The Call Centre

The Call Centre is a BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary following staff at a Welsh call centre - Swansea's third largest.[1] Two series have aired on BBC 3 - in total 11 episodes, beginning in 2013 and concluding in 2014.[2]

The show focused on boss Neville (Nev) Wilshire whose management style led to comparisons of fictional manager David Brent from mockumentary The Office.[1] Wilshire famously opened the working day with a mass sing-along, and claimed he'd previously sacked two people for not participating.[1] A break-out star amongst the staff was tea-lady Hayley Pearce.[3] Pearce eventually opened a cafe (which she shut within a year)[4] and presented a number of shows for BBC. In 2016, she presented a show on 'tanorexia' - an over-reliance on fake tan.[5][6][7] In late 2016, a three part show called Hayley was released online on BBC3 (iPlayer), before airing on BBC One in January 2017. The show looked at issues facing the youth including cosmetic enhancement, boozy holidays and dating apps.[8]

The call centre is officially named Save Britain Money and is based in Swansea’s Enterprise Zone.[3] It employs approximately 600 staff.[3] In 2013, it received a considerable fine of £225,000 for breaching regulations on cold calling by failing to run their database past the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), an opt-in service that supposedly stops marketing calls.[9][10] In order to bypass these regulations on marketing calls, Wilshire set up an Indian call centre, which is outside the scope of British regulators. This was documented in a 2016 spin-off show for Watch called Nev's Indian Call Centre and saw staff from The Call Centre rejoin the cast.[11][12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "A criminal past, illegal cold calls, an affair with an employee half his age... What the BBC hasn't told you about the star of its hit new reality show".
  2. ↑ "The Call Centre - Episode guide - BBC Three". BBC.
  3. 1 2 3 Turner, Robin (14 July 2013). "Shot at fame brews for The Call Centre's cult tea lady Hayley Pearce".
  4. ↑ Owen, Cathy (14 June 2016). "The Call Centre's Hayley has closed down her cafe".
  5. ↑ "Hayley: Call Centre's Tanning Addict - BBC One". BBC.
  6. ↑ Mears, Tyler (23 March 2016). "Why The Call Centre's Hayley Pearce is trying to give up her trademark fake tan".
  7. ↑ Williams, Kathryn (21 September 2016). "Here's what the cast of The Call Centre is doing now".
  8. ↑ "Series 1, Hayley - BBC Three". BBC.
  9. ↑ "The Call Centre boss 'Big Nev' fined £225,000 over nuisance calls". 19 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "£225,000 fine for TV show call centre after harassed householders with thousands of nuisance phone calls".
  11. ↑ Both shows were narrated by welsh actress Kimberley Nixon. Nev’s Indian Call Centre | W Channel
  12. ↑ "Return of Nev Wilshire and his call centre".
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