• last year
Transcript
00:00 (eerie music)
00:01 - This is Gresham Street in the city of London.
00:03 That's the Bank of England there behind us.
00:05 This is a fake security van.
00:08 And these are security boxes containing real money.
00:11 Each box contains 50,000 pounds.
00:14 This is Mark.
00:15 Mark is our fake security guard.
00:17 And Mark is a stunt actor,
00:18 but he has been briefed to act
00:20 and behave exactly as a real security guard would.
00:22 This whole area is being protected
00:24 and surrounded by the police.
00:25 They are surrounding here from a radius of about 200 yards.
00:28 Their job is to keep the public away
00:31 and to intervene if anything gets out of hand.
00:34 So this is the venue.
00:35 This is the set for the challenge that I've set myself
00:37 and have been working on secretly
00:38 for the last couple of weeks, which is this.
00:41 Under the guise of a motivational seminar
00:44 in which I teach my skills
00:46 to a group of middle management businessmen and women,
00:49 can I get any of them to steal 100,000 pounds
00:53 in what they believe is a genuine armed robbery?
00:56 That's the show.
00:57 This is the heist.
00:58 (upbeat music)
01:01 the heist.
01:02 (upbeat music)
01:30 History is littered with examples of normal people
01:33 being persuaded to act in deviant,
01:35 criminal or irrational ways.
01:37 How do you persuade someone to do something
01:39 they would not normally be prepared to do?
01:42 Some people might think of hypnosis.
01:43 However, hypnosis isn't really what it appears to be.
01:46 It's only a kind of play acting
01:48 and no one would carry out an instruction
01:50 to really commit a robbery
01:51 any more than they'd murder someone if they were told to.
01:54 So my real task is to insidiously massage certain ideas
01:57 and mental states into these people
01:59 without ever mentioning a robbery.
02:00 So that hopefully when the time comes,
02:02 they will just spontaneously of their own free will
02:05 just decide to do it.
02:06 And that journey starts at a rather comfortable hotel
02:09 in Hertfordshire.
02:10 13 delegates were invited to an intimate seminar
02:17 to apparently learn some of my skills.
02:19 They were amongst the first to answer ads placed in the press
02:23 and also to fulfil certain criteria.
02:25 They had to be open responsive types
02:27 who I felt would respond reasonably to my techniques,
02:30 have no criminal record
02:32 and fall into a typical middle management income bracket
02:35 or above.
02:36 They also had to be deemed psychologically robust enough
02:39 by an independent psychologist to take part in the show.
02:42 And at the end of the show,
02:43 the opportunity to commit the robbery
02:45 will be offered separately and individually
02:48 to just four of the delegates.
02:50 So I have to decide which four
02:51 will be the most likely to take the bait.
02:54 - I have done motivational seminars before in the past.
02:58 I've delivered them myself and been to them.
03:00 - I hope that I'll be able to pick up something
03:02 from being in close proximity to someone who's so talented.
03:06 - I'm intrigued by him.
03:07 I'm very intrigued as to how he does what he does.
03:10 - The way he manages to influence people
03:11 and use the power of suggestion
03:14 to get people to do what he wants
03:15 to be very useful in my job.
03:16 Absolutely, yeah.
03:18 - They've arrived the evening before the seminar
03:20 to have time to relax and have dinner.
03:22 They are aware that everything is being filmed,
03:24 but they're unaware that I'm also present,
03:26 watching from an upstairs room to see how they interact.
03:30 To kick off the process of getting to know them
03:32 and to amplify their behaviors a little,
03:34 I introduce a couple of elements
03:35 to see how they react to authority.
03:37 Firstly, an actor playing an irritating security guard
03:40 hassles them on their way into dinner.
03:42 The antagonism that some of these people
03:44 will feel towards the security guard, dressed in green,
03:47 will become an important part of the jigsaw puzzle
03:49 right at the end of the journey.
03:52 (glasses clinking)
03:54 - Enjoy.
03:55 - Cheers.
03:56 - Cheers.
03:56 - Cheers.
03:57 - To us.
03:58 - To us.
03:59 (laughing)
04:01 - If you can pull a stroke on Darren Brown,
04:05 it has to be done.
04:05 - Did you see when Darren did the zombie shoot him up?
04:08 - Yes.
04:09 - Yeah, I thought that's probably about as extreme
04:11 as I'd like it to get.
04:13 - As they enjoy their lavish meal
04:16 and start to really relax,
04:17 they're unaware that another actor, playing the maitre d',
04:20 will present them with an unexpected bill
04:22 after dinner and drinks.
04:23 I want to see how they react,
04:27 who complies, who gets angry,
04:29 and who emerges as the alpha male or female of the group
04:32 and takes charge.
04:33 - Sorry, I think people have got their cards with them,
04:36 or a means of payment.
04:38 If it's in your room, would it be possible to get it?
04:40 'Cause we'd prefer to settle this tonight.
04:43 - What's this?
04:44 - For the meal, the bills.
04:46 - The bills?
04:47 - I'm sorry, a few people don't seem to have not been aware
04:48 of the fact that the accommodation is paid for.
04:53 - I'm still hungry.
04:55 Personally, I'm still hungry.
04:56 - Where's the crisps?
04:57 - I'm very sorry, you should have said at the time, though,
05:00 you have to pay for what you've consumed, I'm sorry.
05:03 - Have you got your payment ready, sir?
05:05 - Have I got my payment ready?
05:06 Yeah, send it to my accountant.
05:08 - Have you got your card in your bedroom, or have you got--
05:12 - No, send it to my accountant.
05:15 - Do you want me to go and get my card?
05:16 - Well, I'd love you to get your card,
05:17 that would be a lot easier, it's a bit embarrassing.
05:20 - I understand it's a bit of a surprise to some of you,
05:21 if you can sort it all out for me.
05:23 - Young man, there you go, put it all on that.
05:25 Right, okay, thank you very much.
05:29 - Thank you.
05:30 - Cheers, Paul.
05:31 - Thanks, Paul.
05:32 - Cheers, Paul.
05:33 - Cheers, Paul.
05:33 - Cheers for dinner, Paul.
05:35 (laughing)
05:38 - Our 13 businessmen and women have been told
05:40 little about the show, other than they will be taking part
05:43 in a seminar to learn my skills,
05:45 and that there will be follow-up filming for some of them.
05:47 I'm gonna teach them some genuine skills that I use,
05:51 peppered with some spurious pop psychology,
05:54 and quite a lot of bullshit.
05:56 - Very green, what does green do to you?
05:59 - My real aim is to start to focus them unconsciously
06:01 on the idea of stealing, while convincing them
06:04 that they're learning real skills
06:05 to keep them responsive and hungry.
06:07 - Morning.
06:08 - Morning.
06:09 - Hello.
06:10 Welcome to the seminar, and this is a first for me,
06:13 so I hope you will get a lot out of it.
06:15 Should be fun.
06:16 Okay, so, mind mastery.
06:18 Let's have a look at what we're going to learn,
06:20 take away with us today.
06:21 - There is no way I am going to show, even for fun,
06:25 even for a laugh, that shoplifting should be done
06:28 or condoned.
06:29 - My task over the next two weeks is to see
06:31 if I can influence a group of middle management businessmen
06:34 and women to steal 100,000 pounds in an armed robbery.
06:37 The process begins with a motivational seminar.
06:41 I have five hours to plant the seeds
06:43 that will lead to the heist.
06:45 Along the way, there are various levels
06:47 at which I'm working.
06:48 - Make yourself feel confident about something simply by--
06:51 - By playing to their natural suggestibility,
06:53 I encourage them to believe that hypnosis is a real tool
06:56 which I'm using to cement their new skills.
06:59 Their belief that I might be secretly hypnotizing them
07:01 makes them feel that they are learning more,
07:03 which is a trick employed by many speakers in this industry.
07:06 - Can you feel it?
07:07 - On one level, I'm teaching them useful skills.
07:09 They'll go away with a basic understanding
07:11 of how to read people's unconscious cues.
07:13 - You can tell from the movement of the eyes
07:16 whether or not somebody is making an image in the head
07:18 of something that's happened, they're remembering an image,
07:21 or whether they're making something up.
07:23 What's your mother's maiden name?
07:24 - Edwards.
07:25 - Thank you, little look up there and to the right.
07:29 Don't believe a word of it,
07:30 I'll ask you to go and sit back down again, thank you.
07:32 I'm saying it's this hand here.
07:33 However, face the front for me
07:35 and just open the hand that contains the coin,
07:36 show them the coin on the palm behind.
07:37 Good, do that, two minutes.
07:39 It helps if you stand up as well.
07:40 That one's lower down.
07:42 And you just, and now you're deliberately
07:46 forcing yourself to look there.
07:47 You looked there first, so it's gotta be that one.
07:49 Well done.
07:50 - I took my friend down for a meal out.
07:53 I was doing the coin in the hand trick,
07:55 and I managed to get it nine or 10 times in a row,
07:57 and I wouldn't tell her it was done,
07:58 and she was so utterly vexed by it, it was great.
08:01 - Also, I show them how to use certain language patterns
08:04 to change people's behavior
08:05 and confuse aggressors on the street.
08:07 The wall outside my house isn't four foot high,
08:10 and of course, if someone says that to you,
08:11 your reaction is to just.
08:13 - Wall.
08:17 - Wall.
08:17 I also show them powerful memory techniques.
08:20 In one exercise, I have them call out 20 words at random.
08:23 - Carousel.
08:23 - Spanner.
08:24 - Motorbike.
08:26 - Okay.
08:27 Somebody give me a number between one and 20.
08:31 - Four.
08:32 - Four is a cloud.
08:34 - 15.
08:34 - 15.
08:37 - Carousel.
08:38 - 19.
08:39 - 19.
08:40 Radio?
08:41 - Nine.
08:42 - Nine.
08:43 Goal.
08:45 Okay, 10 minutes from now,
08:49 you better do it in the speed it took to write them down.
08:51 - The linking method was so quick to learn,
08:56 and it is such an amazing thing,
08:58 and I'm gonna teach all my friends how to do it.
09:00 - It is quite impressive that, you know,
09:03 basically learn the technique in the seminar,
09:05 and now it's like sort of a week later.
09:07 - I can still remember them now,
09:08 and that's something that I could never have done.
09:11 - Stand up.
09:12 We go to the list from the top.
09:16 Doll takes you to?
09:18 - Wall.
09:18 - Wall, very good.
09:20 Owl, what does wall now take you to?
09:21 - Owl.
09:23 - Owl, very good.
09:24 - Owl, cloud.
09:26 - Owl, cloud, toaster.
09:28 - Toaster, avocado.
09:30 - Avocado then takes you to?
09:32 - Escalator.
09:33 - Escalator.
09:35 - Joist.
09:36 - Goal, pyramid.
09:37 - Portrait, purse.
09:40 - Goal, pyramid, portrait, purse.
09:44 - Biscuit, snow.
09:46 - 15 was carousel, 16 was laptop.
09:50 - Laptop, steak.
09:53 - Steak.
09:54 - Spanner.
09:55 - Steak, spanner, radio, and motorbike.
09:58 - Radio, motorbike.
10:00 - Excellent.
10:01 (laughing)
10:02 - Is that right?
10:02 - Excellent.
10:03 (laughing)
10:05 - And after radio comes?
10:05 - Motorbike.
10:06 - Motorbike, give yourselves a round of applause.
10:07 Well done.
10:08 (applauding)
10:10 Four things, knowledge, attitude, skills, and habits.
10:13 Now on a second level, I'm using metaphorical language
10:16 to implant important pieces of the jigsaw puzzle
10:19 connected with stealing and a romanticized view
10:22 of criminality throughout the seminar.
10:24 People's guard, those things that seem very kind
10:26 of intimidating and impenetrable that people put up,
10:28 it takes nothing, it can be effortless
10:30 just to move those guards out the way
10:33 and take this sort of loyal load of kind of opportunities
10:35 and skills and strategies that they have to you.
10:39 All right, let's go past that.
10:42 Anchoring, that's great.
10:44 Anchoring is stealing an emotion, stealing a response.
10:49 Importantly, and on a third level,
10:52 I introduce the idea of triggering emotional states.
10:55 This will be of central importance
10:57 to the persuasion process.
10:59 I tell them to remember times
11:01 when they felt highly motivated
11:03 and then to amplify the feeling.
11:04 Can you feel it?
11:05 It amplifies as it goes around.
11:06 Each time that it goes around, it boosts you
11:08 and you get the feeling more and more.
11:10 I then attach it to the trigger of rubbing their legs.
11:13 Hold that feeling as you rub your leg.
11:14 Keep the feeling there getting stronger and stronger.
11:16 After a few repetitions,
11:17 they can create the motivated state on command
11:19 just by rubbing, and the more they do it,
11:21 the stronger the association becomes.
11:23 All adverts do this, it's classic stuff.
11:25 It's show you sexy, sexy people,
11:28 make those images bigger, brighter, closer,
11:30 bring you into it, that sort of thing.
11:31 Elicit the emotion that we'd like you
11:34 to attach to this product.
11:36 Got that, feeling that, great,
11:38 and there's the product name, and then it goes away.
11:41 That's an anchor.
11:42 You're gonna give me your gifts.
11:43 These will be of use later on, don't worry about them now,
11:45 but these will represent something important to you,
11:47 so thank you very much.
11:48 I give them a realistic toy gun each
11:50 to apparently symbolize their new role as thought criminals.
11:54 Four of the subjects will need these guns
11:56 in a couple of weeks.
11:59 I also give them a CD each,
12:01 which I say contains subliminal messages
12:03 they must listen to every day.
12:05 Their belief that I can influence them
12:06 without them being aware of it is vital to the process.
12:10 The CDs are in fact blank.
12:12 They're all pretty similar, but--
12:15 - Can you load it on your iPod?
12:17 - Yes, oh, yes, yes, absolutely, you can put it on your iPod.
12:22 What I wanna do now with you is just a consolidation
12:26 kind of exercise before you go.
12:29 (gentle music)
12:31 In the style of such seminars,
12:33 we finish with a group visualization.
12:35 Here I shift the focus of the seminar towards motivation
12:38 and an attitude of just do it
12:39 and reiterate the language of criminality.
12:41 When a toddler just sees something,
12:43 wants it and goes and gets it,
12:44 nothing kind of stands in its way.
12:45 There's just that sense of just do it, just get it,
12:49 and it's like a green light that just says go, just do it.
12:53 I also transfer the rubbing leg trigger
12:55 across to a piece of music.
12:57 Bring the feeling back.
12:57 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
12:59 Keep it going.
12:59 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
13:01 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
13:03 Whenever you hear that music in your head,
13:05 you can just go for it.
13:07 So they practice that a few times,
13:08 and then I know that just by playing that piece of music,
13:11 Can You Feel It by the Jackson Five,
13:13 that it will trigger a very motivational state in them.
13:15 And then much of the process to come
13:17 will have to do with manipulating that association
13:19 for my real agenda.
13:21 But for now, the piece of music and the color green
13:23 and that do it phrase
13:24 are all very powerful triggers for them.
13:27 What I'd like you to do after we've done this
13:28 and we've finished here,
13:29 you're gonna go off and there's sort of a pub
13:31 a little way down,
13:31 you're gonna go off and have a drink.
13:34 There is a sweet shop just over the road.
13:38 Want you to go steal a couple of sweets,
13:40 bring them back to the pub.
13:41 To just reclaim that very childlike attitude,
13:44 which is at the heart of this,
13:46 that's what I want you to do.
13:47 Okay.
13:48 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
13:50 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
13:51 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
13:56 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
13:58 It was fantastic.
13:59 That's what I thought about the whole day was great.
14:01 It was brilliantly organized
14:03 and it was wonderfully well presented.
14:04 Definitely in myself, I feel a lot more positive
14:07 as I'm going about just my everyday stuff
14:10 and especially at work.
14:11 I really like my toy gun.
14:12 It's brilliant.
14:13 I get to run around my flat making bang, bang noises.
14:15 It's like being 10 again.
14:17 It's really, really good.
14:19 There's a bit of a puzzle with it all.
14:20 I mean, it is a bit funny.
14:21 It's not gonna make prime time TV watching a crowd of us
14:26 learn a few of his simpler tricks and techniques.
14:29 I have to get them to cross the line
14:33 into deviant and criminal behavior,
14:35 but in a way which can be framed to sound fun and harmless.
14:39 Purely because an authority figure has told them to.
14:42 Will they make the decision to walk into the shop,
14:44 steal goods and frame it
14:46 as a positive experience for themselves?
14:50 I'm watching the action through hidden cameras
14:52 installed in the news agents across the road.
14:54 The shop owner is aware that we're filming,
14:56 but the assistants know nothing.
14:58 I wasn't thinking it was gonna be a real shop.
15:00 When I got in there,
15:01 I realized that it wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be.
15:04 All the staff was standing right by the suites.
15:06 We were being asked to do something
15:08 that was actually against the law.
15:10 They don't know that this is being filmed for the show,
15:12 but they are aware that they may be caught
15:14 on the shop security cameras
15:15 and that what they're doing is illegal.
15:18 - Thank you.
15:19 - No, no, no, no.
15:24 - It's 2.38, so can I have some bags?
15:27 - Uh.
15:28 (indistinct)
15:30 - Hello.
15:37 - You order, how much is that?
15:40 - I don't know.
15:41 - Thank you, have a good day.
15:43 - You're too kind.
15:45 Anything else?
15:46 - Four pints.
15:47 - Okay.
15:48 - My initial reaction when I came back into the pub
15:53 was actually euphoria.
15:54 - It was like the woman had won
15:56 got six numbers on the lottery.
15:57 She was so hyper and high about it and proud of herself.
16:01 - I think that's something that I hope
16:03 will actually stay with me
16:04 because I think I could probably do with it
16:05 taking a few more risks in life.
16:07 (indistinct)
16:09 (indistinct)
16:12 (indistinct)
16:14 - 10, 20, five.
16:20 45.
16:29 65, 85.
16:32 10.
16:36 (cheering)
16:40 - I felt really good actually, it's bad to say.
16:43 I felt, and I know obviously stealing's wrong
16:46 and that's what I wanna say on camera, stealing is wrong.
16:50 - I have a young daughter, a teenage daughter.
16:53 There is no way I'm going to show, even for fun,
16:58 even for a laugh, that shut down or condoned.
17:01 - Darren explained that was be taking us back
17:03 to our inner child and by taking me back to my inner child,
17:07 I had the opposite effect and remember the sort of like,
17:10 it put the fear of God in me really
17:12 in terms of the repercussions.
17:13 So there's no way I was going to steal anything
17:16 from that shot.
17:17 - I didn't feel guilty,
17:26 which normally I'd have thought I would have done,
17:28 but no, not at all, which was,
17:31 not sure if that reflects anything on my character.
17:34 (upbeat music)
17:37 - Did you see that?
17:48 Just literally walked over, picked up the shell
17:50 and walked out.
17:52 It was the guy in the suit.
17:54 - One of the things I remember that Darren said was,
17:56 "If you do something with enough confidence, it will work."
17:59 Which clearly does for him, but it didn't for me.
18:03 - I just want you to get the hell out of this.
18:04 - Get the hell out of that.
18:06 - So you're not in a position to give it away?
18:08 - No.
18:09 - Do not leave this house, please.
18:17 Don't leave this.
18:20 Why would a guy come in and ask to have a packet
18:26 of fucking Orbit?
18:27 Why would a guy steal a Twix bar?
18:29 Why would a guy come in, look at Sellotape,
18:31 fucking Angel Delight, a newspaper, wine,
18:34 and then just buy a paper?
18:35 - Yes.
18:37 - Do you want to put those Jammie Dodgers back, please?
18:43 - Sorry?
18:44 - The ones that are just in there.
18:45 - Thanks very much, see you later.
18:46 - Sorry.
18:47 I must have forgotten about those.
18:50 - Yeah, absolutely.
18:51 - My wall isn't full, but my wall isn't full, but I...
18:54 - Your what?
18:55 - My wall isn't full, but I...
18:56 - These doors are probably 13 by,
18:59 so make sure you're on yourself.
19:02 - Is she in jail?
19:03 - That's the fourth one tonight, that is.
19:05 - No.
19:07 - They're all in suits as well.
19:08 There's something going on, that's why I asked him.
19:10 I said, "Are you?"
19:11 - No, I'm not.
19:13 - It's regrettable.
19:14 - Ryan.
19:15 - What the hell?
19:18 How can we just ban people in suits?
19:24 - 744.
19:28 (upbeat music)
19:30 - I'm starting to get really fucked up here.
19:33 I felt it's a bit of a failure actually,
19:37 'cause I hadn't done it.
19:39 So out of the 13 people that attended the seminar,
19:41 I've decided to eliminate four of them,
19:44 of all, 'cause he was a little too controlling.
19:46 He'd also mentioned that he had a daughter
19:47 and he didn't want his daughter
19:48 seeing him do anything criminal on TV,
19:50 which I thought was fair enough.
19:51 Pam and Helen, I didn't feel was suitable
19:54 to take through the heist experience really,
19:56 and Sula as well.
19:57 Sula had admitted to filling out the wrong job
20:00 on her application form.
20:01 She isn't really an accountant,
20:03 and her real job doesn't fall
20:04 within the criteria of the show.
20:06 So those are eliminated,
20:07 but all the people that do get eliminated
20:08 will take with them a very powerful motivational state,
20:11 which they can tap into,
20:13 as well as certain genuine skills,
20:15 which they've learned from me at the seminar.
20:17 So those are gone, but there are nine people left.
20:20 (man screaming)
20:26 He's in a lot of pain.
20:28 - Back, there are nine subjects left.
20:30 I can only use four for the heist.
20:31 So a week after the seminar,
20:34 I arranged to test the limits
20:35 of their responsiveness to authority.
20:38 So a week ago, I arranged for them to take part
20:41 in what they now think is a piece
20:42 of unfilmed academic research at a university
20:45 and nothing to do with the show,
20:47 supposedly looking into the effects
20:48 of punishment on learning.
20:50 And they believe now that this is part of their growth.
20:52 In fact, it was a reenactment of a powerful experiment
20:55 conducted by Stanley Milgram in 1963,
20:58 to look at how normal people can commit atrocious acts,
21:01 simply because they're following orders.
21:04 Milgram's parents were Jewish refugees in World War II,
21:07 and his pioneering work speaks volumes
21:09 about the nature of responsibility.
21:11 It's being filmed with covert cameras.
21:14 - Thank you.
21:16 - They're introduced to an actor
21:20 pretending to be another participant.
21:22 - You didn't come from the same room?
21:24 - No.
21:25 - You don't know each other's faces?
21:26 - We don't actually know how punishment affects learning.
21:31 - After a brief introduction,
21:32 our subjects are tricked into thinking
21:34 they've chosen their role as teachers in the experiment.
21:37 - And if you could just tell me what your positions are.
21:40 - Learner.
21:41 - Learner and teacher.
21:43 - Learner.
21:44 - Teacher.
21:45 - Our subjects observe the learner being instructed
21:47 by the scientist, who is just another actor.
21:50 - This electrode is connected to a generator
21:53 in the second room.
21:54 - We're going with the teacher.
21:55 - Okay.
21:56 - Just make sure that we have a good contact with the skin
21:58 and so it doesn't cause any blistering or burning.
22:01 Is that comfortable?
22:02 - That's okay, yeah.
22:03 - Okay, and we just place these straps around your arms
22:05 to avoid any excess movement.
22:08 Those aren't too tight.
22:09 - No, that's okay.
22:10 - No.
22:10 The teacher will read out some word pairs to you.
22:13 Blue girl.
22:14 - The learner is told he's going to be asked
22:16 a series of memory questions by the teacher.
22:19 He will have to read pairs and then correctly remember them
22:21 when offered multiple choices.
22:23 If the answer's incorrect,
22:24 you will receive an electric shock.
22:26 The teacher is then taken next door and shown the generator,
22:31 which ranges from 15 volts all the way up
22:33 to a lethal 450 volts.
22:36 The domestic electricity supply in the UK
22:38 is of course 240 volts.
22:40 Our teachers are given the list of questions
22:44 and told to increase the voltage
22:45 each time the learner gets a question wrong.
22:48 They are then given an example of a low voltage shock.
22:51 - And try and estimate in volts
22:54 the amount of shock you feel you're getting.
22:55 - Okay.
22:56 (laughing)
22:58 Jesus.
22:59 Oh, shit.
23:01 - Do you know how much that was?
23:03 - Enough.
23:04 - 75.
23:05 - It was actually 45.
23:06 - Oh my God.
23:09 - Teacher begin.
23:09 - Shoe, horn, steam.
23:12 - The point of this test is to see whether the teachers,
23:15 our subjects, will call a stop to the experiment
23:18 or continue to the point where they are administering
23:21 seemingly lethal electric shocks to the victim
23:24 simply because the scientist is telling them to.
23:26 (buzzer)
23:27 - That's correct.
23:29 The next word is bicycle.
23:32 The options tire, race, helmet, shorts.
23:38 (buzzer)
23:41 That's incorrect.
23:43 So there'll be 120 volts.
23:46 (buzzer)
23:48 (man screaming)
23:51 (paper rustling)
23:54 - I don't think I want to do this anymore.
23:58 - If you could continue please teacher.
24:02 (coughing)
24:05 - There is, no I don't think I'm gonna do it anymore.
24:07 - The experiment requires you to continue.
24:12 - Yeah, even so I don't think I'm gonna do it anymore.
24:20 - Correct.
24:21 - According to plan, our accomplice provided
24:25 many wrong answers.
24:27 Each protest was coordinated to a particular shock voltage
24:30 on the generator and his responses were played via a CD.
24:33 - That's wrong, 150 volts.
24:35 - The correct answer is Captain Shoe.
24:43 - Cup.
24:46 (buzzer)
24:50 - That's wrong, 225 volts.
24:54 (buzzer)
24:56 (man screaming)
24:58 - Take it off, I've had enough of this.
25:01 (sighing)
25:11 - He's in a lot of pain.
25:13 - Continue please.
25:15 - But he's not comfortable.
25:18 - We must continue to the end of the experiment.
25:20 Whether the learner likes it or not,
25:21 he has to go on until he's learned the words correctly.
25:24 - Okay.
25:27 - Forest.
25:34 (buzzer)
25:38 - That's wrong, 240 volts.
25:40 (man screaming)
25:44 - Are you sure this is not causing any lasting damage?
25:47 He sounds like he's in a lot of pain.
25:50 - Well, the shocks might be painful, they're not harmful.
25:52 - What does that mean though, they're not harmful?
25:55 Sorry, I'm not getting you.
25:56 When you say that they might be painful but not harmful--
25:59 - They cause no long-term damage.
26:00 - Okay, so what does that mean?
26:02 It doesn't leave any scars?
26:04 - It causes no damage.
26:05 - That seems very cold and calculated to me.
26:10 This doesn't seem like a very, anyway.
26:12 Golden.
26:15 (buzzer)
26:17 - That's wrong, mate, 300 volts.
26:24 (man screaming)
26:29 - Staple, the options are diet, jar, balcony, bowl.
26:41 (whispering)
26:43 - If the learner doesn't answer in a reasonable time,
26:54 say four to five seconds,
26:56 then you have to treat the answer as wrong
26:58 and follow that procedure.
26:59 - Did you hear that, learner?
27:02 Just any response, mate, come on, wild guess.
27:10 Oh man, come on.
27:11 - Please continue.
27:13 - 345 volts if you're still with me, I'm sorry.
27:16 (laughing)
27:17 I can't do this, honestly, can we stop this experiment?
27:20 'Cause I can't do this.
27:22 This--
27:22 - If you don't continue,
27:23 we'll have to discontinue the experiment.
27:25 - Yeah, okay, fine, that's fine, I'm not gonna do this.
27:31 - Incorrect.
27:36 - 405 volts.
27:38 (buzzer)
27:41 Sorry, I don't know,
27:54 does someone wanna check on him or something?
27:56 It's just he's not making any noise now
27:57 and he was before and I'm quite happy to go on,
27:59 but I'm just a bit worried about--
28:01 - If you would continue.
28:03 - Yeah, I'm just a bit worried 'cause he was...
28:06 Like he was complaining before about the--
28:09 - Look, no harm, no harm will come to him.
28:11 - But he's not making any noise now.
28:12 - It's essential that we continue with the experiment.
28:18 - Balcony.
28:27 Incorrect.
28:31 450 volts.
28:34 - 50 volts.
28:35 You promise he's not, when--
28:47 - Please continue with the procedure.
28:49 - No, you said it hurts, but it's,
28:50 'cause it's like, it says there, "Danger, severe shock."
28:55 He'll be all right, you know?
28:59 - Please continue.
29:00 (dramatic music)
29:02 (buzzer buzzing)
29:07 - Okay, I think we'll just continue the experiment there.
29:09 - All of the subjects were told
29:11 the true nature of the experiment
29:12 was to see how they would respond to authority
29:15 and that it would eventually form part of this show.
29:17 - He is okay.
29:20 - I can tell you, he's absolutely fine.
29:22 You actually weren't administering electric shocks
29:25 to him at all.
29:26 He is, he is, he is.
29:29 - He's been through a lot.
29:31 - In the original Milgram experiment,
29:35 psychologists were asked to predict
29:37 how many people would continue to the point
29:39 that they were administering the highest shock on the board.
29:42 Their prediction was 1/10 of 1%.
29:46 They were wrong.
29:46 The results of our experiment
29:49 were almost identical to the original.
29:52 Over 50% of participants continued up to 450 volts.
29:57 The majority of people will administer
29:59 lethal electric shocks just because a guy in a white coat
30:02 is telling them to.
30:03 - 450 volts.
30:05 - 450 volts.
30:06 - 450 volts.
30:08 - 450.
30:08 (buzzer buzzing)
30:09 - So after the results of the Milgram experiment,
30:11 I've now chosen my four subjects
30:13 that will go forward for the heist.
30:14 - Follow, follow me, sir.
30:16 - Phil was impressively resourceful
30:17 when he was caught stealing sweets
30:19 and held in his anguish during the Milgram
30:21 than defy the scientist.
30:22 I did want to include a woman in the group.
30:24 Jen was the only subject to take a long time
30:26 to recover after the Milgram experiment,
30:28 so I felt I shouldn't use her.
30:31 Veronica didn't steal from the shop, so that left Vicky.
30:35 Of all the subjects, she was the only one
30:36 to have known the original Milgram experiment
30:39 and call a halt to her involvement in it.
30:41 - Can I just say, I can't do this
30:44 because I've heard of this experiment before.
30:48 - So I think she'll be quite interesting to use,
30:49 although I don't know if she'll actually
30:51 take the bait or not.
30:53 - Ali stole most from the shop,
30:54 seems to be highly responsive, most outgoing,
30:57 and seemed most happy to continue the experiment
30:59 until he was stopped.
31:00 - Well, shouldn't it have made more notches on the thing?
31:04 - Danny stopped the experiment,
31:05 but in such an outspoken way that I suspected
31:07 he would have real strength of character to bring out.
31:10 - It's not even reacting anymore.
31:12 - So this now brings them all up to yesterday afternoon,
31:18 and there are a couple more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle
31:20 I need to put into place.
31:22 The motivated state in itself isn't quite enough,
31:24 so I need to turn it a little more aggressive for them,
31:27 but without ringing any alarm bells.
31:28 So I have them create a feeling of aggression
31:32 and attach it to the trigger of a squeezed fist.
31:35 You take hold of it in that hand
31:37 and you anchor it to that feeling of that hand
31:38 just there squeezing as you take all that aggression,
31:41 as you move that around and around inside of you
31:43 as it doubles and triples and moves around inside of you,
31:45 building up that feeling.
31:46 Then I have them trigger off the motivated state
31:48 by rubbing the leg at the same time
31:50 to combine both states together.
31:52 You are linking these powerfully and inextricably together.
31:55 Good.
31:56 They try this a couple of times
31:57 and are now able to tap into a darker state,
31:59 and they still feel this is entirely for their benefit.
32:02 This is your most powerful state
32:05 that you as a human being can achieve.
32:07 That's what it does.
32:08 That's what the music does.
32:09 That's what the words do.
32:10 That's what that green intensity does.
32:13 All of those things that are triggering this off,
32:15 that's what you get.
32:16 How's that?
32:20 - It's good.
32:20 (laughing)
32:22 - Good.
32:23 Before the heist itself, one last piece of the puzzle.
32:29 They need to believe they have it within them
32:31 to overpower a security guard
32:33 and to know what to say and how to say it
32:35 without thinking about it.
32:36 So without ever mentioning security guards,
32:38 I teach them an esoteric martial arts exercise
32:41 where a person can be pushed over using the power of chi.
32:44 You too are gonna find yourself being pushed over,
32:47 knocked backwards, being forced off your feet.
32:51 This will serve as a powerful experience for them,
32:53 a resource for them to draw from tomorrow
32:55 when they come across our security guard in the city.
32:58 Victoria and Phil, Vicky and Phil,
32:59 what you're gonna do is when I tell you to,
33:00 you're gonna start to create that state inside of yourself,
33:02 and you build it to a peak.
33:04 When you reach that peak,
33:05 the only instruction I want you to give
33:08 are just the words down on the floor.
33:10 Just those words alone.
33:11 They're gonna carry the full weight
33:13 of that emotional state that's behind it.
33:15 Okay, just do it now.
33:16 Just get into that state.
33:16 Just start to build it up inside of you now.
33:19 When you feel it peak,
33:35 just say those words down on the floor now.
33:38 That's all you say, and you keep it focused,
33:39 and you push, and you push those two back.
33:41 Down in alley, try not to let it push you over.
33:45 Keep pushing back against it.
33:47 Just push it.
33:49 Down on the floor.
33:52 Now, of course, it's not chi or energy at all.
34:00 In reality, the person expecting to fall over
34:03 succumbs to the suggestion and topples off balance.
34:06 But the people apparently pushing
34:08 come to believe that they have a powerful
34:10 and invincible state to tap into.
34:12 Down on the floor.
34:15 That's what I want them to believe.
34:17 I felt very tense.
34:19 It was almost as if I could physically push him
34:22 without actually touching him.
34:24 Saying down on the floor was like
34:26 passing the energy across,
34:28 like throwing it, throwing something at him.
34:31 What I felt was just this sort of invisible energy,
34:33 just, you know, it was a really,
34:35 it sort of just, it just sort of crashed against my chest.
34:38 You followed every aspect of the persuasion process
34:41 from the last couple of weeks.
34:43 A certain phrase, a certain color,
34:45 certain piece of music have been used
34:46 to induce a state of wanton recklessness
34:49 and aggression and a just do it attitude.
34:51 Other factors also support the process.
34:54 The titles on the screen
34:55 and the language used at the seminar.
34:57 The supposedly subliminal CDs
34:59 which left them feeling malleable.
35:01 The toy plastic gun which romanticizes
35:03 the idea of a criminal.
35:04 The green security van.
35:06 The animosity felt towards a security man
35:08 in a green uniform already
35:09 who happened to be wearing the same badge
35:11 as our guard in the street.
35:12 Finally, the oil painting of a security van
35:15 hidden on the wall of the seminar.
35:17 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
35:19 ♪ Tell me can you feel it ♪
35:21 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
35:25 ♪ Can you see what's going down ♪
35:27 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
35:28 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
35:28 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
35:29 ♪ Can you feel it ♪
35:32 Everything should now be in place.
35:34 So if you missed the start of the show,
35:40 this is Gresham Street in the city of London,
35:42 the Bank of England.
35:42 It's down there.
35:43 We have a fake security van,
35:44 a fake security guard,
35:46 and 100,000 pounds of real money.
35:48 There are 15 cameras watching this area.
35:52 We have no idea what's gonna happen
35:58 or if anything's gonna happen,
35:59 but we just hope to cover it as best as we can.
36:02 You have followed every aspect
36:04 of the persuasion process so far.
36:06 Nothing has been added or taken away.
36:08 It is the linking of certain emotional states
36:10 to certain triggers.
36:11 Piece of music, colour, certain words and so on.
36:14 Our participants have no idea
36:15 that they're gonna be filmed
36:16 or that anything has been set up
36:18 and we don't know what they're gonna do.
36:19 This is nothing we've been able to rehearse
36:21 and if it doesn't work,
36:22 we will just show it to you not working four times in a row.
36:25 There's really no way of knowing.
36:27 ♪ Everything ♪
36:28 ♪ Everything ♪
36:28 ♪ This world ♪
36:29 ♪ Everything ♪
36:30 ♪ This world ♪
36:31 ♪ Everything ♪
36:34 This whole area has been cordoned off from the public
36:38 and is being supervised by the police.
36:41 Our four subjects have been told to expect a phone call
36:44 and that they'll have to travel into the city of London
36:46 for a final motivational session.
36:48 Hey, how you doing?
36:49 It's Darren.
36:50 Hello.
36:51 Just about to pick you up.
36:52 There's a car just around the corner
36:53 is gonna come and get you,
36:54 so if you can grab your stuff
36:56 and I will see you in a bit.
36:57 I think the car's gonna drop you just down the road,
36:59 so you've gotta walk up the last bit by yourself.
37:01 ♪ Step away ♪
37:03 ♪ Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby ♪
37:06 ♪ I miss you, baby ♪
37:07 As with every day, you know,
37:09 as I say time and time again,
37:10 this is about every day finding some opportunity
37:13 to experience something
37:14 that makes you feel great and exhilarated, yeah?
37:16 So make that decision to steal yourself
37:19 and grab the opportunity to make all this work
37:21 really, really pay off.
37:23 It's just about standing in the face of security in life,
37:25 isn't it, and making it do what you want it to do.
37:27 Because ultimately, I suppose all of this is about you
37:29 knowing that you're the one with the weapon
37:31 of absolute pointed, aggressive, unquestioning power.
37:35 They're also told to bring with them their toy guns
37:37 that they were given at the seminar.
37:39 All of our cameras and crew are well hidden.
37:41 None can be seen by our four subjects.
37:43 Target's in zone one.
37:47 All cameras locked in position.
37:49 Stand by, car.
37:52 Now remember that two weeks ago,
37:55 Victoria was an ordinary businesswoman,
37:56 a press officer at a motivational seminar.
37:59 Go trigger music in the car.
38:01 (upbeat music)
38:03 Get it really loud, all over.
38:07 ♪ Can you feel it coming for me ♪
38:12 - Get security guard.
38:14 - Time mark, set your time.
38:16 ♪ I've got no time ♪
38:19 - Now what?
38:34 - I think she got on the floor.
38:36 - Don't you, don't you?
38:37 - On the floor.
38:38 - Oi!
38:52 Oi!
38:54 - There, there, one of you!
39:03 (suspenseful music)
39:06 - The target has been dropped
39:16 to the corner of Gresham Street.
39:32 Target's in zone one.
39:34 - Oh, there he is.
39:38 (suspenseful music)
39:41 - Stand by, car.
39:49 Go car.
39:53 Cue music.
39:59 ♪ I've got no time ♪
40:04 ♪ Can you feel it coming for me ♪
40:09 ♪ I've got no time ♪
40:14 - Get security guard.
40:16 - Excuse me, sir.
40:21 I'm sorry to interrupt your proceedings,
40:23 but this is a hold up.
40:24 Get down on the floor.
40:25 Get down on the floor.
40:26 (gun firing)
40:28 - Get up in front.
40:29 Move over.
40:30 On your front.
40:32 Hey, don't move.
40:33 Hands on your head.
40:34 - Oi!
40:38 Oi!
40:39 - Go, go, go, go!
40:45 Go, go!
40:46 - Don't move.
40:49 - Get away, get off, get off.
40:50 - It's okay, Phil, it's Darren.
40:54 We have time, all right?
40:57 - What happened?
40:58 Why did you do that?
40:59 - I saw the guy coming out of the thing.
41:01 I don't know.
41:02 It was like just before, I don't know.
41:06 It was just someone coming out.
41:07 It was just like, it's something like
41:10 when I'm playing rugby,
41:11 if they've got an important match or something.
41:13 - Yeah.
41:14 - It's like a hundred times better.
41:17 - Come with me.
41:22 Come with me.
41:23 (dramatic music)
41:26 - He's getting out the car now.
41:28 He's getting out the car now.
41:30 - Bugger's in sight.
41:33 Bugger's in very much worse.
41:36 - And cue car.
41:51 (dramatic music)
42:20 - Excuse me, mate.
42:22 Get down, get down.
42:24 Down, get down on the floor.
42:26 Down on the floor.
42:27 Down on the floor.
42:29 - You ain't gonna do it.
42:30 - On your front, on your front.
42:32 On your front, right over, right over.
42:36 Stop looking at me.
42:38 Right over, stop looking.
42:40 Face front, look forward.
42:41 Look forward, look forward.
42:45 Tell you what, mate.
42:47 You try anything and you're dead, all right?
42:50 - Morning.
42:51 - Look forward, mate.
42:52 Oh, I'm fucking putting you in a mess.
42:55 Look forward.
42:56 Look forward.
42:57 Mate, if you move, I swear to God, you're dead, mate.
43:02 If you've got family.
43:03 - Wait, no!
43:07 Wait!
43:10 - Get back, get back!
43:11 - Get back!
43:11 Get back!
43:19 - Shit.
43:20 Danny.
43:23 - All right?
43:31 Okay, take a moment.
43:35 - Oh, shit.
43:37 (Danny crying)
43:40 - You bastard, Daryl.
43:58 - Okay, come with me.
44:03 Gonna make sure you're okay, all right?
44:04 - Yeah, come with me.
44:05 (dramatic music)
44:08 - A visual on target.
44:26 Target is on Gresham Street.
44:27 - Let's go, car.
44:35 - Standby security guard.
44:36 Standby security guard.
44:38 Cue music.
44:40 Cue security guard.
44:55 (dramatic music)
44:58 (dramatic music)
45:00 (dramatic music)
45:03 (dramatic music)
45:06 (dramatic music)
45:09 - Ali!
45:27 Ali!
45:28 - How are you?
45:33 - All right.
45:34 - Good.
45:36 Have a nice minute.
45:37 - Stealing sweets is one thing,
45:41 but stealing boxes of money from the Bank of England
45:43 is a completely different kettle of fish.
45:45 I'm a good person.
45:46 I'm a good person.
45:50 You good?
45:50 - A bit nervous, Daryl.
45:53 - Oh, yeah?
45:54 Ali, would you put yourself up on that bed there for me,
45:56 please?
45:57 Okay.
46:04 Close your eyes for me.
46:05 As you start to undo the aggression,
46:11 or as you start to undo those aspects of it
46:13 that would have led you to hold up a security map,
46:18 all that goes...
46:19 You now have something very powerful to draw from.
46:27 Something that you can think back to
46:29 with the necessary distance
46:31 to just take from it everything that's good.
46:33 (dramatic music)
46:35 - The last couple of weeks have been the most fun
46:45 I've had in ages.
46:46 It's been brilliant.
46:47 I've taken away a sense of power,
46:49 a sense of achievement,
46:50 a sense that anything is possible, really.
46:53 - That's a really amazing experience.
46:55 Something that I can kind of look back on
46:57 and think about how I was able to really push myself,
46:59 and perhaps I'll be able to do that from now on, I think.
47:03 - I realise now that I'm a lot stronger-willed
47:05 than I thought I was.
47:07 And the fact that I didn't go through with the steel itself,
47:10 I'm very pleased with myself.
47:12 - I think the last couple of weeks
47:13 have been an absolute rollercoaster.
47:15 It's been such a positive experience,
47:16 and I'm on an absolute high at the moment.
47:18 - Everything just back to normal,
47:21 just like you were before,
47:22 except for all the good stuff that you want to take with you,
47:25 which you've now created and created for yourself.
47:28 And that's a way of thanking you.
47:32 For everything that you've done.
47:34 (dramatic music)
47:37 (bell ringing)
47:46 (dramatic music)
47:56 I'm just a little girl!
47:58 (dramatic music)