Trading Places | Preview (5)

This series is an energetic, entertainingly provocative ‘fish-out-of-water’ series that takes a group of three young people and plunges them into an immersive week-long 24/7 experience inside one of four extraordinary worlds whose way of life is very different from their own.

Will it be fireworks or friendship when a generation raised online and on-demand come face to face with regimes built on no-nonsense rules, unshakable principles and loyalty to a strict set of values. How will the young visitors react to the rituals and regulations of their new surroundings? And as the experience transforms both them and their hosts, will either side ever be the same again?

In the opening episode, three image-obsessed, brand-loving young shopaholics step back in time to a 60s-inspired off-grid hippy commune which puts people and the planet first.

Twenty-six-year-old Saffron from Essex earns her living as a Sugar Baby, providing companionship for men in exchange for designer shoes and bags. Unashamed materialist, Umar, 20 from Derby relies on his Dad to fund his shopping addiction. Twenty-two-year-old Bridie is a TikTok fashion influencer from Salford. She has a serious unboxing habit, regularly wearing clothes just once before throwing them away.

For the next week, these three luxury lovers will be moving in with the inhabitants of Chyan Farm, a remote 25-acre site in Cornwall. It’s home to a community who reject consumerism and individualism in favour of green living and working for the common good. It’ll be a significant shock to their system. As host Ben reveals, ‘It's not a spectator sport being at Chyan. It's a full contact sport. People either get that or run away screaming’.

After arriving on the site, the three shopaholics are given a tour, and by the time they’ve taken in the communal washing facilities, Saffron is ready to quit. She pulls herself together for a communal meeting where the trio find out more about the day-to-day life at Chyan and how they’ll be expected to contribute during their stay.

The following morning there’s a rude awakening as the young visitors join an early morning Yoga session, before taking on one of the commune’s worst jobs – cleaning out the compost toilets. Umar and Saffron struggle to understand why anyone would choose to live like this, while Bridie seems more open to an eco-friendly lifestyle, getting emotional in a chat with Ben and his wife Tash, where she opens up about how guilty she feels about her shopping habits. Bridie is the first of the three to see there might indeed be more to life than ’stuff’.

Chyan makes most of its money from farming apples and Umar, Bridie and Saffron are expected to put a shift in making juice. It’s a chance for Saffron to talk about how she overcame an impoverished childhood with commune resident Babu, who sympathises but wonders if her current lifestyle is really making her happy. Later that night, Saffron is overwhelmed by a circus-skills class that triggers unhappy memories of school.

Next morning, while Saffron steps away from commune life to take stock, Bridie and Umar explore the mystical side of Chyan. They take part in a ‘feather smudging’ ceremony before joining the community for a silent disco on a local beach which proves transformational. After a drumming session with Babu and resident musician Rik, Umar reveals that he’d like to reawaken his more creative side, having pursued his university degree because it was something his late mother wanted. Suddenly the commune’s new arrivals are beginning to see the light, and their hosts are also finding they’re beginning to understand these three outsiders more and more. Could a meeting of minds be in the air?

Having helped make a batch of apple juice, the three now put their retail instincts to the test, selling their product at a local farmers market where they’re challenged to best the previous week’s takings. Saffron and Umar spot the opportunity to exchange a bottle of juice for some cake, but it leads to a heated confrontation with Ben, who feels they’ve eaten the commune profits.

After Umar clears the air with Ben, the trio’s final day is spent preparing for and celebrating Chyan’s annual Apple Fair, where the shopaholics and hippies dance the day away. The show has brought together two tribes who only a week ago couldn’t stand, or understand, each other.

Trading Places begins Sunday 10th May on 5.