I'll Show Them Who's Boss (BBC2)

The story of brothers Angus, Alan and Alistair was more than a storm in a coffee cup. This was sibling rivalry at its most antagonistic as the three argued over the future of their company.

Business guru Gerry Robinson, billed as "the man who made a fortune out of deciding who should live and who should be fired", almost threw up his hands in despair at the constant sniping and bickering.

The idea of the series is that he sorts out problems in family businesses, and there was no doubt from the very beginning that ATM Espresso had big worries - namely the three As, who run it jointly but can't stop arguing.

Ten years ago the brothers were selling drinks behind their only coffee bar in Oxford's city centre. Today the half-Mexican, half-English trio have 37 bars in stations, airports and malls, with a £11m turnover.

It didn't take an experienced businessman - and Robinson has run Coca-Cola and media giant Granada - to recognise that the company was going down the drain unless one brother was put in sole charge. Trouble was, they only agreed to disagree.

After attending a board meeting, Robinson declared: "We've sat here for three-quarters of an hour and I don't think we've done anything useful." Rather than argue about the packaging on flapjack, they needed to make big decisions about ATM's future. "It's chaos and a complete lack of clarity," he said, clearly becoming increasingly annoyed at the brothers' refusal to act with one voice.

Angus, the oldest, and Alistair, the youngest, were the main culprits, with Alan stuck in the middle. Robinson told them their attitude was damaging the businss and wanted them to each present a business plan to him. From that, he'd pick the brother best-suited to run the place.

He favoured Alistair even before the contest began - until he arrived more than 45 minutes late for his presentation. "I've flown across for this and I'm really, really pissed off," an angry Robinson told him.

The next day he was late again. Robinson admitted that Alistair was the natural leader, but also arrogant, cocky and had no sense of time. He said Alan should take charge - a decision that came as a surprise to everyone.

It did serve to unite the warring brothers. They decided to ignore the proposal and carry on running things together. They also called a halt to filming and told Robinson to go away. He can, at least, take comfort that his actions prompted them to agree on something for once.

Published: ??/??/2003