Mary's Bottom Line

Mary Portas believes this is a window of opportunity to restore some life back to British manufacturing. So she's heading to Middleton, Greater Manchester, to set up a new production line for British-made knickers. Mary wants the next generation of consumers to understand the true value of buying British: skills, UK jobs, pride in our manufacturing heritage. It will be a challenge for Mary who normally frequents an altogether different shop-floor. She not only needs to breathe life back into a mothballed factory, she has to persuade the old seamstresses to teach the new recruits, and track down some of the last fabric suppliers in the country. Will she pull it off, or will her first ever foray into manufacturing be simply a brief encounter?

As the apprentices set to work mastering the machines, Mary Portas soon realises there is more to the knicker game than she originally thought, and battles to keep the retail price at the £10 she wanted. She also settles on a brand name, goes searching for models to show off the newly christened Kinky Knickers and then pitches to retailers, without whom she cannot hope to sell a single pair, kinky or not.

It's all hands on deck as Mary Portas and the factory workers prepare for the launch of Kinky Knickers at London department store Liberty. Production is now in full swing at the Middleton factory, but progress is slow, and there's a setback when the lace trim supplier goes out of business - throwing future orders into doubt. Mary also meets Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss the importance of bringing clothing manufacturing back to the UK. Last in the series.

As Mary and the factory work flat out to design and deliver orders for the all-important Christmas market, Mary sees how other parts of the British textile industry can be transformed with the help of British-based manufacturing. The once faltering stretch lace industry has been given a huge boost by the Kinky Knickers brand, and a lace loom that was destined for foreign production is instead delivered to Nottingham. Back at the factory with supervisors Lynne, Myra and Jackie overseeing training and quality control, the trainees tell Mary how the benefits of a steady job and regular pay packet have changed their lives. With the initial nine month funding coming to an end and the trainees about to graduate, has the factory done enough to stand on its own two feet? Can Mary really sustain a successful business for future generations?