Inside The Factory Series

Returning for it’s sixth series, Inside The Factory presents Masterchef judge Gregg Wallace as he goes inside the UK’s most extraordinary factories, such as the world’s biggest cider producer, a factory sewing 1.5 million socks each year and another churning out a million pots of yogurt every day. Through meeting the brilliant, hard working individuals on the factory front line, Gregg discovers secrets, the ins and outs as well as the challenges of creating the very things we use and consume every day, making himself and the viewer see what we take for granted, in a totally new light.

Outside the main factory, presenter Cherry Healey investigates the world of science and innovation behind the product. Historian Ruth Goodman also returns in each episode to give the viewers an insight into stories behind each product, revealing how it was invented, marketed and popularised.

As many UK factories face unprecedented demand, Gregg Wallace catches up with some of the factory workers who are toiling around the clock to make sure our cupboards are stocked.

Gregg Wallace and Cherry Healey are back with a brand new series of Inside the Factory!

In Series 5, Gregg and Cherry continue to gain access to some of the biggest factories in Britain and Europe, to follow the 24 hour production lines that produce our favourite products – from croissants to cornish pasties. 

In the first episode of the series, which was the highest rating show on BBC Two that month, Gregg was in Derbyshire at an enormous Cherry Bakewell factory, where they produce 250,000 little tarts a day.

The series started on Tuesday, 30th July at 8pm on BBC Two, but you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer! 

In this Christmas special, Gregg Wallace visits a factory which produces a staggering two million tins of festive chocolate assortments a year. Everyone has their favourite (for Gregg it’s the purple-wrapped caramel-coated hazelnut) and he follows the supersized batches of the toffee, orange and strawberry varieties on their journey from tanker to tin. 

Meanwhile, Cherry Healey is producing other festive treats. She travels to Germany – the home of so many of our Christmas traditions – where she joins a crew of 35 ornament decorators applying glitter and paint to an army of glass Santas. In the UK, she goes behind the scenes at the Royal Mail as the Christmas stamps are printed. 

Historian Ruth Goodman is on the trail of the Christmas turkey. It’s a tradition that begins way back in the 16th century when these birds were first introduced from Mexico. She also comes face to face with the precursor to the pantomime dame.

Gregg Wallace and Cherry Healey are back to present Inside the Factory having gained exclusive access to more of the largest factories in Britain.

Coffee 

Gregg is in Derbyshire, at an enormous coffee factory where they produce 175 000 jars of instant coffee every day. Cherry goes cold turkey on caffeine, giving up her coffee habit for 5 days to understand the affects her body and brain. Ruth Goodman learns how coffee led to the founding of modern institutions including the Stock Exchange, auction houses and newspapers.

Toilet Roll

Gregg explores the Manchester factory that produces 700 000 toilet rolls a day. Cherry is at Britain’s oldest toilet factory, where they churn out 1000 loos a day. Ruth is finding out what we used to wipe with before the invention of toilet paper.

Curry

Gregg Wallace explores the Nottinghamshire factory that produces 250 000 jars of curry sauce each day. Cherry visits the chilli capital of India, where they sell 3500 tonnes of chilli each day. Ruth finds that our passion for curry is around 370 years older than the supposed invention of tikka masala. 

Sausages

Gregg explores the North Yorkshire factory that produces 625 000 sausages a day. Cherry is at the University of Chester getting the scientific lowdown on getting the best from your banger.

Ruth investigates how a German bratwurst became top dog in America.

In this Christmas special, Gregg follows 24 hours of production at a cake factory in Oldham, near Manchester, where they make two million Christmas cakes for Marks and Spencer. He also attempts to prepare some of the 300,000 handmade decorations made from 150,000 tonnes of icing sugar.

Meanwhile, Cherry is given special access to Britain’s largest marzipan factory, which produces two thousand tonnes of almond paste every year, and visits the largest sprout farms where, during the two weeks before Christmas, they pick 190 million sprouts. She also travels to Somerset to discover how 80,000 bottles of brandy are distilled from cider apples and attempts to blow a glass Christmas bauble.

Ruth Goodman adds her own Christmas revelations by investigating how early industrial heritage inspired Charles Dickens to write a Christmas Carol, and why Christmas tree lights are called fairy lights.

Gregg Wallace and Cherry Healey get exclusive access to some of the largest factories in Britain to reveal the secrets behind production on an epic scale. 

Tea bags

Gregg receives tea leaves from Kenya and follows their journey through the factory that produces one quarter of all the tea we drink in Britain. Cherry discovers the secrets of the tea leaf and gets scientific tips on making the best cup of tea. Ruth Goodman investigates tea adulteration.

Pasta

Gregg hitches a lift on a train carrying over a thousand tonnes of wheat to the largest dried pasta factory in the world. Cherry discovers best pasta is made with durum wheat and the pairing of pasta shapes with sauces and Ruth discovers that pasta arrived in Britain much earlier than we imagined.

Biscuits

Gregg is in London at Europe’s largest biscuit factory, following the production of chocolate digestives. Cherry discovers whether dunking your biscuit improves its flavor. Meanwhile, Ruth investigates the link between biscuits and digestion.

Fish fingers

Gregg explores the Grimsby factory that produces 80,000 cod fish fingers every day while Ruth investigates the origins. Cherry travels to Grindavik, Iceland where they land up to 50 tonnes of cod a day.

Sauces

Gregg is in the Netherlands at one of the world’s biggest sauce factories. Cherry is making the glass jars Gregg needs for his mayonnaise. Ruth Goodman discovers how Brits fell in love with mayonnaise. 

Soft drinks

Gregg explores Ribena’s Gloucestershire factory. Cherry is harvesting the berries on a farm in Kent and heads to the Netherlands to a plant that recycles plastics. Ruth investigates the origins of fizzy drinks.

Cereal

Gregg Wallace follows the journey of corn from Argentina through to the largest breakfast cereal factory in Europe, Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. Meanwhile, Cherry Healey finds out about the immunity-boosting powers of vitamin D, and Historian Ruth Goodman sits down to a Victorian breakfast of lobster and pig’s head.

Crisps

From a farm in Hampshire, Gregg follows 27 tonnes of potatoes through the largest crisp factory on earth. Meanwhile, Cherry discovers the secrets of perfect crisp potatoes grown exclusively to make crisps and Ruth investigates who really invented the crisp.

Beans

Gregg follows the journey of dried haricot beans from North America through to the largest baked bean factory in the world. Cherry finds out what happens to discarded baked bean cans and Ruth looks at how Henry Heinz made his beans a firm family favourite.

Bicycles

Gregg makes his very own bike at the largest bicycle factory in Britain. Cherry gets some tips from Cycling Team GB about how to improve pedal power and Ruth finds out how the invention of the safety bicycle in the late 1880s was used by suffragettes.

Sweets

Gregg helps to unload a tanker full of sugar from Norfolk and follows it through one of the oldest sweet factories in Britain, transforming it into over a hundred million individual sweets.

Cherry visits the research and development department and experiences how hard it is to come up with a new product and Ruth investigates how sweets were first invented and how a sugar boycott helped to end the slave trade.

Shoes

Gregg joins a human production line in the largest sports shoe factory in the UK. Cherry gets to design her own court shoes at Cordwainers College in London and Ruth traces the surprising origins of the humble trainer to the back streets of Bolton.

Inside the Factory takes viewers behind the scenes of the largest factories in Europe, revealing the crucial 24-hour period behind high-volume manufacturing and the mass production of Britain’s favourite foods – bread, chocolate and milk. 

Masterchef judge Gregg meets lively and entertaining characters who let him into the secrets of the production line and challenge him to do the jobs they do.

Outside the main factory, consumer presenter Cherry Healey investigates the world of science and innovation behind the product. Historian Ruth Goodman returns in each episode to give the viewers an insight into stories behind each product, revealing how it was invented, marketed and popularised.

Gregg and Cherry learn about the surprising innovations that create the perfect product every time, and realise that they will never look at their daily grocery shop in the same way.