Undercover Boss is a British reality television series. Each episode depicts a person who has a high management position at a major business, deciding to become undercover as an entry-level employee to discover the faults in the company. The following is a list of episodes of the British version of the show.
Summary
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 2 | 18 June 2009 (2009-06-18) | 25 June 2009 (2009-06-25) | |
| 2 | 7 | 15 July 2010 (2010-07-15) | 26 September 2010 (2010-09-26) | |
| 3 | 6 | 5 July 2011 (2011-07-05) | 9 August 2011 (2011-08-09) | |
| 4 | 6 | 2 July 2012 (2012-07-02) | 6 August 2012 (2012-08-06) | |
| 5 | 6 | 8 July 2013 (2013-07-08) | 5 August 2013 (2013-08-05) | |
| 6 | 6 | 15 July 2014 (2014-07-15) | 20 August 2014 (2014-08-20) | |
Series 1: 2009
| No. | Title | "Boss" | Original airdate | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Park Resorts" | Andy Edge | 18 June 2009 (2009-06-18) | ||
| Andy Edge, company director of Park Resorts, goes undercover in a variety of entry level jobs. Throughout his two weeks undercover, he experiences what it is like to be a cleaner, laundry hand, kitchen hand, waiter and entertainer. | |||||
| 2 | "Clugston Group" | Stephen Martin | 25 June 2009 (2009-06-25) | ||
| Stephen Martin, chief executive officer the Clugston Group, trades in his suit for a hard hat when he pours concrete, works in blast-furnaces, tests his carpentry skills and works night-shifts repairing roads. | |||||
Series 2: 2010
| No. | Title | "Boss" | Original airdate | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Best Western" | David Clarke | 15 July 2010 (2010-07-15) | ||
| David Clarke, chief executive officer of Best Western, spends five days undercover as a new recruit in the company. | |||||
| 2 | "Tower Hamlets" | Kevan Collins | 22 July 2010 (2010-07-22) | ||
| Kevan Collins, the boss of London's Tower Hamlets council, goes undercover in the housing and homeless office and alongside community law enforcement officers. | |||||
| 3 | "Harry Ramsden's" | Marija Simovic | 29 July 2010 (2010-07-29) | ||
| Marija Simovic, chief operating officer of Harry Ramsden's, goes undercover to find out why their 80-year-old brand is struggling. | |||||
| 4 | "Jockey Club" | Paul Fisher | 5 August 2010 (2010-08-05) | ||
| Paul Fisher, the boss of Jockey Club Racecourses, poses as a new entry-level casual employee to find out how his company really works. | |||||
| 5 | "Viridor" | Colin Drummond | 12 August 2010 (2010-08-12) | ||
| Colin Drummond, chief executive officer of Viridor, spends five days as a new recruit working at the sharp end of his business. | |||||
| 6 | "Crown Worldwide Group" | Narin Ganesh | 19 August 2010 (2010-08-19) | ||
| Narin Ganesh, finance director of Crown Worldwide, pretends to be a redundant office worker to find out the operations of the company at the ground level. | |||||
| 7 | "Park Resorts Revisit" | Andy Edge | 26 September 2010 (2010-09-26) | ||
| More than a year after being the first boss to go undercover in his own company for the programme Undercover Boss returns to see what lasting effect their presence has had on the company. | |||||
Series 3: 2011
| No. | Title | "Boss" | Original airdate | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ann Summers" | Vanessa Gold | 5 July 2011 (2011-07-05) | ||
| Ann Summers CEO Jacqueline Gold sends her sister Vanessa undercover at the adult retailer Ann Summers. | |||||
| 2 | "Southern Fried Chicken" | Andrew Withers | 12 July 2011 (2011-07-12) | ||
| Andrew Withers, boss of Southern Fried Chicken, goes undercover in his fast food franchise, and is shocked by what he discovers about the standards, staff, food and customers. | |||||
| 3 | "The Blue Cross" | Kim Hamilton | 19 July 2011 (2011-07-19) | ||
| The Blue Cross, one of the UK's leading animal welfare charities, undergoes the Undercover Boss treatment as Kim Hamilton takes a turn cleaning dog kennels and helping cats give birth. | |||||
| 4 | "Isuzu Trucks UK" | Nikki King | 26 July 2011 (2011-07-26) | ||
| Managing Director Nikki King goes undercover at truck dealers Isuzu Trucks UK. | |||||
| 5 | "npower UK" | Kevin McCullough and Charlie Brenland | 2 August 2011 (2011-08-02) | ||
| Chief Operating Officer Kevin McCullough goes undercover at npower, one of the UK's top utility companies. | |||||
| 6 | "Poundworld" | Martyn Birks | 9 August 2011 (2011-08-09) | ||
| Martyn Birks, the director of Poundworld, goes undercover to discover why some of the budget chain's stores are failing to perform as well as expected, and why employee turnover is high. | |||||
Series 4: 2012
| No. | Title | "Boss" | Original airdate | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pizza GoGo" | Fouad Haghighat | 2 July 2012 (2012-07-02) | ||
| Fouad Haghighat goes undercover in his dad's pizza delivery company to discover some shocking health and safety breaches, but also some inspirational workers. | |||||
| 2 | "Oceana Nightclubs" | Peter Marks | 9 July 2012 (2012-07-09) | ||
| The CEO of Britain's biggest nightclub chain, which includes well-known brands Oceana, Liquid, and Lava and Ignite, goes undercover in his own business. | |||||
| 3 | "Paddy Power" | William Reeve | 16 July 2012 (2012-07-16) | ||
| Company director William Reeve goes undercover on the shop floor of multi million pound gaming business Paddy Power. | |||||
| 4 | "Francesco Group Hairdressers" | Jacqui McIntosh | 23 July 2012 (2012-07-23) | ||
| Former celebrity hairdresser Jacqui McIntosh, now a senior manager of The Francesco Group, is on a mission to find out why the company's profits are down. | |||||
| 5 | "HC-One" | Pam Finnis | 30 July 2012 (2012-07-30) | ||
| Pam Finnis, managing director of one of Britain's biggest care home firms, goes undercover to investigate standards of care. | |||||
| 6 | "Stena Line" | Gunnar Blomdahl | 6 August 2012 (2012-08-06) | ||
| Gunnar Blomdahl, CEO of one of the UK's biggest ferry companies, Stena Line, goes undercover on some of his own fleet of ships to find out if the business is delivering its promise of convenient, efficient and relaxing travel. | |||||
Series 5: 2013
| No. | Title | "Boss" | Original airdate | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "DHL" | Phil Couchman | 1 July 2013 (2013-07-01) | ||
| Chief Executive Phil Couchman heads back to the frontline to work alongside his staff. Terrified of losing even a single customer to the competition, Phil aims to find out if workers are delivering the top notch service he expects. | |||||
| 2 | "Securitas" | Geoff Zeidler | 8 July 2013 (2013-07-08) | ||
| After years in the boardroom, Geoff Zeidler of Securitas goes undercover, to be blown away by the sacrifices his security officers make and the violence and racial abuse they encounter through just doing their job. | |||||
| 3 | "Hyundai" | Ray Pope | 15 July 2013 (2013-07-15) | ||
| Company director Ray Pope steps out from his cosy office and into very unfamiliar territory by going undercover on the shopfloor of multi-million pound car giant Hyundai. | |||||
| 4 | "Southwark" | Eleanor Kelly | 22 July 2013 (2013-07-22) | ||
| Eleanor Kelly, Chief Executive of south London's Southwark Council, wants to see how slashed budgets are affecting the borough's services, residents and an often under-appreciated staff. | |||||
| 5 | "Biffa" | Ian Wakelin | 29 July 2013 (2013-07-29) | ||
| Chief Executive Ian Wakelin goes undercover in Biffa, the waste and recycling company. | |||||
| 6 | "Quicksilver" | Peter Harvey | 6 August 2013 (2013-08-06) | ||
| Peter Harvey, boss of slot machine company Quicksilver, adopts a dramatic disguise and goes undercover in the hope of working undetected alongside his frontline staff. | |||||
Series 6: 2014
| No. | Title | "Boss" | Original airdate | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Moss Bros" | Brian Brick | 15 July 2014 (2014-07-15) | ||
| Brian Brick, Chief Executive of Moss Bros, goes undercover to see how his cost-cutting methods have impacted on customer experience and the company's staff. | |||||
| 2 | "Oxfam" | Mark Goldring | 22 July 2014 (2014-07-22) | ||
| Mark Goldring, CEO of Oxfam - one of Britain's largest charities, goes undercover to see whether the charity is maxmising fundraising opportunities and spending funds efficiently. | |||||
| 3 | "Pets Corner" | Steve Charman | 29 July 2014 (2014-07-29) | ||
| The co-owner of nationwide retailer Pets Corner goes undercover in his own business to see if a potentially risky multi-million pound investment to grow the business is likely to succeed. | |||||
| 4 | "Rowlands Pharmacy" | Kenny Black | 5 August 2014 (2014-08-05) | ||
| With government funding down and competition increasing, pharmacy chain Rowlands has seen its turnover drop by £20 million, so managing director Kenny Black goes undercover to investigate. | |||||
| 5 | "YMCA" | Bims Alalade | 12 August 2014 (2014-08-12) | ||
| Senior director Bims Alalade goes undercover in the world's largest and oldest youth charity to see how massive budget cuts have affected facilities, staff and residents. | |||||
| 6 | "Carluccio's" | Simon Kossoff | 20 August 2014 (2014-08-20) | ||
| Chief Executive Simon Kossoff goes undercover as his restaurant chain Carluccio's plans to double in size in five years. He's keen to expose problems that could jeopardise successful growth. | |||||
Ratings
| No. | Episode | Airdate | Viewers | Share | Rank Week |
Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main | Digital | Main | Digital | |||||
| Series 1 | ||||||||
| 1 | Park Resorts / Andy Edge | 18 June 2009 (2009-06-18) | 2,910,000 | — | — | — | 61 | |
| 2 | Clugston Group / Stephen Martin | 25 June 2009 (2009-06-25) | 2,010,000 | — | — | — | 78 | |
| Series 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | Best Western / David Clarke | 15 July 2010 | 2,230,000 | 340,000 | 9.9% | 1.8% | — | |
| 2 | Tower Hamlets / Kevan Collins | 22 July 2010 | 2,400,000 | 443,000 | 10.8% | 2.4% | — | |
| 3 | Harry Ramsden's / Marija Simovic | 29 July 2010 | 1,660,000 | 241,000 | 7.4% | 1.3% | — | |
| 4 | Jockey Club / Paul Fisher | 5 August 2010 | 2,090,000 | 345,000 | 9.3% | 1.9% | — | |
| 5 | Viridor / Colin Drummond | 12 August 2010 | 2,240,000 | 285,000 | 9.5% | 1.4% | — | |
| 6 | Crown Worldwide Group / Narin Ganesh | 19 August 2010 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Park Resorts Revisit / Andy Edge | 26 September 2010 (2010-09-26) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Series 3 | ||||||||
| 1 | Ann Summers / Jacqueline Gold | 5 July 2011 (2011-07-05) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Southern Fried Chicken / Andrew Withers | 12 July 2011 (2011-07-12) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | The Blue Cross / Kim Hamilton | 19 July 2011 (2011-07-19) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Isuzu Trucks UK / Nikki King | 26 July 2011 (2011-07-26) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | npower UK / Kevin McCullough | 2 August 2011 (2011-08-02) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Poundworld / Martyn Birks | 9 August 2011 (2011-08-09) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
References
- "Series 1 - Episode 1 - Andy Edge, Park Resorts". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Series 1 - Episode 2 - Stephen Martin, Clugston Group". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Series 2 - Episode 1 - David Clarke, Best Western". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Series 2 - Episode 2 - Kevan Collins, Tower Hamlets". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Series 2 - Episode 3 - Marija Simovic, Harry Ramsden's". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Series 2 - Episode 4 - Paul Fisher, The Jockey Club". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Series 2 - Episode 5 - Colin Drummond, Viridor". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Series 2 - Episode 6 - Narin Ganesh, Crown Worldwide". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- "Series 2 - Episode 7 - Andy Edge, Park Resorts Revisit". Channel 4. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- "Series 3 - Episode 1 - Vanessa Gold, Ann Summers". Channel 4. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- "Series 3 - Episode 2 - Andrew Withers, Southern Fried Chicken". Channel 4. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- "Series 3 - Episode 3 - Kim Hamilton, The Blue Cross". Channel 4. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- "Series 3 - Episode 4 - Nikki King, Isuzu Trucks UK". Channel 4. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- "Series 3 - Episode 5 - Kevin McCullough, npower". Channel 4. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- "Series 3 - Episode 6 - Martyn Birks, Poundworld". Channel 4. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
- "Series 4 - Episode 1 - Fouad Haghighat, Pizza GoGo". Channel 4. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- "Series 4 - Episode 2 – Peter Marks, Oceana Nightclubs". Channel 4. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- "Series 4 - Episode 3 – William Reeve, Paddy Power". Channel 4. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- "Series 4 - Episode 4 – Jacqui McIntosh,Francesco Group Hairdressers". Channel 4. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- "Series 4 - Episode 5 – Pam Finnis, managing director of HC-One". Channel 4. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- "Series 4 - Episode 6 – Gunnar Blomdahl, CEO of Stena Line". Channel 4. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- "Series 5 - Episode 1 - Phil Couchman, DHL". Channel 4. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- "Series 5 - Episode 2 – Geoff Zeidler, Securitas". Channel 4. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- "Series 5 - Episode 3 – Ray Pope, Hyundai". Channel 4. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- "Series 5 - Episode 4 – Eleanor Kelly, Southwark". Channel 4. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- "Series 5 - Episode 5 – Ian Wakelin, Biffa". Channel 4. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- "Series 5 - Episode 6 – Peter Harvey, Quicksilver". Channel 4. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- ^ "Undercover Boss - Episode Guide - Channel 4". Channel 4. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- "UK TV Ratings 21 Jun 2009". Free-Satellite-TV.co.uk. 21 June 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- "UK TV Ratings 28 Jun 2009". Free-Satellite-TV.co.uk. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Laughlin, Andrew (23 July 2010). "'The Hotel Inspector' returns to 1.7m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Laughlin, Andrew (30 July 2010). "BBC's 'Secret Tourist' opens to 3.5m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Laughlin, Andrew (6 August 2010). "'Mistresses' returns to 4m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Laughlin, Andrew (13 August 2010). "BBC's Princess Royal doc pulls in 3.8m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Laughlin, Andrew (20 August 2010). "6.7m peak for 'Celebrity MasterChef'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
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