Last year Charan Gill, the curry-house king of Scotland, sold his restaurant empire for £16 million pounds. He became one of the richest men in the country overnight. Now, he lives with his wife and family in his dream home. But Charan’s not always been used to having money. He moved to Glasgow from India when he was 9 years old and started out working in the shipyards at the age of 15. He spent the next 25 years learning about business and by the time he was in his 40s he owned 17 Indian restaurants. Today, Charan feels he wants to help others who haven’t been as fortunate as himself. “I’ve worked hard, but I know that there are a lot of people who have worked harder than me who are still on the poverty line. I hope I can do some good. I would like to think there’s more to me than just curry.”
This week, the 51-year-old Sikh becomes the third Secret Millionaire to go under cover and try to find people that he believes are worthy recipients for some of his fortune. He travels to Thetford, Norfolk, to join the thousands of unskilled workers who survive in rural Britain on the minimum wage. For the next ten days, he’s agreed to leave his millionaire lifestyle and start again with only £10 pounds in his pocket. As far as the locals are concerned he’s taking part in a documentary about people moving to the area hoping to start a new life. Unemployment levels in Thetford are low, but with most people working for the minimum wage, poverty levels are high, so it’s not going to be easy.
During his stay, Charan has to fend for himself. He lives in a small rented flat on a housing estate costing £60 per week, so he has to make money fast and after a visit to the local job centre he lands his first day’s work as a fruit packer in a factory earning £5.25 per hour. He moves from job to job daily and soon discovers more about what life is like for the low wage earners of Thetford. At the end of his first week, and 48 hours of hard labour, his pay check amounts to just over £200. It’s certainly not a fortune, but he has met some interesting people, like Morgan who spends his time working as a labourer so that he can spend the weekends sleeping on the floor of his one-bedroomed flat while his 3 children are visiting him. “Unfortunately the world is full of Morgans. If I was inclined to help people like that I would be just walking down the street and dishing out money because of the needs that they have. Everyone has those needs.”
Just how will Charan decide on who to give his cash to in a community where he feels so many people are in need? And when the proud Indian Scot finds himself working amongst the local immigrant population how will he react?
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