Ruby Does The Business (BBC1)

IF OTT humour and madcap laughter ever fail for Ruby Wax, she could always move into the world of business. This series has the American redhead meeting the names behind some of the biggest businesses in the country to find out what makes them tick.

She started with Dave Whelan of JJB Sports, a man who made his money late in life and is determined not to let anyone get their hands on his millions. Ruby started at the bottom - meeting the people in the warehouse and a dim-witted shop assistant selling trainers to snotty nosed teenagers.

No-one had a good word to say about Dave. His tightness is legendary and they all complained about long hours, low wages and a feeling they weren't trusted by the man they likened to Big Brother. Ruby nodded in all the right places and tried to sound sympathetic but you could tell she couldn't understand why they put up with the conditions. She was ready to start a revolution and when the staff weren't interested, she was eager to move on and play with the big boys.

Once she met Dave, his family and senior managers, Ruby was in her element. She destroyed the ad's man's Euro 2004 campaign, which he had been forced to make on a tiny £25,000 budget.

Dave loved her ideas and wanted to adopt them but the ad manager was having none of it - you could almost hear him asking who Ruby thought she was and what right she had to stir things up.

Ruby's biggest skill is her confidence - she asks the questions others would shy away from and isn't embarrassed to say what she thinks.

This direct line of questioning revealed some really worrying traits in Dave, a working class man who has taken the work ethic to the extreme. His son has schizophrenia and his son-in-law killed himself when he could no longer cope with helping to run the business.

Ruby asked if Dave would swap his empire to have a healthy son and his son-in-law back and, unbelievably, he couldn't answer.

He said he wanted all three things and even when pushed, refused to come down on the side of his family.

His long-suffering wife and daughter seemed secure in the knowledge they were loved but the only evidence of this was the multi-millionaire lifestyle they enjoyed.

Obviously, you have to be driven to be a success in business but Dave was clearly obsessed. A few years ago, he made the business public to raise some capital. Now he is desperate the get it back under his control - he claims he is motivated by a desire to avoid tax but you could see the gleam in his eye at the thought he could have it all back in his grasp.

This is a man who makes his staff count the number of sheets of paper you get on a loo roll to make sure he is getting value for money and will spend no more than ten per cent of his huge business on staff.

He may be a great success but his millionaire lifestyle looked a bit empty - the only people to smile or laugh on the show were Ruby and the bottom-rung staff. They may have no money but they certainly have a better grip of what is important in life.