Stock in trade

IN theory, it’s never been easier for members of the public to sell their own handiwork – just stick it on the internet. However, if you’d rather see your product on the shelves of a high-street retailer than sitting on an online auction site waiting for bids, it can be a bit more difficult to know where to start.

That’s where Britain’s Next Big Thing comes in. The new series offers unknown designers an opportunity to pitch their products directly to some of the retail industry’s most powerful players.

While the people trying to sell their wares may be novices, the show’s presenter, Theo Paphitis, is perfectly qualified to host the show. Not only is he famous for Dragons’ Den, he also has a wealth of business experience.

Paphitis first showed his own retail acumen at the tender age of 15, when he took over the running off his school’s tuck shop. It was the first step in a remarkable career in which he started his own business at 23, revived the fortunes of several ailing brands, build up an impressive fortune, and even became a celebrity thanks to Dragons’ Den.

But here he’ll be focusing on other aspiring entrepreneurs, as Boots, Habitat and Liberty hold open days in which members of the public will pitch to them to get their products stocked in the stores.

The stakes are still very high. As Paphitis says: “The open days are a fantastic opportunity for the untried, hopeful suppliers to meet the buyers.

“It really is an opportunity of a lifetime.

This is a real fast-track into retail.”

It’s a point that hasn’t been lost on the would-be suppliers. When department store Liberty opens its doors at 6am, there are already 600 people queuing.

With only three minutes to deliver their pitches, the pressure is really on and only a handful will make it to the next round. Among those hoping to make the grade are former carpenter Tom Hopkins- Gibson, who has travelled from Scotland with his porcelain and wooden bowls; professor of architecture Richard Weston, who dazzles the buyers with his silk scarves; and glass-blower Charlotte Sale.

Meanwhile, over at Boots, the team prepares to draw up a shortlist of only ten potential suppliers who can compete in the health and beauty market.

But the pitches are only the beginning – Paphitis will follow buyers and suppliers over six months as they try to take the products to the shop shelves.

KATIE PIPER is an extraordinary woman. Hers is a story of tremendous courage after a horrific attack in which acid was hurled into her face, destroying her features and leaving her confidence in tatters, along with her blossoming modelling career.

In Katie: My Beautiful Friends, we’ve followed the steps she’s taken to rebuild her life. The final episode sees her leaving her parents’ home and moving into her own place.

We also meet 22-year-old Kayleigh, a sufferer of Pfeiffer syndrome, whose bones have fused as they’ve grown. She’s sick of the taunts and being made to feel a prisoner in her own home, so is looking to Katie for support.

Meanwhile, father-of-two George faces his own dilemma ahead of life-saving surgery that will leave him further disfigured.

He’s worried about passing the hereditary disease to his children, having seen the same thing happen with his father.

T HE Mills and Boon romance novels are a publishing phenomenon, with global sales of 200 million a year.

The True Stories documentary Guilty Pleasures meets some of the writers and readers whose lives have been touched by these tales of love.

They include housewife Hiroko, who dreams of being swept off her feet by a dashing David Beckham lookalike, and Shumita, whose husband left her for another woman, but is now determined to take control of her romantic destiny.

Back in the UK, a single mum appears to be living the Mills and Boon dream, which is more than can be said for cover model Stephen, who is still waiting for his one true love.

We also hear from author Gill Sanderson, who may not be quite what devoted readers expect. For a start, he’s actually a pensioner called Roger who writes his tales of passion from a small caravan in the Lake District.