A special edition of the documentary strand highlighting the pressures of management in crisis situations.

Wandsworth Prison in London was slammed for its poor conditions and treatment of inmates in a report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons in December 1999. Weeks later, new governor Stephen Rimmer was installed, and cameras were allowed to follow the trials of his first year in charge. Contains strong language.
A new series begins on Thursday at 9.50pm.
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[Photo caption] Wandsworth governor Stephen Rimmer (flanked by prison officers Bob Milton and Richie Kellier) faces Trouble at the Top over plans for reform

Trouble at the Top 9.00pm BBC2
There are some people in whose shoes you would not wish to walk. Stephen Rimmer is one of them. Just weeks after the Chief Inspector of Prisons produced a damning report on Wandsworth prison in December 1999, he was appointed as its new governor. What better subject for this special edition from the factual strand that investigates messy goings-on in our institutions than to follow him, with unfettered access, during the course of one year? The report cited a culture of fear and appalling conditions and treatment of the inmates. Rimmer's remit was to turn the prison around in that year and do it with a slashed budget.

Rimmer has taken on this bucket-sized poisoned chalice with a fearless - some say foolhardy - heart. His only previous experience of prison governorship was a small country jail and, at the age of 37, he is Britain's youngest prison governor. He finds himself in charge of the country's biggest prison, housing some of its toughest inmates, staffed by some of its most entrenched officers. So, how does he intend to win over the men on both sides of the bars? With a touchy-feely approach. He intends to tackle increasing numbers of suicides and a spiralling drug problem with a clear strategy: every prisoner should have a job and spend at least ten hours a day out of their cells. The prison officers are, to put it mildly, sceptical.

The film is packed with incident, including the dog-handlers' reaction to Rimmer's suggestion that they should seek counselling when he gets rid of their guard dogs, but a high spot is the visit by Home Secretary Jack Straw that requires the closure of the "drug-free" B-wing - because it's hopelessly drug-riddled.

Does the change of name from Separation and Punishment Block to Care and Separation Unit have the desired effect? Can Rimmer convince Richie Kellier and Bob Milton of the Prison Officers' Association that promising a telly for every prisoner with a drug-free cell will work? And will he and the prison pass the test, especially when the Chief Inspector calls back earlier than expected?
Acid remarks from some officers, astonishingly open access and a clash of personalities make this an open-and-shut case for great TV. The new series of Trouble at the Top starts with an examination of Pringle's knitwear empire on Thursday at 9.50pm. FL