Toast - Farepak's Christmas Hampers

What led to the collapse of the Christmas savings club Farepak? The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, investigates with the entrepreneur, Sam White, alongside him. It's our Christmas special and we're turning the clock back to the mid 1960s…. and looking at a business which started from humble beginnings in a Peckham butcher's shop, and went on to change Christmas for tens of thousands of families all over the UK. So, why did Farepak end up toast? Sean interviews: -David Goodhart - founder of Prospect Magazine, journalist, commentator and author. David tells us more about the man known as Farepak's founder, Bob Johnson and how his passion for philanthropy influenced the business. -Suzy Hall - Former Farepak customer and agent who went on to become a national campaign coordinator for Unfairpak- a campaign set up in the wake of the Farepak collapse. -Dermot Power - Former senior partner with the accountants BDO Stoy Hayward, Dermot was appointed as joint administrator to the Farepak business and can talk us through what happened and how he worked to help get customers' money back. Produced by Linda Walker. A BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Contact: toast@bbc.co.uk

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Toast - Farepak's Christmas Hampers is an episode from Sliced Bread by BBC.

This episode is 24:45 long.

This episode was published on Dec 25, 2025.

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