Set in Essex in 1983, the series perfectly captures the atmosphere of the era through the inner-workings of a double-glazing showroom, led by Vincent Swan (Ed Westwick), a smart, handsome, charismatic salesman who will happily break the rules if it guarantees a sale. His team include Fitzpatrick (James Buckley), a smarmy reprobate who can charm the life savings out of anyone, and Lavender (Joe Thomas), a failed musician whose crippling politeness and moral backbone has a habit of getting in the way of a sale.
It’s a story of dodgy shenanigans, scams and petty rivalries – alongside free-flowing drugs, cash and sex.
Director Damon Beesley has said that White Gold, “has lived in my head for thirty years. Ever since I heard my father describe the UPVC plastic which framed the double glazed windows he sold as being ‘as valuable, gram for gram as gold’ I was captivated. My dad was a double-glazing salesman in the early days of the industry before double glazing salesman became the national pariahs that we all know and loathe. But back then, in the early 80s, white plastic windows were a status symbol of upward mobility.”
Damon went on to say, “It’s also the story of an industry that hasn’t been particularly well documented before now. We all know the stories of dodgy salesmen with questionable ethics and sales techniques – they’re all true by the way! – but very little was written about the nuts and bolts of the business itself. And by nuts and bolts I mean the outrageous profits that these men were creating and sharing in; the hedonistic use of sex and drugs as rewards schemes for sales achievement and how criminality began to be drawn to these cash cow operations, where the money flowed as freely as in a casino.”
The show is filled with a classic soundtrack of hits from the period including tracks by Rod Stewart, Hall and Oates and Ian Dury, WHITE GOLD is a blast from the past with top-notch production design (Miranda Jones, Episodes, Catastrophe) and costumes (Caroline Pitcher, The Inbetweeners, Coupling).
Check out the trailer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p051y618
White Gold will TX on BBC Two later this month and the full series will be available on BBC iPlayer. The DVD will be out on 3rd July.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
