Shoes
Documentary series. Gregg Wallace visits the UK's largest sports shoe factory to see how they produce 3,500 pairs of trainers every day.
Gregg Wallace joins a human production line in the largest sports shoe factory in the UK to see how they produce 3,500 pairs of trainers every 24 hours by sewing 32 million individual stitches and using 140 miles of thread. He makes his own pair of shoes and discovers how they put together 27 different pieces made from eight different materials which require auto- and manual stitching, and finishing with a 'roughening' robot and a hot oven. He also meets the man who comes up with new designs, including trainers inspired by the three most popular pub names in England.
Meanwhile, Cherry Healey gets hands-on in a tannery to help them process thousands of rawhides into finished leather for the nation's shoes, and finds out how a ballet shoe company painstakingly turns 37,000 square meters of satin into a quarter-of-a-million ballet shoes - some of which only last for one performance. She also gets to design her own court shoes at Cordwainers College in London, where she learns how to turn creative ideas into commercial products - last year, sales of women's designer shoes topped 拢532 million.
And historian Ruth Goodman reveals how, when the sewing machine was first introduced into shoe factories in the mid-19th century, traditional shoemakers went on strike, rebelling against joining a restrictive production line. She also traces the surprising origins of the humble trainer to the back streets of Bolton, where Joe Foster invented his running spike in 1895, above his father's sweet shop, and discovers that Reebok trainers were originally British.
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Clip
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The secrets of ballet shoes
Duration: 01:50
Music Played
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Bloc Party
This Modern Love
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James Morrison
I Need You Tonight
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James Morrison
I Need You Tonight
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The 1975
Chocolate
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The 1975
The Sound
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Alan Walker
Faded (feat. Iselin Solheim)
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Alle Farben
She Moves (feat. Graham Candy)
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Bastille
Flaws
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Eliza and the Bear
Make It On My Own
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Lily Allen
As Long As I Got You
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Kygo
ID
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Lucius
Turn It Around
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Lily Allen
Life For Me
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Stereophonics
White Lies
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The 1975
M.O.N.E.Y.
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Jess Glynne
Love Me
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First Aid Kit
Kings Of The World (feat. Conor Oberst)
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The 1975
Girls
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CHVRCHES
Clearest Blue
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Foals
Bad Habit
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Sia
Chandelier
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Paloma Faith
Take Me
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Sia
Cheap Thrills (feat. Sean Paul)
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The Kooks
Mr. Maker
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Little Mix
I Won't
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Sam & Dave
Soul Man
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Bastille
Things We Lost In The Fire
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Bastille
Things We Lost In The Fire
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Gregg Wallace |
Presenter | Cherry Healey |
Presenter | Ruth Goodman |
Executive Producer | Alice Harper |
Executive Producer | Sanjay Singhal |
Series Producer | Chris Parkin |
Director | Chris Parkin |
Series Producer | Amanda Lyon |
Producer | Emma Pound |
Production Company | Voltage TV Productions Ltd |
Broadcasts
- Tue 30 Aug 2016 20:00
- Wed 31 Aug 2016 23:15
- Sat 17 Sep 2016 02:10
- Sun 16 Apr 2017 18:00麻豆官网首页入口 Two except Scotland & Wales
- Sat 29 Jun 2019 18:30麻豆官网首页入口 Two except Scotland
Learn more about the history of the factory and how it has evolved with an interactive from The Open University.
The fascinating stories behind the production of some of our favourite products.