Last Orders: Calling Time on Pubs?

Up and down the UK up to five pubs are closing every day, leading many to ask if the future of this British institution is in real jeopardy. The smoking ban, cheap supermarket booze, high rents and the credit crunch have all conspired to hit the pub business hard. Many publicans feel isolated and unsupported by the huge pub companies that they work with.

The Money Programme's Max Flint goes on a pub crawl across Britain to investigate the demise of the British boozer. He starts at the village of Woodford in Northamptonshire to find out why the locals are betting on which of its three pubs will close first. Max spends a day as a publican in the Duke's Arms to see what the job involves. Flint also visits pubs that appear to have the winning formula to find out if its 'trebles all round' or 'time gentlemen please' for this traditional British industry.