GERRY’S BIG ON HYBRID TELLY

Jun 28 2009 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun

SIR Gerry Robinson is one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs but he is prepared to put some of his own money into failing businesses.

That’s the idea behind Gerry’s Big Decision, where the former priest judges if he should bail them out.

In the first show, he meets the bosses of two breweries only weeks from going under.

If he likes what he sees, he invests, and if he doesn’t the businesses are left to sink or swim.

He admitted the series could draw comparisons with other similar shows.

He said: “Nothing’s completely new. It’s somewhere between The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den and something else, everything’s a hybrid, really. But the sums of money involved are greater in this.

“It’s quite an emotional roller coaster, it really is, because you can see how desperate people can be. The series’ potency lies in that.”

GERRY’S BIG DECISION, Channel 4, Thursday, 9pm.