Scarborough's Plaxton bus manufacturer to star on BBC's Inside The Factory – where London's double-decker buses are built

Gregg Wallace visited Scarborough last year to film for Inside The Factory. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)Gregg Wallace visited Scarborough last year to film for Inside The Factory. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)
Gregg Wallace visited Scarborough last year to film for Inside The Factory. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)
Scarborough's well-known bus manufacturer, Plaxton, will feature on prime time TV next week in the latest episode of the BBC's Inside The Factory: XL.

Viewers will get an insight into how specialist electric buses are made at the Eastfield factory, which will air at 9pm on Monday August 8 on BBC Two.

TV star Gregg Wallace, who hosts the programme, was spotted filming for the new show in September last year when he stopped off in Scarborough, where London's iconic red double-decker buses are built.

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The enthusiastic presenter will learn how the buses are made at Scarborough's Alexander Dennis/Plaxton factory through every stage of the build process, from the chassis to fitting the wireless bell which allows passengers to alight.

Gregg Wallace saw how London's iconic red double-decker buses are built in Scarborough. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)Gregg Wallace saw how London's iconic red double-decker buses are built in Scarborough. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)
Gregg Wallace saw how London's iconic red double-decker buses are built in Scarborough. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)

A spokesperson for Alexander Dennis said: "Gregg helps our brilliant shop-floor team across all stages of an electric bus' construction and finds out what makes bus manufacturing such a uniquely rewarding job."

Plaxton, which employs hundreds of Scarborough-area people, was founded in 1907 and has built some of the country's best-known models of bus and coach. It became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis, the UK's largest coachbuilder, in 2007 and is part of the Canadian-based NFI Group.

The eight-tonne electric chassis arrives in Scarborough from China with motor and batteries already connected, where it then begins its journey on the 262-metre-long assembly line, where 535 people work in unison to build the huge buses by hand.

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Gregg Wallace even tries his hand at using a rivet gun, with each of the bus' walls requiring 1,800 rivets to secure 30 aluminium panels in place, taking eight hours.

Gregg Wallace tried his hand at various stages of the production line. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)Gregg Wallace tried his hand at various stages of the production line. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)
Gregg Wallace tried his hand at various stages of the production line. (Photo: BBC/Voltage TV)

During his visit to the Yorkshire Coast last year, Gregg Wallace shared pictures of his stay on Instagram, with views of Scarborough Spa and South Bay. He stayed at The Crown Spa Hotel on South Cliff during filming.

Speaking to his 139,000 followers on his Instagram story, he said: "I want to do a shout-out to the Crown Spa Hotel in Scarborough, you've been great. Honestly a lovely, lovely hotel and I would like to visit again."

"I am having fun at this factory, I must admit," he added.

The BBC Two programme has been running since 2015 and shows how all sorts of different products are made, ranging from Heinz baked beans and Kingsmill bread to diggers and trains.

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