search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
How primetime TV shone a spotlight on an invisible workforce


Paul Thrupp considers how ITV’s Cleaning Up helped show the public a hidden side of our industry.


Last month The Sun contacted us to see if we had a view on how cleaners were portrayed in the ITV drama Cleaning Up, starring Sheridan Smith.


In case you didn’t see the show, it was based around an office cleaner (Smith) who has an online gambling problem. As it happens,


the offices she cleaned are in the City of London, and this meant she’s tasked with cleaning up after the high-rolling traders have all gone home.


This environment also meant that Sheridan’s character got access to sensitive information about stocks and shares, which lead to her dabbling in a bit of insider trading to try and help clear her debts. As the story unfolded, we saw all kinds of unprofessional behaviour from some cleaners. This included ‘mine-sweeping’ abandoned glasses of champagne from traders’ desks and attempting to fix a carpet stain through the use of a marker pen.


Another scene saw a cleaner tell an office worker she didn’t ‘do desks’ for fear of ‘messing up paperwork’, and eventually the whole thing went very Mission Impossible, with cleaners installing a listening device to enable them to get the inside track on dodgy share dealings.


The Sun were clearly fishing for a comment from us that roundly criticised the portrayal of the cleaners in the show (e.g. ‘Cleaning bosses slam Sheridan’s new drama). What we actually said was it was very unlikely that a professional cleaning operative would neck discarded alcohol while on a shift or try and hide a stain with a felt-tip pen – and that a supervisor would most likely decide on the desk cleaning policy in agreement with client. We also pointed out that undertaking criminal activity was a personal choice, and not a trait based on a certain career choice.


We went on to say what the programme had successfully captured was the ‘invisibility’ of cleaners, and the fact that


22 | REGULAR


hundreds of thousands of people experience a hygienic workplace every day without giving a thought to the army of committed, hardworking people which make that possible.


It was therefore encouraging to read that Sheridan had spent time with cleaners in Canary Wharf in preparation for the part and had picked up on the ‘invisible’ nature of the job. Speaking to the I newspaper, she said: “I met a lot of cleaners. It was interesting when we did the scenes where the stockbrokers are arriving and the cleaners are still there, they didn’t even notice us. They just barge in with their briefcases and you’re unseen to them.”


The Evening Standard’s TV critic Guy Pewsey hit on the same theme in his review of the first episode. He said: “How well do you know your cleaners? The people we pay to come into our homes and offices rarely get more than a passing glance as they hoover our carpets and wipe down our desks. They enter and exit like clockwork, tolerating our mess, largely ignored by the masses and making little in return.”


At the time of writing there’s only been two episodes broadcast (out of six), and in episode two Sheridan’s character got involved in more complex (and somewhat ludicrous) levels of espionage which pushed the whole cleaner’s ‘invisibility’ a bit too far. There was also a sudden, jarring switch from night-time to daytime cleaning in order to advance the plot, and I’m sure some industry colleagues will have views on the various coloured cloths and gloves which were shown being used in different settings throughout the show.


But if Cleaning Up did nothing else regarding the image of the sector, on the evidence so far it has helped to highlight the unsung, unrecognised and very often underappreciated workforce that keep our offices functioning, our buildings safe and our economy moving.


www.britishcleaningcouncil.org twitter.com/TomoCleaning


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90