Behind-the-scenes of filming 'Inside the Factory'

Gregg Wallace was first to arrive at HSL Comfort House, following his nose to the Coffee Shop to order a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast. Our Managing Director, Venessa Hodgson bumped into him in the corridor as he was wandering around getting his bearings, and was greeted with “Do you know what, I’ve just had an amazing bacon and egg sarnie… you may possibly have the best canteen I’ve ever been in!” It’s fair to say that Gregg is a real character, telling jokes at every given opportunity and is wonderfully cheeky and mischievous, with a great knack of making people feel at ease.

The crew arrived shortly afterwards and then it was straight into filming. We started in goods-in and the CNC wood mill area. It was chilly to say the least, but dry, thank goodness. Our very own Head of Manufacturing, Charlotte Ackroyd was first to be featured on camera with Gregg, as the scene captured a delivery of raw wood arriving. To say that Charlotte nailed it was an understatement.

Then filming moved onto the CNC wood cutting machine, where John Williams took Gregg through the process of loading and cutting the wood. It was clear to see that John certainly knows his stuff as he explained the process wonderfully from start to finish.

Next it was time to make the frame of the sofa, where Charlotte and Mick Love teamed up to take Gregg through the process. Gregg had a go with the upholstery gun and helped Mick assemble the frame of an arm on the Burrows Classic sofa. He was amazed at the process and how quickly Mick could perfectly piece it all together. 

As day one of filming was getting closer to home time, Gregg and the production crew made their way into the fabric cutting area, where Ben Wood expertly took Gregg through the ins and outs of cutting the Volante Indigo fabric for the Burrows Classic 2.5 seater sofa. Gregg was blown away with the precision and the technology of the machine. He continued to keep his light-hearted jokes flowing throughout, ensuring he kept everyone’s spirits up after a long day.

Day one was a huge success and the excitement in the factory was palpable to say the least.

Gregg and the crew arrived at 8.30am for a prompt start in the sewing department, where our very own Joanne Trott was ready and waiting. Joanne’s role was to show and talk Gregg through the skill and expertise that goes into sewing the cushion covers and how quickly and efficiently these are done. Joanne was what they describe in the trade as a ‘one-hit wonder’; her piece to camera was superb and Gregg really was wowed!

Next came our upholstery department, where none other than our four lovely McDaid brothers, Nathan, Danny, Connor and Brad, were all working on benches next to each other upholstering different parts of the Burrows Classic 2.5 seater sofa in Volante Indigo (little did Gregg know at that point that they were all brothers, we were keeping that a surprise for later). Gregg chatted to Nathan first, the youngest McDaid brother, and was amazed to learn that he had started as an apprentice eight years ago straight from school and had progressed to become a ‘master’ upholsterer.

Accompanying Nathan as he showed Gregg how to upholster the arm of the Burrows Classic was non-other than Dave Leaming, an expert upholsterer for over 20 years at HSL. Dave beautifully and expertly talked Gregg through the process. It was then revealed to Gregg that Nathan, Danny, Connor and Brad were brothers. He was blown away and said it was “a first in his history of making Inside the Factory!” Gregg then moved across to Danny’s bench, where Dave explained how Danny was adding the webbing to the sofa’s base. Gregg cracked another bad joke… “where do you buy the web… on the web?” and asked Danny if he could have a go as it looked easy. Gregg very quickly came to realise that easy, it was not! There were a few giggles and chortles as Gregg tried his hand at fixing the webbing in with the upholstery gun, but he was pleased with his efforts.

Gregg then moved onto Conor’s bench with Dave, who again was as cool as a cucumber as he explained to Gregg what Conor was now doing, as he added the metal springs to the Burrows Classic sofa. Gregg asked Connor if could lend a hand, and quickly realised not only the skill required but the upper body strength that’s needed to do it. It’s safe to say that Gregg loved his couple of hours in upholstery, exclaiming “that was honestly the BEST experience! The passion coming through was amazing, those boys were almost welling up talking about their work, they have so much pride in what they do.”

After lunch, Gregg wheeled all the upholstered parts over to assembly where another bad joke came - “sofa so good!” He was greeted by master assembler extraordinaire, Jonny! Jonny showed Gregg how it was all pieced together, giving Gregg a completed Burrows Classic sofa minus cushions and feet. Gregg loved talking to Jonny, who found common ground in their shared passion for Rugby.

Next came cushion fill, where the delightful Marius showed Gregg how to expertly fill the covers with the base and back cushions, as Charlotte talked Gregg through the process. Naturally, Gregg wanted to have a go but yet again discovered it wasn’t as easy as it looked!

We then moved onto Quality Control, where Gregg helped Charlotte add the wooden feet, complete with brass castors, as well as applying the completed base and back cushions to his sofa. The only thing left to do was the sit-test, and of course take Gregg through the 7 point seating assessment. Charlotte did our retail family proud, expertly guiding Gregg through the 7 points and why they’re so important! Gregg loved it and said he’d never sit on a sofa the same again.

It was a long day but a lovely one, with so much pride and passion. Not only did Gregg say several times throughout the day “this is without doubt the happiest factory I have ever been in, everyone is so happy and smiley, it’s fantastic,” the production crew even said that they didn’t want to leave, they loved it so much.