Gregg Wallace is in Germany, at a historic factory which produces 600,000 pencils a day. At materials intake he is astonished that the main material in a pencil is not lead, but graphite. He helps mix this with clay to produce a 250-kilo batch – enough for 200,000 pencils. He also discovers why these pencils are hexagonal - because it stops them rolling off the table. And he performs an unusual quality check by throwing his finished pencils from a 25-metre-high tower. When they are chopped open the leads are still intact.\n \nMeanwhile, Cherry Healey is at Manchester University examining the astonishing properties of graphite. She discovers that this highly conductive form of carbon is also able to withstand temperatures up to 3,000 degrees Celsius. More surprising still, if you strip a single layer of atoms from its surface, you produce an entirely new material known as graphene. Thin and virtually invisible, embedding this in our phone screens could mean that in future we could simply roll them up. She is also investigating the science behind graphology and asking if we can evaluate personality from handwriting style.\n\nHistorian Ruth Goodman is on the trail of the very earliest pencils in the Lake District. It is a story which begins in the 15th century with the discovery of a huge deposit of pure graphite in the Borrowdale valley. Carved into sticks and wrapped in string, it made a brilliant writing tool. Ruth is also wondering if, in this modern digital age, the pencil is outdated technology. But she finds documents that show the death of handwriting has been prematurely announced on many occasions, dating right back to the invention of the printing press.
Source: BBC 2
Series 8: 6. Bath Bombs
Gregg Wallace visits the colourful and fragrant Lush factory in Dorset to learn how an astonishing 14 million bath bombs are produced every year.\n\nCherry Healey visits Loughbo ...
09-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 5. Stout
Gregg Wallace explores the secrets of the Guinness brewery in Dublin to reveal how it makes two million litres of Irish stout every single day.\n\nCherry Healey visits a water t ...
02-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 4. Stuffed Pasta
Gregg Wallace explores the Dell Ugo factory in Hertfordshire to reveal how it makes 500 million stuffed pasta parcels every year. \n\nHe’s following production of one of ...
25-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 3. Jeans
Gregg Wallace visits two factories in Italy and Wales to explore the fascinating secrets behind how Welsh jeans brand Hiut make their trousers, learning how denim cloth is made ...
12-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 2. Jelly Beans
Gregg Wallace explores the Jelly Bean Factory in Dublin to reveal the incredible processes it employs to make ten million colourful little sweets every day.\n\nCherry Healey vis ...
05-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Trains
When he was a child, Gregg loved playing with toy trainsets. Now he’s got special access to learn how the ultimate model is made: a huge 187-tonne, five-carriage electric ...
29-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: 7. Pots And Pans
Gregg Wallace is in France at an enormous foundry that produces a cast iron pot every five seconds. He follows production of casserole dishes from the arrival of 20 tonnes of cr ...
25-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Mints
Gregg Wallace visits a factory with a menthol scent - the Polos factory in York, which produces 32 million mints every day and contributes to the 19,000 tonnes of mints per year ...
15-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Rice Pudding
Gregg Wallace explores the Ambrosia factory in Lifton, Devon, to reveal how it makes up to 360,000 rice puddings every single day.\n\nCherry Healey is in the Po Valley in Italy ...
06-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Vegan Sausages
Gregg Wallace visits a Yorkshire team that churn out up to 90,000 vegan sausages a day! Heck have been making these bangers since 2018, and the process is surprisingly futuristi ...
30-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: Jaffa Cakes
Gregg Wallace visits a Manchester factory that churns out 6 million Jaffa Cakes every single day - 1.4 billion per year. Cherry Healey is in Jaffa, the city responsible for grow ...
26-06-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 4. Stuffed Pasta
Gregg Wallace explores the Dell Ugo factory in Hertfordshire to reveal how it makes 500 million stuffed pasta parcels every year. \n\nHe’s following production of one of ...
25-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 3. Jeans
Gregg Wallace visits two factories in Italy and Wales to explore the fascinating secrets behind how Welsh jeans brand Hiut make their trousers, learning how denim cloth is made ...
12-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: 2. Toilet Roll
Gregg Wallace explores the Manchester factory that produces 700,000 toilet rolls a day. He begins 940 miles away in Sweden, where the raw material - wood - is harvested from a s ...
16-08-2020
BBC 2
Series 8: 2. Jelly Beans
Gregg Wallace explores the Jelly Bean Factory in Dublin to reveal the incredible processes it employs to make ten million colourful little sweets every day.\n\nCherry Healey vis ...
05-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 6: 5. Chairs
Gregg Wallace visits the Ercol factory in Buckinghamshire, an area associated with furniture making since the 19th century.\n\nWe Brits spend a staggering £300 million pou ...
15-02-2023
BBC 2
Series 8: 6. Bath Bombs
Gregg Wallace visits the colourful and fragrant Lush factory in Dorset to learn how an astonishing 14 million bath bombs are produced every year.\n\nCherry Healey visits Loughbo ...
09-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 6. Soft Drinks
Gregg Wallace explores Ribena's Gloucestershire factory. It turns 90 per cent of Britain's blackcurrants into soft drinks, producing three million bottles a week. Gregg takes de ...
24-07-2022
BBC 2
Series 3: 5. Sauces
Gregg Wallace is in the Netherlands at one of the world's biggest sauce factories. Its annual output is a quarter of a million tonnes of condiments, and more than 50 per cent of ...
26-06-2019
BBC 2
Christmas 2018
Chocolates are an essential part of many people's festive celebrations. In this Christmas special, Gregg Wallace visits a factory which produces a staggering two million tins of ...
24-12-2023
BBC 2