It’s double or quits
WITH NEW BUSINESS COMPETITION SHOW DOUBLE THE MONEY ON CHANNEL 4, RACHAEL DAVIS CHATS TO HOST SUE PERKINS TO FIND OUT MORE
THE great thing about Sue Perkins’ new competition show Double the Money, the former Bake Off presenter says, is that “once you’ve said the title, really, there’s very little explanation needed”.
The Channel 4 programme sees 13 pairs of ordinary people from across the UK given a starting sum of money which they must then double within an allotted time limit through their own entrepreneurial ventures.
If they make it back with double the money, they stay in the competition – but if they come back with even £1 less, they’re eliminated. And the stakes are high, with a £20,000 prize up for grabs for the winners.
“Some people buy it cheap, pile high and then flog it, some peop create brands, some people go do to door, some people go complete off-piste,” says host Sue, 54, of th contestants’ tactics.
“But really, it’s a very, very warm, really cute story about people who not only want to make money but who want to change their lives in some way – and find out things about the person they’re teamed up with.”
For Sue, who’s best known for presenting The Great British Bake Off with Mel Giedroyc from 2010 t 2016 and for her travel documen tary work, it was the “simplicity o the format” that got her on board for Double the Money.
“I always find I slightly shy away from jobs where my role is going to be relentlessly explaining what the hell’s going on,” she says.
“And this, it just felt I could just say what it was, the audience would really get it and I could then just be around to help people shine.
“A lot of the things that I enjoy doing are centred around everyday working people, and just making them feel comfortable and having fun with them and letting them be the stars. So this show is no different really, and it’s the same when I used to do Bake Off, and it’s the same, obviously, with all my travel stuff –
I’m merely a conduit through which other people’s magnificence shines. And I’m happy with that.”
As Sue says, everyday people are really at the heart of Double the Money. The contestants are partnered up – some with their romantic partners, others with their parents, grandparents, siblings, or work colleagues – and they must work together to develop their business ideas and get the cash rolling in. “I give them an initial stake, which they start off with 250 quid, and they have 24 hours to bring back five hundred,” ue explains. “And those who get rough that have got ve hundred quid, and en they have to bring me back thousand. We give them a little bit more time each time.”
“Each week, they have to do a different business venture,” she adds.
“So they can’t just stick with the same business, they have to change their business every week, which means chaos ensues.”
What sort of chaos are we talking about?
“There’s some real calamities, that’s all I can say!” Sue teases. “But I just thought they were absolutely amazing people. I really do think the success of this show is absolutely down to them, and their graft, and their madness, and their commitment to it.
“You know, they do not stop. These are people that are selling door to door or in the driving rain or bashing the phones right down to the wire. So it’s very cool.” While filming Double the Money, Sue was able to travel all over the UK, highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit of people across the country. She says that showing the business possibilities in every corner of the UK was “really important” – the urban hub of London isn’t the be-all and end-all. “I’m not asking them to become business people in London... The whole point is that these micro businesses are taking place in their back garden – sometimes literally their back garden – and they’re using their networks, their community, their family support, to start the ball rolling,” she says.
“So that’s really, really important. It isn’t a show about how London is the centre of everything. It’s a show about (how) you can use all the resources and the magnificence of your area and use it to your advantage in business.”
“I spent quite a lot of time in Shropshire, and it’s not a county I’ve ever been to before,” she adds. “There’s quite a lot going on there, and I really, really enjoyed that.
“We’ve got a fabulous, fabulous couple of Scousers, who are as sparky and witty and driven as you would expect from people from that part of the world.
“I spent a bit of time in West Sussex – I hadn’t really been there for years, you know, I grew up in South London, (and) if I fancied getting out and about, the Downs were my playground! So yeah, it is a show which travels.”
While Double the Money brings lots of entertaining jeopardy, wacky business ideas, and even a bit of calamity here and there, Sue says it also carries “a serious message”.
“You can start up your own business, and you could start out with a relatively small amount of money, and double that money quickly,” she says.
“And of course, that’s going to be very attractive in the current climate. But it’s also, really, a love story of British eccentricity, and just how gung ho and ludicrous we are as a nation.”
■ Double the Money is on Channel 4 on Thursday at 8pm
I just thought they were absolutely amazing people Sue Perkins