. But it's easier.

So how about, then, changing the relationship

here between you two?

And do you think it would be a doable thing

that you did a little bit less and you did a little bit more?

-We could do that.

-Yeah. Can do that.

This draw here needs to be eliminated.

-OK. I can lock it in a safe.

-Or put it up high.

You know me, I won't climb up high for it.

Maybe if we could put it up really high, if you've got to have it.

Yeah, cool.

And I think, when it comes to the meals,

you're going to cook more, you're going to cook less.

But support and make sure that everything you're surrounded by

is going to support your health goals.

-BOTH:

-Yep. Shake on it?

-Woo hoo.

How did it get this way?

Do you know what, I really do don't know.

I've always had issues with food.

The larger I got, the less I started doing around the house.

I suppose I've used it as an excuse, then,

to not do anything, because I'm safer

if I just sit in my corner and hibernate.

-You used to be slim?

-Yes.

When Ian and I met, I was a size 10.

When we got married, I was a size 14-16.

Now I'm a size 24.

We do need to change.

This is going to be a huge culture shock between us

and a really big change.

Who knows, I might go back to the girl he met,

which would be nice, be thin again.

For many of us, like Tracy,

snacking is a key part of office life.

One survey reported that 80% of women working in offices

snack throughout the working day.

Something that Tara's entire team have fallen into in style.

Everybody's picking at something. A packet of crisps.

-Bag of sweets.

-Chocolate, crisps.

Biscuits, dunk in your coffee.

When you have one, you think, well, just have one more,

and then one more ends up,

"Who's eaten all those?"

Biscuits, snacking on chocolate and sweets.

Tara has asked her team to produce everything they might eat

in an average day,

and is presented with an avalanche of processed food.

Cookies, chocolate, chocolate,

cupcakes, chips, sausages,

garlic bread, full-fat Coke,

coffee, coffee, coffee, sugar.

Thinking I'm on a diet!

Chocolate, cakes... What meal is this one?

-That's like work lunch. It's just convenient.

-OK.

-Where do you get that from?

-The canteen.

Grazing, grazing, ice cream, white bread, dippers, chips,

chocolate, chocolate, full fat and sugar.

Perfect day!

No wonder they feel like they can't be bothered.

So, time to get them onto some real ingredients now.

Back at her house,

Tara wastes no time in posting fresh food recipes.

Now all she needs to do is persuade her team to use them.

Right, guys, you are eating nothing but crap.

Junk, processed rubbish.

It's not food, it's edible stuff.

Now you've got a whole host of recipes that I've given you all.

What I do not want to see now

is anybody going back to all that processed malarkey, OK?

So no sweets or chocolate or biscuits

or crisps or ice cream or any of that nonsense.

Are we up for it?

-ALL:

-Yes.

-Yeah? Thank you.

-Are you up for it, Kirsty?

-I am.

-No more chocolate cookies.

-No.

Tara's recipe strip out everything that isn't on her tick list

of good food.

The results can be unconventional.

Tara wants the team to be the first

to try her latest creation.

Come in, guys.

Shoes off, yes.

Yum. Yeah.

-Deelish.

-What's the name again?

So it's Greek yoghurt with real peanut butter.

Let's be positive and think,

"I'm going to try this and I'm going to love it."

-That's horrible.

-It's deelish.

I don't like fruit. I don't like veg. I don't like a lot of meat.

I don't like trying new foods.

-Just bite it.

-No, no.

-It just smells green.

-It smells green!

It's edible. Not as good as chocolate.

Tara wants me to eat a lot of salad,

and I'm not really a salad eater.

I'll eat vegetables, but I usually try to eat them first

to get them out of the way.

I'm trying vegetables. That's a good start, isn't it?

All righty, guys,

pizza's coming out of the oven.

This is amazing. Fab.

Tonight Tara has made pizza

but has abandoned dough in favour of a base

made up of crushed and mushed-up cauliflower.

Oh, my God!

'Please don't take offence at this if you're watching, Tara.'

I do think you're a bit of a nut job. You're just so...

"Everything is so yum and awesome and amazing!"

And it's really not.

It's about being a little bit more experimental

and thinking a little bit more about using different ingredients

to make something like a pizza or whatever.

I just can't cope with it.

It's just too much, too soon.

I'm really craving chocolate.

I want chocolate so bad.

Tara is beginning to realise the scale of the task

she's taken on,

and the gulf between her lifestyle and those of her team.

While the group from the DVLA give little thought

to diet and exercise,

Tara thinks of little else.

Exercise and nutrition and well-being.

It is my life.

That's the first thing that I'm thinking about

when I get up in the morning.

I can't believe that people don't think about it,

never think about it.

Very often, my exercise can be any time between 5.30 in the morning

and 8am.

That probably sounds a bit crazy to people, but I love it.

While Tara gets up early to get moving,

one of her team, Carole Hughes,

is so out of the habit of moving

that she's resisted it almost completely.

I've had two knee replacements,

so I am registered disabled,

because I do have problems getting about.

I can park on double yellow lines.

I don't know how long for. I park there for ages.

I just stick the badge in and I'm OK.

While Carole may enjoy the privileges a blue badge brings,

Tara has noticed that she isn't completely incapable of movement.

-Seriously...

-That's OK, no worries.

If you just go side to side, like we did in the first one,

but only go down to your level, OK?

-But it will be good to see in the future that you'll get better.

-Yes.

Good job.

Carole really does believe that she can't do anything,

but I really believe that she can,

so I am going to prove to her now, that she is totally wrong

and I am totally right, and she can do things.

Tara has arranged a surprise outing for the team.

-You all right?

-Hey, come here.

-Bit quicker.

-She hopes it will stop Carole from seeing herself

as someone who cannot be active.

The Cardiff International White Water Centre

will be hosting the Canoe Slalom World Cup.

THEY GASP

Top athletes are travelling from across the world

to ride the 250m rapid

and dodge the obstacles on a high- intensity race of speed and skill.

No, no, no!

I thought, "I'm going to have a diva strop here or a tantrum."

I'll watch! I'll watch!

In a way, I wanted to have a panic attack and walk away,

but another bit of me was saying, "Come on, give it a go."

-Wow!

-How do think you will do?

I don't know yet until it's filled up with water.

I want to see it filled up with water.

I know that all my mates at work are expecting this of me.

I thought, "They'll just take the mickey for ever and ever,"

and my kids as well, I will never live it down.

My daughter has always been the active one,

-and I always thought, "I will watch."

-Yeah.

Carole is quite scared at the moment.

It would be nice for her not to be a spectator like she's told us,

and she will get stuck in, so we will see how it goes with her.

Fingers crossed. The others are excited.

-Carole will be the one to watch on this one.

-Oh, my God!

I'm just scared looking at the water.

-Is that better?

-Yeah.

Yeah, you should have had a camera in the changing room.

It took two of them to dress me in the wetsuit.

I thought they were bigger than that!

..my kids...

You can do it.

Can I get out now?

I don't like this.

-I'm going to be out of this.

-You'll be fine.

-Just hang onto me.

Oh, I can't do it. Oh!

I was like, "Here we go, you're going to do this, Carole."

You know you see on the films when they come to edge of a waterfall,

and you're like, "Oh, my God!"

White-water rafting uses up to 350 calories per hour,

the same number that people once used every hour of the working day.

First, we went over that first bit of rapid,

and then it was, "Come on," and there was a sploosh of water over our face.

Come on, let's do it, it was brilliant.

It was exhilarating, it was scary, but it was exciting.

It was just a whole range of emotions,

you knew you were going down that dip and the water's going to come

and the boat would go from side to side, and that's scary.

I was like, "Come on, let's do it, let's do it, let's do it!."

I was really, really excited, it was so much fun.

SHOUTING

Maybe they have watched things like this and thought,

"I would like to do that, but it is not for me,

"I'm not one of those people," and now they are realising

they ARE those people, they CAN be getting stuck into things.

SCREAMING

That was amazing, and I never in a million years thought

I would be doing something like that.

It was so much fun,

and the adrenaline is still pumping now, to be honest.

I'm shaking with it, it was absolutely amazing.

While people in the past used up energy just living,

we've eliminated that effort from our lives.

Tara's job is getting it back in.

And knees up. OK, faster. Up, up, up, up.

Rob Hudson was once a rugby-playing Navy man

and knows what it is like to do hard physical work.

But now, in the DVLA call centre,

his weight has almost reached 20 stone.

And Rob has a very personal reason to have joined Tara's experiment.

I've got a little daughter, who is four,

and she'd like me to chase the dog around the garden,

but it's easier to pretend to fall over and miss the dog,

than have to run round like a headless chicken, because

a couple of minutes, and I am already out of breath or panting.

I had an experience, just over two years ago,

where I lost a second child that my wife was going to be having.

The memory of him, obviously, it is a big part of my life

and a big part of our family's life,

but I would like him to be proud of the dad he would have had.

While Rob's personal circumstance means he throws himself

into Tara's sessions, that is not the case for everyone in the group.

Come on, Ashleigh. Go, go, go!

You did not come here for an easy session. Ashleigh.

I didn't say hip extensions.

Push the dumbbells up in the air, guys, six, five...

Ashleigh Williams is 28

and should be one of the most active members of the team,

but Tara feels there is something holding him back.

Ashleigh, come on, get back in the room. No escaping!

It does feel as if she is on my back more than anyone else's.

You can feel like you're a horse being rode around the place.

Like, "Come on, do it, get back in!"

"Ashleigh!" every time I turn my back.

Ashleigh, and deep and press, get those muscles working hard now.

-Come on.

-Sometimes I feel like telling her to shove it.

-Hello, Ash.

-Hi, are you OK?

-Yeah, you?

-Not too bad.

Come on. Did you enjoy that, then?

-Yeah, it is good.

-Cool.

-I feel like you're on my back a lot.

-Do you think?

-Yeah, a lot more than the others.

OK. There is a bit of holding back in you, though, isn't there?

I don't know.

I suppose it is confidence with regards to...

just pushing myself a little bit further.

And what is holding you back and not feeling

that you can give it everything?

Yeah, from we met,

it is more of the circumstances, I lost my mother,

just like, um...

really suddenly - one day she was there, happy,

then I went to a friend's party and stuff and then the next day,

had a phone call about six o'clock to go home and...

she had died. It was like a heart attack, they said.

Something similar happened to her mother.

And when I'm...

when I am pushing myself and trying to push myself,

this thing comes in the back of my mind, "What if?

"What if I push myself too hard and all of a sudden, I just drop?"

I've got a little boy to think of as well, and a family.

-So, yes, it is really difficult for me to push on.

-Yeah.

Since losing his mum, Ashleigh has given up exercise completely,

along with the sport he once loved.

Football was everything.

I would go to play football on Saturday,

and you would run until you couldn't run no more.

It is now two years since Ashleigh completed a game of football.

Tara needs to find out what is really going on

and has arranged for a visit to St George's in London,

one of Britain's biggest heart hospitals.

-You all right there?

-Yeah.

-Lift your arm up for me.

That is lovely. Thank you.

There is a tendency for people to be worried

if they have learned that there is a family history of conditions

that may cause sudden death, and I think it is for this reason

that people like Ashleigh, if there is a family history,

such as the ominous one that he portrayed,

should be tested before we push them into exercise.

Pop this probe into the centre of your chest

and take some images of your heart.

Your heart rate at the moment is 150.

It is a stage three, yes.

The ECG that we saw did not show any signs of your heart

being deprived of oxygen, didn't show your heart demonstrating

-any features of a dangerous rhythm.

-Thank you.

It does not show me any signs of an underlying dangerous condition.

The paradox is that if you hold back from exercise

in this particular situation where you have got a family history

of blocked arteries, there is a much higher risk

of you developing obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes

and all the risk factors that result in people blocking their arteries

in their 50s and 60s. OK?

Thank you much.

I feel like a lot of pressure has been taken off me.

It's like the dark clouds moved to the side.

This has made me realise... it is a good feeling.

Just to know.

Yay! Yeah.

Let's go! OK.

Back at the DVLA, Ashleigh's transformation

-is immediately obvious.

-Well done, Ash, that's the way. Nice!

Strong. Make sure you are bracing in the trunk, there.

Tara has used the daily workouts

to shock the team out of their inactive habits.

Pushing hard and let's go!

Elbows, knees up!

Squats! Star jumps!

It is reckoned something as simple as a brisk half-hour walk every day

will extend the average lifespan by seven years.

Do you guys come out for walks often on your break?

-Try to.

-Try to?

-Yeah.

-Tracy, don't do it?

No.

Now, Tara wants to start introducing the team to new habits

they can fit into a working day.

How we doing, guys? All good?

After his clean bill of health,

Ashleigh is now leading from the front.

There have been rumours about Tracy's commitment,

and Ashleigh decides to have it out with her.

I don't need to prove anything to anybody.

-I need to prove it to myself.

-Exactly.

Do it for yourself, then.

Don't get upset.

You OK?

Erm, people are questioning

whether I'm really up for this, cos I'm not involved enough.

I get people in my ear saying,

"She's having fry-ups, she's having this." In work, whatever.

She had two Welsh cakes and a Cornetto

and a cup of tea with sugar in?

I just think she needed that little push now...

and see what her reaction is.

OK. OK.

Tara asks to talk to Tracy, to ask why

she isn't making the changes to extend her life.

I needed sugar. I had that craving - I had to have it.

You're all talking about me, you're all judging me, I don't like that.

I get judged enough anyway,

I don't need to be judged by a new set of people.

I'm going to slip up. I'm a sugar addict, I always have been.

It's hard...

..but it really upset me

to think that they're all sitting around talking about me,

judging me, that I'm not good enough.

Tracy knows she needs to change but has convinced herself that,

as a sugar addict, real change is not possible.

Tara has come up with a way to prove that total

and permanent change is within the grasp of anyone who wants it.

Before you go and have a shower and get back to work,

I've got a little invitation for you all, OK?

One, two, thank you.

Thank you.

Chris, 18 stone - smoker, drinker and likes food.

Ooh, Aberavon Beach - 4pm. See you there.

Tara wants to show that transformation is absolutely

possible, however unlikely it might seem

to some of the team at the moment.

Our guest should be with us shortly.

I'm intrigued. THEY CHUCKLE

Is that him there?

There is a dog and it's a collie.

-There was a collie in the picture.

-Yeah, dogs are allowed on the beach.

The only way I clicked is

because I remember in the photo with the collie puppy.

I would like to introduce you now to Chris Fulcher,

who now runs marathons for Wales.

As you can probably tell,

the invitation I gave you this morning was a little

out of date - the puppy is now a little bit older,

and, as you can see, Chris has clearly transformed his life.

How bad was your lifestyle before? What was it like?

Um...

I don't think I'd be here now if I'd carried on with my lifestyle.

I was over 18 stone, smoking, drinking, had my own business,

let everybody do the hard work for me.

My father had a heart attack, gave me a bit of a wake-up call.

My business went down the pan, and I came down here.

I started running - you see the letters?

I started at A - I didn't get through A, I was on my knees,

coughing and throwing my guts up.

No good at all.

Persevered, carried on for about a fortnight and I got run, walk,

run, walk, but I got down to the end.

Picked up the phone, all excited, phoned the wife.

"Excellent, I've just run about a mile. I'm really excited.

"Only problem is, you're going to have to get me in the car, cos I can't run back."

THEY LAUGH So that's where it all started from.

-Chris, how many marathons have you run now?

-I've done 16 so far.

That's amazing, to do a full marathon.

I'm really conscious of looking... dressed like this -

I would never dream of it, normally.

There was a stage where I wouldn't go outside.

I'd drive down here in the car, I'd park the car up.

I didn't want to be seen leaving the house in my running kit.

Like yourself, I'm looking in the mirror,

thinking things have got to change

CHRIS: Yeah, but you've got to want it to change.

Because I'm in so much pain with my knees,

and if I can lose the weight, I'll be in less pain, you know.

Tracy, you're standing over there all quiet. You got any questions?

I'm just absorbing it all.

I'm thinking that where Chris started off is where I am now,

so I've got a bit of a goal and I can see that it is achievable.

Right. There are letters all along the beach, this is where I started,

let's see if we can get it through H to the steps.

You can run, walk, but we'll give it our best shot, yeah?

Spike...

Couple of times standing there, you can feel yourself welling up,

kind of, "Wow. It's real. It can be done."

Are we walking, running?

Where he was seven years ago is where I am now.

And it's like, right, look at what he's done,

look at how he's changed. I can do this.

-Of course you can.

-I just need to get my head back in the game a bit more.

It appears that Tara may be succeeding at last.

I also want to show you as well...

-Where's that now?

-That's in the dining room now.

-OK.

-In the corner. So just messing around, trying it out in my PJs.

-It's up, it's working.

-Amazing.

This is a lovely pathway for a stroll.

Tara has decided to give each person a goal...

Jackie.

Carole.

..and has devised a series of individual challenges.

Tell us what it is.

Swim for a mile!

Cycle five miles.

Do I get a bike?

Run 5K.

Oh, my God.

Run up 16 flights of stairs of the DVLA building.

Eat a full cooked breakfast.

I can't believe it. Thank you!

Thank you. It's to complete a game of football.

-Yes?

-Yeah.

Walk 10K.

OK, cool.

So they are your challenges.

That is what you need to focus on, go, achieve it, set yourself up.

Inspired by Tracy's newfound interest in her treadmill,

Tara has dug out information about something that could

transform the entire culture of the office workplace.

She's contacted a company that are introducing some new ideas

to British offices,

ideas that could wipe out the inactive workplace at a stroke.

Salesman Graham Stott has come to show the team

what the machines are all about.

Come on, nice and easy.

To get the treadmill going, three, two, one,

and the belt's going to start very, very slow. SHE LAUGHS

Yeah. You can do that.

That's about as slow as I walk, I think.

-No problem.

-No, I am joking.

Right. They're called Workplace Solutions,

so the idea is that it's just something to keep you active at work.

I suppose, once you get used to it...

One mile and hour, while you're in your working hours,

you'll lose 57lbs of body weight in a year.

I enjoyed it. It was really great.

You were able to do things on the desk without thinking about walking.

Have you been on the treadmill again, Tracy?

-Yeah, I've got a treadmill in the house.

-Right. Okey-dokey.

Just get somewhere where you feel comfortable.

Are you comfortable there?

Yeah, that's quite comfy.

Doing well there. Trace.

This is so much fun. This rocks.

Good.

It made me giggle whilst I was doing it.

Imagine being able to laugh at work, that's just awesome.

I want one. I really, really want one.

This is what is known as a cycle desk.

It's very unusual, it's one of the first ones in the country,

so you're the first guy to really have a go on this and try it out.

Lovely.

It's a very simple way of becoming healthier.

Literally, all day, nice and comfortable,

and just pedal at your own rate.

Are you comfortable that it's nice and easy for you to do?

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

How much would a unit like this cost?

That's what I was going to ask.

This one, these are about £2,000.

The Civil Service is government,

and you could be talking close-on £100,000 to do the building.

How would that be justified?

Good morning, you're through to Robert at the DVLA.

How may I help you today?

OK. So how long has your doctor advised you not to drive for?

Good morning, you're speaking to Ashleigh. How may I help you?

Public sector costs are under pressure like never before.

Tara needs to find cheaper solutions to the

problem of inactivity in the DVLA.

And the 16-storey building has an opportunity that's available

to everyone for free.

Guys, you know when your in work and moving around,

how many of you take the lift?

-I used to.

-All the time?

-I'm on floor 13.

-Trace?

What floor are you on?

-One.

-Oh, my gosh, you've got no excuses.

I need a pledge from you that you will never get in the lift.

So, let's move from now on, definitely. Cool.

I'll follow you up the stairs.

Yes. Yeah. What about you, guys?

-Ground floor.

-Do you think you could incorporate a little bit more movement?

-You'd say I could park as far away as I can.

-Yes. Correct.

-What I'm going to do instead is I'm going to walk at lunchtime.

-Amazing.

Good. Good.

So that's going to be the best...

These guys do have steps to add in as activity.

You know, it's those little things...

At lunchtime, not sitting down reading a book,

save that for winding down in the evening.

On that note, shall we take the stairs?

To where? Heaven? THEY LAUGH

All 16 floors?

-All 16 floors.

-Let's do this.

Come on, then.

THEY CHATTER

Climbing the stairs may be a shock to the system, but three weeks into

the programme, Tara has a bigger shock that no-one is expecting.

Hello!

Come on, Jackie, up on your feet.

What I want to say to you, first of all is,

I am so proud of where you've got so far.

You were doing amazing with your nutrition

and your support to each other and everything.

There is going to be a point where you guys are going to go back

to the real world, go back to work, and I'm not going to be with you.

So from this point now, I'm out.

No.

I'm going, so I'm going to say to you, goodbye.

Stick with everything that I've taught you. See ya!

-Thank you.

-Oh, no.

You're not going to have her for the rest of your life, so...

-I thought she was going to be with us for another week, like.

-No, no, no.

But that was just, like, final.

Come here.

I'm never usually emotional, am I? My mascara's running now.

-You all right, babes?

-Mm-hm.

Shock to the system.

Oh, my goodness. That was really harsh, that was,

and I'm shaking a little bit from leaving them.

Felt like a load of children being left at school

and the teacher's gone.

And you're like, "Oh, my God, we're left here on our own."

We just wanted to cry.

I looked around and I wasn't the only one crying,

and it was just really emotional.

We honestly thought she was joking just to see our reaction,

and when she said, "I'm seriously going. Bye."

And she walked out the room, we were all in shock.

Like, is this serious?

What the hell? You can't do that.

You've just come in and changed out lives completely

and you're not giving us a chance to say goodbye.

And I was really annoyed and upset.

I just wanted to punch somebody.

Just like, you can't do that, it's wrong.

It was wrong on so many different levels.

There is a reason why I've done this.

This is a test for them now, and will they pass or will they fail?

Um...they will be on their own one day

and they're going to have to use everything that I've taught them

to take on into life,

and if the can't cope a couple of days without me, then this is

where they will see that one day they are going to be on their own.

We've all become close fiends, so you miss her as you miss a friend.

But, you know, she can't be your crutch. She can't be there all the time,

so we've got to stand on our own two feet.

Tara is so concerned about all she's discovered about inactive

working that she no longer wants to keep it to the team of six.

Yeah, that's cool with me. Fine, no problem.

Tara now wants institutional change

and needs to be noticed by everyone in the building.

And is starting by taking to the corridors.

She just needs to be certain that her ideas will survive,

even when she's no longer around to keep things on track.

After four days away, it's time to return to her team.

They're already exercising without me.

Hello!

THEY CHEER

How are you all?

Better now to see you.

I dumped you. How were you feeling after that?

It was really emotional, and I just kept crying all the time.

I didn't know what I was crying about.

But then, by Friday, I kind of, "You know what? This is good.

"It's not what I wanted, it's too soon, but I need to take it on

"myself at some point, I'm not always going to have the Tara safety net.

"So, suck it up and let's get on with it."

Good. Good.

And, you boys, what about you?

I still did the exercise, but you can always try and put it off.

With here, it's like we've got to do it now.

But at home, it's like, I'll do it in a bit.

I went for a run, about a mile, a mile and a half.

It is emotional, though. We've gone on an incredible journey,

all of us, and we've bonded well.

But this is how we prep you up, cos I am not going to be here one day.

You sometimes get these situations in life that you're not expecting

and how you pull yourself back up from them.

Otherwise, you can use it as a spiral of going down.

Next time, give us a chance to say goodbye.

Cos I will hunt you down.

It's time for Tara to see

if her message is reaching the 5,000 people in the DVLA.

Tara has booked a large open-plan area

and invited the entire workforce to a special lunchtime workout.

A message has gone out to everybody, inviting them to come along

and have a session with me.

But I don't know how this is going to go.

I'm going to try to get them all doing a bit of exercise

and take that back to the masses.

But...fingers crossed, who knows?

To try to ensure a good turnout,

Tara attempts to round up a crowd herself.

Hi, you coming down to join in?

Yeah, you are. Come on.

Get down there and I'm going to be dragging whoever else is left.

Join in. Spectating is not allowed.

Come on, join in. Sorry. I'm not sorry at all. Get down there.

You going got come and join in, guys?

Ah, there we go. Come on, guys.

Getting fit in 15 minutes.

But with only one person out of 5,000 press-ganged into joining

the usual team, Tara has to begin a rather lonely public session.

This is easy,

you could do it at your desk just to get the circulation going.

While people are prepared to look on from afar, this isn't the way

to get people from this office involved in exercise.

I mean, it says it all today - where are everybody?

We've got up to 5,000 people that we could be getting moving

-a little bit more.

-It's a little bit dismal, isn't it?

-Yeah.

It's Tara's first real failure,

and she realises that getting notice in the DVLA is going to take

a lot more than a few posters in the corridors.

Over the next few days, Tara works on a truly big idea,

requiring thought, meticulous planning and complete secrecy.

If it works, she believes it will benefit her team,

and more importantly,

finally get the entire workforce to sit up and take notice.

Today, I am definitely going to make sure that they know I've arrived.

OK, guys, we are in position.

Let's go.

Wah-hey!

They're coming.

Oh, my God...

I'm cringing looking at them.

I'm not doing that.

Oh, man.

This is going to be fun.

Whatever else happens, it's going to be fun.

Oh, my God...!

Oh, my God, look!

I don't feel like dying today.

And right from the off,

everyone in the building is coming to see what's going on.

Today is going to be all about you guys taking that leap.

Saying goodbye to that person in the past and you are going to be

taking that leap into this positive, active life, OK?

The British Army abseiling instructors have taken the six

to the roof of one of the DVLA's buildings,

but there are mixed views about taking Tara's leap of faith.

Never know, you might go over the edge and have an epiphany.

What's an epiphany?

I hate heights, always have.

From a young age, I've had a fear of heights.

Just looking over there...

Scary.

Carole is the first to step off the edge.

I'm scared!

INSTRUCTOR: Keep holding on. It's all right.

There you go

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT Lean back so you're sitting in the harness.

That's it. You're good, that's amazing. Well done.

Don't look down, Carole.

CHEERING

Amazing!

You did it!

Big hugs!

I'm scared now.

Oh! Those guys as amazing.

That's was amazing.

Well done.

You done amazing. I'm so proud of you.

That was awesome.

And as each of the team takes the leap of faith,

Tara's stunt to get herself noticed appears to be working.

And the floor!

CHEERING

Well done, Tracy.

I'm so proud of you. That was amazing.

This is really exciting.

The building could almost be tilting

with the amount of people at the windows looking out.

So people know that we're here,

they're starting to take notice, and, yeah, this is fab.

INSTRUCTOR: Feet shoulder-width apart, give you a bit of stability.

That's it. Keep your legs straight.

SCREAMING

All right, Ash, good lad. That's it. As you are, mate, I've got you.

He's OK now.

Keep your feet flat on the wall.

I'm going to say I'm doing it and then hope I can do it.

Does that make sense?

And he's down!

Yay! Amazing.

To me, it's like jumping out of a plane.

Who'd want to jump out of a perfectly good plane? Not me.

-Hook onto me.

-No! No!

Jackie, I've got you.

I was holding on so tight, that it was physically hurting.

-Jackie, I've got you.

-We've got you on this rope. OK?

Oh, come on, sweetie.

Come on, sweetness, you can do it.

-TARA:

-Well done, Jackie, you're doing incredible.

-MAN:

-You're doing really well.

-TARA:

-Feel the floor soon.

That's good.

You've done it. Well done.

-Amazing!

-I did it!

You're done! Your done!

It's relief!

And suddenly Tara finds that she's in demand,

with people wanting to hear her ideas.

Do you think that if something was introduced where a team leader,

every hour, would get everybody up of one minute doing something...?

It would be fun. I'd join in that.

You would join in? You guys are doing good. I am going to the top.

Hi, everyone.

What I was wanting to get from you today,

if a system was put in place where team managers or leaders,

at various points throughout the day, got their teams up to do

some very simple bodyweight movement for just one minute.

How would this work,

cos presumably the team leaders would need to be trained?

I would be more than happy to have a complete system that could be

implemented down to all the teams, to ensure everybody knows why

and how to do it, then.

Excellent.

Tightening through your trunk so it helps you flatten.

These muscles are having to tense to keep you there.

And exercise fever is spreading throughout the building.

And breath. You're allowed to enjoy it.

Legs will ache tomorrow.

As the experiment draws to and end,

Tara takes the team for a final check-up.

101.9.

40% loss!

Are you serious?!

Not bad for a disabled person, eh?

As soon as I saw them today, I realised there was

an enormous difference in them, cos their body shapes had changed.

Their demeanour had changed.

The way they stood had changed. The confidence had changed.

All of which has increased markedly.

I must admit,

I'm a little bit amazed at what has happened to them.

Well done!

Which only leaves one task for Tara.

You cannot still have that in your car after you've been

white-water rafting and claiming that, so you can park nearer to...

It goes against everything that we've just been doing.

So, my hands are out, they're ready for it.

Give.

SHE GROANS

Kiss it goodbye.

Oh, no! No, no, no. No, no!

Bye!

I don't need it any more.

I know...

You might have to move the car now.

Do you want to move it into another space?

Carole, today, come on.

THEY CHEER

At the end of the four-week experiment,

Tara's team had to complete their challenges.

Tracy set out on her 10K walk around the DVLA.

There are nine laps to go. Well done.

Keep going, you're looking good.

Hello. I can do it. I can do it.

I can do a lot more than I think I can.

And that's something that this has definitely taught me.

Ashleigh completed his first game of football since losing his mum.

Jackie completed her mile swim with support from her son.

Good job.

Carole, having given up her disabled badge,

bought a bike and completed her first five miles with her daughter.

There's no way I'm going to go back to the way I was.

I feel great at the moment.

I've still got a long way to go, so can only get better.

WOMAN: Tracy, you're doing fab!

Kirsty ran her 5K race with help from her little boy.

You going to go faster?

WOMAN CHEERS

And Rob ran all 16 floors of the DVLA, to be met by Alex,

his daughter, the reason he got involved in the first place.

It's not just about me.

It's always been about my daughter and my family and possible family growing.

Therefore I want to be around for her, for my wife,

and set a good example, so I can lead from the front.

# Keep running up that road Keep running up that hill... #

The team have made changes and they're passing those changes on.

But they aren't just passing them on to children...

This is really exciting to see all these people coming down.

This is such a buzz.

I'm so pleased. Thank you so much for coming.

-You OK?

-And to add to the buzz,

Tara's invited celebrity friends from Swansea City Football Club.

Awesome.

You ready to lead us all to the last bit?

-Yeah, let's go.

-Let's do it.

And for Tracy's final lap, everyone walked together.

Tara transformed six people,

and they are now inspiring those who work around them.

APPLAUSE

I just have to say, keep on moving,

but thank you so much for coming out today and just keep active.

CHEERING

In the three months since Tara completed her time at the DVLA,

the team have continued to be active.

All have lost weight,

Rob and Carole losing almost four stone each.

Press-ups. Press-ups. Press-ups. Full ones.

And Ashleigh is now training to be a professional fitness instructor.

The DVLA is now working on a programme for the whole building.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd