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Episode 1

Episode 1 of 4

Documentary series following nightshift workers in Wales. This edition meets whelk fishermen, train cleaners and a lone taxi driver employed over the witching hour.

This series explores the hidden world of night-time workers - the unsung heroes of the graveyard shift. Wales has one of the highest rates of workers on nights anywhere in the UK, and in this first episode, we meet whelk fishermen, train cleaners and a lone taxi driver employed over the witching hour. This is the invisible army working in the dark to make sure the day runs like clockwork.

Gavin, the coxswain of the 'Hayze Dee' fishing boat, has to leave Saundersfoot harbour when the tide is right, often in the middle of the night. He and his crew are on the hunt for whelks which will be shipped to Japan and Korea as they're considered a delicacy there. Gavin thinks whelks taste disgusting so he's glad of his overseas customers. But 12 miles out to sea, there's a problem. The engine cuts out and the fishing has to stop until the crew can work out what's wr

Carl is in Swansea and on a 12-hour shift making sure the city's finest party animals get home safely. He will drive 300 miles in a typical nightshift and finds the emptier roads less stressful than daytime taxi driving. He's chatty and loves the banter with his customers even though he gets fed up being asked the same old questions over and over:

Train cleaners in Cardiff are on shift in the middle of a summer heatwave. It's 22 degrees in the middle of the night at the cleaning and maintenance depot, and it is physically tough work to scrub, polish and shine over 100 carriages before the start of rush hour. Luckily, Lynne and Andrew are best friends and longstanding colleagues, ignoring the grubby mess thousands of passengers leave behind in favour of banter and laughs as they tease each other's cleaning skills and enjoy a gossip to make the night go quicker.

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 26 Nov 2023 17:30

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Credits

Role Contributor
Series Producer Rachel Evans
Executive Producer Samantha Rosie

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