Directors Training : 22nd May, BBC Two, 9.50 - 10.30 pm

PTP are used to help develop skills of young Directors in a company being profiled on BBC2. For 2 days PTP were filmed training the new young Directors of Simon Brown & Sons. During the telephone sales course the delegates won appointments which were subsequently filmed. Unfortunately, PTP's contribution did not make the BBC 'cut' which in a 40 minute programme which tracked this company for 6 months plus is hardly surprising. The feedback from the training was outstanding. Watch this unusual story on.........

BBC Release: Splitting Heirs 22nd May, BBC Two, 9.50 - 10.30 pm

One of the oldest and biggest West Country fruit and vegetable wholesalers is in big trouble. Established over 100 years ago, there are 18 family members working together but no one is in charge and they run it like a commune. Since Grandfather handed over the reins, no one has taken control and they haven't been in profit for 15 years. With the powerful supermarkets closing in, the pressure is on.

Enter Gerry Robinson… It does not take him long to identify the problem: a total lack of leadership. His solution? They all apply for the job as boss - and he does the interviewing. Within weeks the family are at war and loyalties are divided. The older generation do not want to risk handing over to the younger members and the tensions mount as the younger ones demand their say.

In a desperate bid to put a stop to Gerry's plan the three older partners and one of their daughters hold a secret meeting and decide to appoint one of them as MD. Gerry is horrified - he thinks they've chosen very badly. He rushes down to Wiltshire and buts in on the meeting at which the partners are announcing to the rest of the family what they've done. Much to their visible distress, Gerry manages to get things back on track: the interviews are set for the following day.

Gerry spots talent in a family member from the younger generation from the wrong side of the family. He meets with the partners afterwards to try to persuade them to go against a century of tradition and put their heritage firmly in the hands of young Simon, the 27 year old joker of the family. But can they swallow their pride and take such a risk? And what will the rest of the family make of it?

May 2003