Grandma's Back In Business - The fashion business

24 September 2007 -  It's the final episode of Grandad's Back In Business but this time it's Grandma's turn.

Two recruits are about to start work at Doll, a fashion events company staffed mainly by twenty-somethings.

They have a month to prove themselves, and then one of them will be given a job.

The company organises catwalk shows and parties for the fashion industry. Owner Lee Lapthorne is tired of the students he usually employs - they're often opinionated, lazy, and only in it for the glamour. He wants to see if an older person might be more of an asset to him. But he has reservations.

In an industry obsessed with youth and beauty, how will his clients react to someone of mature years? Will a sixty-something know about cutting-edge fashion and be able to hack the long hours? Or will she hark back to how things were done in her day?

This is a golden opportunity for Lesley Permin, who, at 61, is desperate to get back into the industry she loves. She retired four years ago from her job as design director for a fashion company, but realises, in retrospect, that that was a very bad move.

She's bored and unfulfilled, and, until now, has felt unable to do much about it. She doesn't think an employer would look at her twice because of her age.

Aletha Shepherd is 19, has just finished her A-levels and is determined to get straight onto the career ladder. She's grown up with fashion (her mother's a dressmaker), reckons she's a born organiser, and has already tested her skills by putting on a fashion show at college.

She's confident, ambitious and thinks a 61-year-old will be no match for her.

On their first day, Aletha and Lesley face an immediate test of how up-to-date their fashion knowledge is. They have to style two new colleagues in "Hoxton chic".

Aletha hits the nail on the head, but Lesley gets it badly wrong.

Lesley's challenge is to get her head around today's fashion and convince the youthful fashion types around her that she knows what she's talking about.

With no computer skills to speak of, she's got an uphill struggle getting to grips with the modern workplace. How quickly can she learn, at her age? How much will her decades of experience count against a highly confident youngster?

This is Lesley's last chance to get back into the industry she loves but it's also Aletha's possible big break.

Monday 24 September - 9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE