好色先生TV

Philip Ashton PhD

Philip Ashton didn鈥檛 want to be a television star. But then, as a middle-aged, softly spoken academic, it did not appear to be an immediate concern. Until, that is, he got a phone call from Channel 4. Some producers at the channel had been reliably informed that Dr Ashton, the head of construction research at the University of Brighton, was the ideal man to head their new construction-themed reality TV show. So it was that, after some reluctance on Ashton鈥檚 part, an unlikely star was born.

Bricking It was a televised challenge, an abridged version of which was broadcast last December. It featured 10 unemployed and unqualified people between the ages of 17 and 21, and the format was similar to the highly successful Jamie鈥檚 Kitchen. This time the challenge was to build a 拢350,000 flat in south-east London in just 24 weeks. Ashton was the project manager, and became a bit of a favourite among the show鈥檚 fans 鈥� although it appears that he didn鈥檛 have too much competition on that score. TV critics, from The Guardian to the Daily Mail, were swift to get their claws out for the show鈥檚 young stars, who were perceived to be incompetent, lazy or just plain psychotic.

The Spectator was particularly vituperative: 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 they just take the worst kids on Bricking It, grind them down into cement, and then use them for the building鈥檚 foundation? It鈥檚 the only way they鈥檙e ever going to serve any remotely useful function in their miserable, doomed lives.鈥�

Ashton, 41, now back in his preferred habitat of a university office, has had time to reflect on the programme and whether it had anything pertinent to say on the young workforce now entering the construction industry. 鈥淚t was an absolutely unique project. There is a lovely saying: 鈥楴ever put two apprentices together, because you get half a day鈥檚 work out of them鈥�. Well, imagine putting 10 together.鈥�

Ashton was responsible for selecting the participants. He denies the rumour that Channel 4 engineered the team to create sensational situations and says the trainees knew better than to play up to the camera 脿 la Big Brother. 鈥淚 wanted to choose 10 young people that gave a fair and reasonable representation of the thousands who applied. They are reflecting the state of young people out there today; the lack of drive, the lack of enthusiasm. That鈥檚 what is entering our industry at the moment. They wouldn鈥檛 have lasted five minutes in my day,鈥� he sighs.

Ashton鈥檚 day was the late 1980s and early 1990s. He moved up from a joinery apprenticeship to senior managerial roles in construction companies, the last of which was at Brighton firm Integra. In 1994, he decided to go into the academic world, gained a PhD in risk management and began lecturing on the sustainability of the built environment.

Sustainability is clearly not the only subject he likes to lecture on: he is also a passionate advocate of the need to improve the image that the industry projects to young people.

They reflect young people today; the lack of drive, the lack of enthusiasm. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 entering our industry at the moment

He says: 鈥淲hatever level you are, it is great fun. It鈥檚 like being a big boy playing with big toys, in the same way that you played with Lego when you were a kid.鈥� By this stage, he is evangelical: 鈥淵ou鈥檒l never be out of work. You can travel anywhere in the world. We need to do more to attract young people into construction.鈥�

But young people have to improve too. Ashton says that he agrees with Prince Charles鈥� controversial comment that young people have unrealistic expectations. Ashton blames reality game shows, where contestants sit around doing nothing, for undermining the values of hard work.

Ashton might sound tough, but he acknowledges the trainees鈥� achievements on the show. 鈥淭hey really grew up in every sense of the word. They moved from being unemployable, irresponsible and taking no degree of responsibility for themselves to knowing they had to secure a job and take responsibility for their actions.鈥�

Indeed, the youngsters are not the subject of his harshest criticism. The only member of the Bricking It cast Ashton would have happily dispensed with was the property developer, Berkeley Homes, whose site in Woolwich Royal Arsenal was used for the programme.

鈥淭hey were a real nightmare,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey were dreadful. They were supposed to be supplying all the materials and the space and they couldn鈥檛 have made my life harder if they鈥檇 tried. They were everything that is bad about our industry 鈥� late, wrong, incorrect, you name it. I was really ashamed of them.鈥� He then reels off a list of problems with plasterboards, paint and toilet seats. Troublesome situations 鈥� apart from squabbles between trainees 鈥� he says, were deliberately cut out from the three hours of the final edit in order to make it 鈥渁 positive promotion of construction. It wasn鈥檛 supposed to be a programme about rubbish鈥�.

Royal Arsenal head of sales John Hall admits there were problems, but stresses the fact that the job was out of the ordinary. He says: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what happens when you build a one-off apartment. It hasn鈥檛 been made to Berkeley Homes鈥� standard specifications. Everything was a one-off: the door handles, the kitchen, the glass staircase, the wooden finish in the bathroom. I have the greatest respect for Philip, but he should know that the construction process is never smooth.鈥�

However, it is probably fair to say that the programme did not create quite the kind of publicity that Berkeley might have hoped for. As The Times put it: 鈥淲ho would now want to buy a flat in this development, unless it came with cast-iron guarantees that it wasn鈥檛 the one they鈥檝e seen being botched by this band of untrained youths?鈥�

The building was a just a vehicle, a metaphor 鈥� the change was in the trainees

Ashton couldn鈥檛 care less about the outcome for Royal Arsenal. For him the programme 鈥渨as a good opportunity to show people how proud [of our job] we are鈥�. To this end, Bricking It did raise the profile of careers in construction, and thousands of queries were later sent in to the Channel 4 website.

So has he become the Jamie Oliver of the construction industry? Ashton concedes he may not have the good looks or youth appeal of the Naked Chef, but all he is concerned about is that he has reached his target of securing an apprenticeship for at least half of the 10 trainees. Seven are now apprentices.

Ashton鈥檚 judgment on Bricking It is that it has been 鈥渁 good window for the construction industry to show what we actually can do.鈥�

To his mind, the trainees proved the sceptics wrong and could feel justly proud when Royal Arsenal construction manager Andy Carson found nothing to criticise in the flat they handed over 鈥� on time.

鈥淭he building in our particular case was just a vehicle. It made a good metaphor for a lot of things,鈥� Ashton concludes. 鈥淭he change was with them. They learned a lot about themselves. They are now ready to go and pursue what they want.鈥�

• Channel 4 will broadcast the full six-episode series of Bricking It from 7 March