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Channel 4 asks 'How Rich Are You?'

27th October 2014 Print

Ever wondered how your pay compares to your friends'? Where that puts you relative to the rest of the country? And who's got the big money in Britain today?

In an age polarised between bling and benefits, this one-off special will show each of us where we stand in the great money map of Britain - and what that position means.

With the help of leading experts , experiments with a studio audience, new research and revealing case studies, How Rich Are You? (1 x 60) will see Richard Bacon will build up a shocking and surprising portrait of the UK.

It will begin by showing each of us where we fit in, show how our wealth affects everything from who we marry to how long we live, and end by asking whether we're happy with the bigger picture.

Thanks to a new app, developed by Channel 4 in association with the Institute for Fiscal Studies, we'll each be able to test ourselves at home and see whether we’re as rich - or poor - as we think we are.

Money is a subject of equal fascination and embarrassment to most Brits. Most of us would rather discuss our sex lives than reveal our salaries. But as a result, we're missing one of the great issues of our time.

Research commissioned by Channel 4 shows that almost none of us know where we stand in the great scale of incomes. The UK has been officially declared the most unequal society in Europe, with the 5 richest families in the country owning more than 12.5 million of the rest of us. Richard, his team of experts and the studio audience will explore how we got here, examine the surprising consequences of the income divide, and ask what - if anything - we should do about it in a provocative, revelatory and lively show that sees us finally front up to each other about money.

How Rich Are You? was commissioned by John Hay for Channel 4. It will be executive produced by Electric Ray managing directors Meredith Chambers and Karl Warner, and produced by award-winning film maker Adam Wishart. Electric Ray is a joint venture with Sony Pictures Television.

John Hay, Channel 4: “I’m convinced that years from now we will look back on the growing gap between rich and poor as the most significant issue of our age, and I think there’s a real hunger to understand it better (as well as to find out how much our neighbours earn). Richard and the team at Electric Ray have a gift for making important television that doesn’t feel like homework, so I hope this will be both revelatory and addictive viewing.”

Meredith Chambers said: “This programme will make for fascinating viewing and hopefully trigger a wider debate about what it means to be rich or poor in Britain today. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to know how their relative wealth – or lack of – compares to their bosses or neighbours.”