A Matter of Life and Debt

Featuring chef Stella, who when she needs £3,000 to expand her restaurant business in the Peak District National Park, heads straight to the Derbyshire Credit Union. It has already helped her to bring her Cameroonian cuisine to the locals but will it grant her the extra funds she needs to convert an old barn into a commercial kitchen? Former car dealer Wendy has a new zest for life thanks to an ethical loan. She needed £10,000 to swap careers from cars to canines and set up a dog grooming business, but with no credit history, finding finance wasn't easy. When disaster strikes often a low-cost loan can be a lifeline. Richard from south Wales lost his livelihood as an HGV driver after a head injury. With some carpentry skills learnt from his father, and a loan from a not-for-profit lender Richard rebuilds his life crafting static Romany caravans.

Featuring father of two Nick, who is desperate to consolidate his debt and stop smoking, using the money he spends on cigarettes to pay off his £5,000 credit cards. But will the Hull and East Yorkshire Credit Union help him kick the habit? In Fenton near Stoke-on-Trent, garage mechanic Nev swaps old bangers for a brewery. He and his wife Karen started by making beer in their shed and then borrowed £25,000 from ethical lenders to expand the business. On the Norfolk Broads, teenage car crash victim James turns national kayaking champion, thanks to a boathouse built with the help of a £120,000 community loan. Laura from Gloucestershire had debts totalling £35,000 when she was just 25. Laura realised the debt was ruining her life, so she set herself a five year plan to pay it all off. She tells us how she did it and why it makes her ideally suited in her current job as a money advice expert.

In Devon we meet Sue who runs the Garden Shop. Faced with an extended retirement age working at a school, she decided it was time for a career change and swapped pupils for plants. She bought a local garden centre with the help of a loan from an ethical lender. Now she's planning to expand and is asking for a further £16,000 loan to convert a barn to expand her business. Will she get the loan to help her business blossom? Mum Danta needs £550 to help pay for her children's school uniform. With three children she heads to the Bristol credit union and hopes the team can help her kit out her kids for the new academic year. And a father of four tells how he set up his own record shop after the company he had worked for went bust. Feeling the pressure to provide for his family, he asked for a loan to help cash in on the vinyl revival.

In Manchester, a £20,000 ethical loan is bringing the taste of the local countryside to the heart of the city centre. The Veg Box People grow and sell fresh local produce directly from local farms and deliver it to their city customers within hours of picking. Foster mum Judy is hoping to get a loan for a pram and carpet, but with outstanding credit - including a doorstep loan - the credit union needs to assess whether she can afford any more debt. A small £1,500 start-up loan helps a couple from south Wales with a poor credit rating launch a toy business that has transformed their fortunes. Ethical borrowing helps Lancashire mum Gemma turn a childhood dream into a profitable business by opening her own bridal boutique. All she needed was a responsible lender to say yes to her £5,000 proposal.

James wants a £5,000 loan to pay for his wedding, but as he has missed payments on a previous loan will the Cambrian Credit Union say yes to his request? In Bridge of Allan, Scotland, Karen and her father go into business together, combining the ancient craft of glassblowing and Scotland's famous tipple, creating an unique range of whiskey gifts, with the help of a £25,000 loan. A £16,000 ethical loan helps a transgender entrepreneur and her friend take control after struggling with employment. The pair have set up a takeaway with a Portuguese twist in Preston, Lancashire. Patricia faced a lot of stigma when looking for work because of being transgender, and Adele has chronic fatigue syndrome, often making it very difficult to work 9-to-5 hours. Mel from Bolton went on a spending binge that cost £40,000. Unable to pay her mortgage Mel lost her home, but with help from a Christian group she has now paid off her debts, and gives advice to others in a similar situation.

A Cambridgeshire family start a chocolate factory to help their autistic son find a job and end up providing a much-needed workplace for other youngsters with the condition. The Bristol credit union staff help local families through tough times, including Phil whose pension payments have been held up, leaving him homeless. Dog-lover Vanessa sets up her own charity in Wales to find new homes for thousands of unwanted pets, all with the help of an ethical loan. The dangers of illegal lenders who use high interest rates, extortion and violence are exposed, and the programme meets the team who want the public to help them fight back against loan sharks.

Debbie needs a loan to avoid the astronomical interest charges on a 12-month catalogue debt. If she exceeds the yearly time limit in which to pay it back, the debt will almost double. Can the Cambrian Credit Union come to her rescue? In Manchester, Zimbabwe-born Dee desperately needs a £10,000 loan to get her homemade South African boerewors sausages onto the high street. A loan from a responsible lender in Glasgow helps a gifted young silversmith get his work in the spotlight. Hamish was so cash-strapped he couldn't afford to make a crucial exhibition piece for the Victoria and Albert Museum. Thanks to a loan of £7,000, Hamish completed the piece and the exhibition proved to be a turning point for his business.

Single mum-of-two Christine visits Lewisham Plus Bromley Credit Union with her toddler to ask for a £500 loan. The fridge freezer she relies on for her soul-food business has packed up. For Jo and Rene from Sheffield, an ethical loan hasn't just changed their lives, it's enhanced the health and wellbeing of their community too. The Real Junk Food Project in Sheffield takes food destined for landfill and cooks it up into affordable meals, feeding over 80,000 people in the city. Thirty-five-year-old sports-mad Paul has set up shop selling specialist cricket gear thanks to a £10,000 ethical loan, and a look at how couple Raymond and Jenny from Derbyshire are almost out of debt after 25 years in arrears. Owing around £35,000, a religious charity helped them with a finance deal to pay back the money they owed.

Astra and James urgently need a loan to help them buy a new carpet before their newborn twins come home. They turn to the Newport credit union in south Wales who loan them the money and help them save for their children, so their money will grow with them. In Dunoon, western Scotland, Karen and Allan needed £25,000 to set up their fish and seafood smokery, which is now enjoyed by royalty. While a £1,500 overdraft may not seem like a life-changing amount of debt, for student Molly, who couldn't find work after graduating, it made her homeless and forced her to be apart from her son. A loan from a Credit Union in Cardiff saw her learn to drive and enabled her to find work further afield.

When 78-year-old Helen needs an £800 loan to replace some essential appliances, Lewisham Credit union boss Ravi takes time out to go to her home to personally help her out. Gambian-born Awa brings a taste of West Africa to the streets of Yorkshire. A £5,000 ethical loan enables her to realise her dream of turning her love of cooking into a thriving mobile street food business. Borrowing £300 from her local Credit Union transforms a bored South Wales grandmother's retirement. 72-year-old Georgina, a former council worker and voluntary radio DJ, needed funds to buy decks to take her act on the road to her loyal fans. Self-taught wood craftsman Dan refuses to be stumped when the banks won't give him a loan. To get his bespoke wood design business off the ground, he turns to an ethical lender for the £25,000 he needs.