Catch up TV
Series 4: 9. Pencils
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 Ruth is also wondering if, in this modern digital age, the pencil is outdated technology.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
Most recent episodes of Inside the Factory
Inside The Factory
Series 8: 10. Paint And Wallpaper
Gregg Wallace explores the Farrow & Ball factory in Dorset to learn how they produce up to 200,000 litres of paint and 10,000 metres of wallpaper a week. They make 270 different ...
15-03-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 8: 9. Sofas
Gregg Wallace explores the HSL factory in West Yorkshire to find out how they make more than 5,000 sofas every year. The huge site has 250 staff dedicated to furniture making. G ...
08-03-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 8: 8. Chocolate Bars
Gregg Wallace is in the UK’s city of chocolate, York, exploring how the Nestle factory makes more than eight million bars of chocolate every day. The bar he’s follow ...
01-03-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 8: 7. Carpets
Gregg Wallace explores the Axminster factory in Devon to reveal how it produces 46,000 square metres of carpet every year. He follows the production of one of their best sellers ...
23-02-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
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 ...
16-02-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
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 ...
09-02-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
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 ...
02-02-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
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 ...
26-01-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
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 ...
19-01-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 8: 1. Yorkshire Puddings
Gregg Wallace steps inside a huge Yorkshire puddings factory in Hull to learn how Aunt Bessie’s produces a staggering 500 million Yorkshire puddings every year.\n\nMeanwhi ...
12-01-2024
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Inside the Factory
Inside The Factory
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 ...
02-02-2024
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 6: Ice Cream
Gregg Wallace visits a family-run factory in the heart of rural Aberdeenshire, which churns out more than 49 tonnes of dairy ice cream every day. Gregg is delighted to learn he& ...
21-05-2023
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 3: 4. Fish Fingers
Gregg Wallace explores the Grimsby factory that processes 165 tonnes of fish a week and produces 80,000 cod fish fingers every day. Cod arrives at the factory as compressed bloc ...
12-06-2022
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 7: 1. Christmas Cards
Gregg Wallace visits the Woodmansterne card factory in in Watford. It’s one of the largest greeting card companies in the UK, a family business sending out 35 million card ...
15-12-2023
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 6: Tortilla Chips
Gregg Wallace visits the biggest tortilla factory in Europe. The Coventry site covers more than 21,000 square meters, the size of three football pitches, and makes 60,000 tonnes ...
21-06-2023
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
Series 5: 2. Wax Jackets
Gregg Wallace is in South Shields at a clothing factory where they produce 650 waxed jackets a day. He follows the production of water-resistant jackets from the arrival of 500- ...
10-09-2023
BBC 2
Inside The Factory
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
Inside The Factory
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 ...
15-10-2023
BBC 2