Can You Bank on Me?

Documentary following two ex-bankers who, until recently, earned huge salaries and enjoyed all the trappings of a high-flying lifestyle. The bankers spend a week working with a struggling business that has been on the receiving end of the credit crunch. The pair, one banker who was made redundant and another that resigned, see first hand the human cost of economic meltdown. Griselda, 31, spent years working as an analyst in hedge funds and banks. She was made redundant in November 2008. Griselda is appointed to work with the self-described Queen of Blackpool, Pat Mancini, MBE, at the 107-room Queens Hotel. Like many businesses in Blackpool, the Queens has struggled for business in recent years and the credit crunch has delivered what Pat fears may be the killer blow. At the hotel, Griselda learns the ropes from the ground floor up, working in the housekeeping department, the restaurant, the kitchen and the bar. But can she come up with a corporate hospitality plan to help save the Queens? Amit, 28, worked as a senior analyst for a large bank. He specialised in providing debt and equity to real estate-backed deals and resigned after feeling unchallenged when the credit crunch stopped his bank doing big-money, high-risk deals. Amit spends a week working in the picturesque village of Weobley, surrounded by the rolling hills at the Dairy House. This small organic dairy produce company supplies local stores and supermarkets with handmade yoghurt, cheesecake, curd cheese, cream and butter. Amit mucks in at the Dairy House, getting up at the crack of dawn to milk the cows and make products in the small factory. But can he use his business experience to convince a group of entrepreneurs to invest some much-needed cash in the Dairy House?