Sliced Bread

Are more expensive face creams worth it?

I'm back with a new series of Sliced Bread to investigate more of your suggested wonder products and I'm starting with one of the most-requested so far. Do more expensive moisturisers, serums and oils live up to the hype? Can they result in smoother, brighter, firmer, healthier skin or is it all just marketing BS?

Listener Aristide wants to know whether one of the most expensive products on the market - 'Creme de la Mer' (£80 for 15ml) - has any more evidence to back it up than the cheap moisturiser he uses from the High Street. And listener Fiona is keen to hear about the effectiveness of retinol, one of the most popular ingredients used in creams and serums today.

In this episode I'll get the answers with the help of our expert, consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Wedgeworth.

Once again this series I'm looking for more of your suggestions for wonder products to investigate. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or fad rproduct promsing to make you happier, healthier or greener and want to know if there’s any evidence behind it, then email us: [email protected] or you can send a voice note to our WhatsApp number: 07543 306807

Presenter: Greg Foot

Greg Foot returns to investigate a whole new batch of so-called wonder products suggested by you, the listeners.

Sliced Bread is back for a new series from Thursday 8 February, 2023 on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds, with new episodes available weekly on Thursdays on BBC Sounds and wherever you get your podcasts.

What went wrong at Jamie Oliver's UK restaurant chain, Jamie's Italian?

While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up… Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers.

In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist, Sean Farrington, examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did it fail? What can we learn from it today?

In this episode, which was first broadcast in February 2024, Sean and the serial entrepreneur, Sam White, examine the fortunes of Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant chain. It was a big hit when it launched so why couldn't it maintain that success?

Expert commentators - and Jamie Oliver himself - reflect on what made his restaurants so special and what led to their demise.

Tracey MacLeod, formerly of The Independent, was one of the first restaurant critics through the door; Emma Lake, Assistant Editor at The Caterer magazine wrote extensively about Jamie's Italian; Peter Harden, the co-founder of Harden's Restaurant Guide, has trawled through reviews of Jamie's Italian to see what changed from the customers' perspective.

Jamie Oliver's perspective comes through an interview he did with Kirsty Young for the Radio 4 series 'Young Again'.

If you have an idea for a topic with a toast moment then you can email the programme at [email protected]

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in February. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds.

Toast is produced by Jon Douglas and Viant Siddique and is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Why did the best-selling computer manufacturer, Commodore, go bust?

While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up… Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers.

In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist, Sean Farrington, examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did it fail? What can we learn from it today?

In this episode, Sean examines the remarkable story behind the man who founded one of the world's best-selling computer manufacturers.

Commodore computers were huge in the 1980s so why couldn't the business adapt to survive in an age when computing became even more popular?

Expert commentators and employees reflect on why the company was so successful and what led to its demise.

Guests include David Pleasance - a former Commodore international executive and later joint managing director of its UK arm; Tim Danton - editor-in-chief of PC Pro magazine; Dan Wood - a Commodore computers enthusiast.

Alongside them is the self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, to analyse the missteps that changed the brand’s fortunes.

If you have an idea for a topic with a toast moment then you can email the programme at [email protected]

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in February. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds.

Toast is produced by Jon Douglas and Viant Siddique and is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Why did the package holiday brand, Club 18-30, disappear?

While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up… Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers.

In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist, Sean Farrington, examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did it fail? What can we learn from it today?

In this episode, which was first broadcast in January 2024, Sean learns why Club 18-30 fell out of favour.

Its package holidays for young people were a hit for decades so why couldn't it keep going?

Sean speaks to holidaymakers who remember their Club 18-30 experiences well.

A former manager explains how they hoped to keep the brand going and why that proved impossible.

Alongside them all, analysing the business' fortunes is the self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White.

You can email the programme at [email protected]

Feel free to suggest topics which we could cover in future episodes

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in February. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds.

Toast is produced by Jon Douglas and Viant Siddique and is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Why did sales of the best-selling soft drink, Sunny Delight, suddenly bomb in the 1990s?

While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up… Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers.

In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist, Sean Farrington, examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did it fail? What can we learn from it today?

In this episode, which was first broadcast in January 2024, Sean learns why sales of Sunny Delight faltered in the UK after an extraordinarily successful launch.

Sean speaks to some of the people who worked on the brand, hearing how it became a hit before a series of unfortunate coincidences undermined its popularity.

The self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, is alongside him, analysing the missteps that changed Sunny Delight's fortunes.

'Sunny D', as it is known today, is still sold in some UK supermarkets. It has different owners and ingredients but it has never matched the incredible sales figures which it achieved in its early days.

CORRECTION: Beta-carotene is not a B vitamin as briefly referenced in this programme. It's turned into vitamin A in the body.

You can email the programme at [email protected]

Feel free to suggest topics which we could cover in future episodes

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in February. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds.

Toast is produced by Jon Douglas and Viant Siddique and is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Why did Toys R Us have to close all of its UK superstores in 2018?

While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up… Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers.

In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist, Sean Farrington, examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did it fail? What can we learn from it today?

In this Christmas special, Sean examines the charming story behind one of our best-known toy brands before hearing how it faltered.

Expert commentators and employees reflect on why the business had been so successful and what went wrong.

Alongside them is the self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, to analyse the missteps that changed the brand’s fortunes.

Together, they hear how Toys R Us is making a comeback in the UK.

You can email the programme at [email protected]

Feel free to suggest topics which we could cover in future episodes.

From big tech to high street retail and, of course, food, Toast tackles the business ideas that, one way or another, ended up cooked.

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in February. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds.

Toast is produced by Jon Douglas and Viant Siddique and is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Sean Farrington returns with the Radio 4 series that examines the spectacular failures of wonder products and businesses which had promised so much.

Toast is back with a special Christmas episode looking at the rise and fall of toy superstore Toys R Us on 18 December, 2023, and then returns for a new series on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds on 11 January, 2024.

Can changing your sheets be good for you - and the environment?

If you've seen a claim you'd like investigating, you can email the team on [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp voice note on 07543 306807.

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT

Which Christmas tree is better for the environment - real or fake?

Everyone loves the smell of a freshly cut pine or spruce but the vast majority of them go to landfill. So would a plastic tree be better?

Listener Eleanor wants to have a more sustainable Christmas and has some great questions. Is there a better way to dispose of your real tree? How about a pot-grown tree you could use again the next year? And she's even heard about the possibility of renting a Christmas tree - the same one, year after year! Is that a thing?

In this frankly festive episode I attempt to get to the root of the problem (sorry!) by speaking to an ecological expert and a journalist who's attempted to rent the whole of Christmas.

Presenter: Greg Foot