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All Seasons

Season 1

  • S01E01 Working Holiday

    • October 28, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Millionaire Terry Brown, founding director of tour operator Unijet, spends a week in Tenerife as one of his own holiday reps.

  • S01E02 A Class Apart

    • November 4, 1997
    • BBC Two

    After a career spent teaching privileged students, Gillian du Charme, headteacher at Benenden - one of Britain's most expensive public schools, spends a week as a supply teacher in an east London comprehensive.

  • S01E03 Running Water

    • November 11, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Bob Baty, managing director of South West Water, spends an uncomfortable but illuminating week as one of his company's team of "Customer Visitors", dealing with complaints at the sharp end.

  • S01E04 Drop in Rank

    • November 18, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Hew Pike , who occupies a position at the pinnacle of the army hierarchy with a range of responsibilities that includes a budget running into billions of pounds, swaps his staff car for an armoured personnel carrier as he returns to the rank he started out with 30 years ago.

  • S01E05 Crawling About

    • November 25, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Peter Cottee, managing director of the European arm of Terminix, the world's biggest pest-control firm, goes backto basics when he becomes a frontline pest controller. How will he cope with cockroaches on a Peckham council estate, and can he isolate the reasons why the company haemorrhaged so many of its staff last year?

  • S01E06 Pillow Talk

    • December 2, 1997
    • BBC Two

    Ann Lloyd is chief executive of Frenchay hospital near Bristol, one of the biggest in the country. In the last of the series, she temporarily leaves her post as sole controller of a 110 million pound annual budget to spend a week as an auxiliary nurse.

Season 2

  • S02E01 Seeing Red

    • November 10, 1998
    • BBC Two

    Tony Marshall , the managing director of Butlin's, samples life as a redcoat at the Somerwest World in Minehead, Somerset, following the company's 140 million pound makeover. Sparks fly when some of the guests complain to him, and Marshall is displeased himself when he discovers a leak in the camp's new 7 million pound swimming pool.

  • S02E02 Back on Site

    • November 17, 1998
    • BBC Two

    After 20 years behind a desk, multi-millionaire house builder Tony Pidgley returns to the building site. At his 300 million pound development in London the work is tough, the suppliers let him down and the customer service department is woefully inadequate. Can he solve his customers' problems and win respect from the lads on the site?

  • S02E03 Home Truths

    • November 24, 1998
    • BBC Two

    Heather Rabbatts, the chief executive of Lambeth Council in south London, leaves her six-figure salary Town Hall job behind to spend a week as a new housing trainee. What lessons can she learn to help her spend Lambeth's 700 million pound housing budget more effectively?

  • S02E04 Top Dog

    • December 1, 1998
    • BBC Two

    Director-General of the RSPCA Peter Davies leaves his smart Georgian headquarters for the front line when he goes to work as an RSPCA inspector in Leeds, where he has to remove flea-ridden pets from scenes of neglect.

  • S02E05 A Copper's Lot

    • December 8, 1998
    • BBC Two

    Chief Constable of Sussex Police Paul Whitehouse leaves his plush headquarters to go back on the beat.

  • S02E06 Man on the Move

    • December 15, 1998
    • BBC Two

    Grant Whitaker, Pickfords' new removals director. He swaps his BMW for a HGV to spend a week at the Birmingham depot.

Season 3

  • SPECIAL 0x1 Back to the Floor...Again - Seeing Red

    • July 13, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Butlins' managing director Tony Marshall became a redcoat, dealing with an unfinished swimming pool and complaints from staff and guests about accommodation. He promised to improve things and a year later Back to the Floor returns to see if he has kept his word.

  • SPECIAL 0x2 Back to the Floor...Again - Back on Site

    • July 20, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Multi-millionaire property developer Tony Pidgley came back to the building site after 20 years behind a desk and found his suppliers were unreliable and his customer-service department understaffed. A year later he returns to see if things have changed for the good.

  • SPECIAL 0x3 Back to the Floor...Again - Man on the Move

    • July 27, 1999
    • BBC Two

    One year ago, Pickfords UK director Grant Whitaker went back to work in Birmingham for a week as one of his own removal men, and found unhappy staff and outdated equipment. Now he returns to see if his experience has resulted in any changes for the better.

  • SPECIAL 0x4 Back to the Floor...Again - Top Dog

    • August 3, 1999
    • BBC Two

    When RSPCA Director General Peter Davies spent a week in Leeds working as an inspector, he was shaken by the low levels of staffing and lack of space afforded to the animals. Now Davies returns to find out what happened to the animals he rescued - and whether a new 6 million pound telecommunications system has made any difference.

  • SPECIAL 0x5 Back to the Floor...Again - Running Water

    • August 10, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Bob Baty , chief executive of South West Water, spent a week at the Newton Abbot Depot, he was dismayed to find unreliable equipment, disgruntled staff and disaffected customers. Now Baty returns to find out if conditions and morale have improved for both staff and clients.

  • SPECIAL 0x6 Back to the Floor...Again - A Class Apart

    • August 12, 1999
    • BBC Two

    This updated repeat from the Back to the Floor series follows Gillian DuCharme , headmistress of Benenden girls boarding school, as she returns to Forest Gate Comprehensive in east London to see how things have evolved in the classroom since her last visit as a supply teacher.

  • SPECIAL 0x7 Back to the Floor...Again - Working Holiday

    • August 17, 1999
    • BBC Two

    When Terry Brown, head of tour operator Unijet, spent a week as a holiday rep in Tenerife, he was overwhelmed by the demands of the job. Now Brown returns to find out if conditions and morale have improved for both holidaymakers and staff.

  • S03E01 Supermarket Swap

    • October 28, 1999
    • BBC Two

    With Sainsbury's falling behind its supermarket rivals, Group Chief Executive Dino Adriano goes to work in one of his own stores to find out how the company can reclaim its number one spot.

  • S03E02 On the Rails

    • November 11, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Giles Feamley leaves his job as chief executive of Prism Rail to fill in as platform supervisor in Cambridge. He soon finds himself assailed by the problems of long queues, a lack of ticket machines, demanding staff and angry customers; ideal conditions for rail rage.

  • S03E03 Fast Food

    • November 18, 1999
    • BBC Two

    David Ford, who runs Gardner Merchant, Britain's biggest caterer, spends one week as a trainee catering manager in the Main Pavilion at Royal Ascot.

  • S03E04 The Write Stuff

    • November 25, 1999
    • BBC Two

    David Sullivan, property multi-millionaire and owner of the Sport newspapers, spends a week as a reporter at the group's Manchester office.

  • S03E05 Child's Play

    • December 2, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Floyd Ballantyne runs Europe's biggest children's holiday company, but how will he cope when he swaps his corporate headquarters for a job looking after the youngsters? Will 40-year-old Ballantyne acquit himself well in a job that is usually done by 18-year-old students?

  • S03E06 Breaking the Mould

    • December 9, 1999
    • BBC Two

    In the face of tough competition from abroad, Wedgwood, one of British pottery's most famous names, has cut wages and mechanised much of the production line. Chief executive Brian Patterson returns to the factory floor in Stoke-on-Trent and gets a shock after he witnesses the working conditions.

  • S03E07 No Place like Home

    • December 16, 1999
    • BBC Two

    David Batts , MD of the Radisson Edwardian chain of hotels and chairman of the London Tourist Board, works as everything from chambermaid to concierge at the Marlborough and Kenilworth hotels. During a hectic week, he has to deal with floods of complaints from visitors and even loses a German tourist's suitcase. What lessons will he take back to the boardroom?

  • S03E08 Down to Earth

    • December 23, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Roger Cato, the Managing Director of Heathrow Airport, learns about life on the front line in customer service - where he has to cope with everything from irate passengers to a possible bomb.

Season 4

  • S04E01 400 Weddings and a....

    • November 1, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Steve Garley is horrified at what he finds when he spends a week working incognito as a wedding co-ordinator on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

  • S04E02 Behind Bars

    • November 8, 2000
    • BBC Two

    The Director-General of Her Majesty's Prison Service Martin Narey is embarrassed and horrified by the conditions he finds during a week as an officer at Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight.

  • S04E03 Bin Man

    • November 15, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Broken-down dustcarts, disillusioned dustmen and maggots await the boss of rubbish company Onyx as he takes to the streets of Westminster.

  • S04E04 Musselling In

    • November 22, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Luke Johnson, chairman of Belgo Group, swaps board meetings for beer, mussels and chips during a week at his flagship restaurant in London's Covent Garden.

  • S04E05 Working Girl

    • November 29, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Naughty knickers, frilly bras and sex toys await Ann Summers' boss Jacqueline Gold as she spends a week working at the factory.

  • S04E06 Changing Homes

    • December 6, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Sir Neville Simms, Chief Executive of Britain's biggest building company Carillion, faces a hectic week refurbishing tenants' homes on a Birmingham estate - and the small matter of a visit to the Queen.

  • S04E07 Into the Lions' Den

    • December 13, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Chairman of Millwall Football Club Theo Paphitis goes back to the floor to serve burgers to rival fans, mop up after vandals and try to persuade his players to pay for their breakfast.

  • S04E08 What's in Store?

    • December 20, 2000
    • BBC Two

    House of Fraser's Chief Executive John Coleman goes to work in his Oxford Street department store during the final hectic weeks of its £20 million pre-Christmas refit.

Season 5

  • S05E01 Cruising

    • October 30, 2001
    • BBC Two

    Multi-millionaire Bob Dickinson , president of Carnival Cruise Lines, goes back to work on one of his own liners. How will he cope with cleaning toilets, complaining passengers and performing on stage in a tutu?

  • S05E02 Burger King

    • November 6, 2001
    • BBC Two

    French businessman Eric Bonnot, head of the Burger King fast-food chain in the UK, swaps the boardroom for a week's work behind the counter at a Liverpool branch. Soon the new recruit is finding it hard to fulfill his company's promise that customers shouldn't wait more than two-and-a-half minutes for a burger, and his smile starts to slip, too.

  • S05E03 Hovis

    • November 13, 2001
    • BBC Two

    Peter Baker , MD of British Bakeries, swaps the boardroom for a week of putting crosses on hot-cross buns, scooping up litres of garlic butter with his hands, and chanting business mantras in his Newcastle bakery.

  • S05E04 Central Park

    • November 20, 2001
    • BBC Two

    Just ten days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Dr Regina Peruggi, president of the New York Central Park Conservancy, leaves her Fifth Avenue office to work as a gardener in Central Park, where duties include clearing dog mess and cleaning up after drug users.

  • S05E05 Ambulance

    • November 27, 2001
    • BBC Two

    Adrian Lucas, chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, leaves behind the safety of his office and returns, after 20 years, to work on the streets of Glasgow.

  • S05E06 Women's Prison USA

    • December 4, 2001
    • BBC Two

    John Ferguson, head of the world's largest private prison firm, heads for New Mexico as he works for a week as a guard at one of his organisation's own women's prisons.

  • S05E07 Dating Agency

    • December 18, 2001
    • BBC Two

    As head of the UK's largest dating agency, Louise Hansen's job is to make profits from lonely hearts. To find out how she can improve the company, she fields customer calls, interviews potential clients, and tries to find a date for a confirmed bachelor.

  • S05E08 Hoover

    • April 19, 2002
    • BBC Two

    Despite making the world's most famous vacuum cleaners, the Hoover factory near Glasgow is fighting for its future. This one-off special finds out if boss Peter Murtagh can turn company fortunes around with a week on the factory floor.