The Painting & Decorating Show

Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel look into whether now is the time for tradespeople to make the switch to an electric van.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders has reported that electric van registrations rose by 22% in July while fuel prices continue to soar. They’re joined by Carl Brookes from Trade Vans UK to discuss the rise of electric vans in the trades and what’s still holding people back, plus Painter and Decorator Wesley Knight to find out whether he’d consider making the switch.

Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel look at the impact of unplanned time off - and how losing days on the tools can quickly mean losing money too.
They’re joined by decorators who have experienced unexpected time away from work for different reasons, while Joel shares his own recent experience of unplanned time off and the impact it had on his business.

Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel react to a new BCIS report showing that the cost of decorating work rose by 4.1% in the year to early 2026 — more than double the increase recorded the previous year.

They’re joined by commercial decorator James Reeve from Royal Spa Decoration and domestic decorator Bryan Dennett to find out what they've been experiencing.

Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel look back at the decorating jobs that went wrong, became a nightmare, or simply turned out to be far more trouble than they were worth.

They’re joined by decorators Ashley Woodcock and Heather Isherwood to hear about the jobs they’d never want to take on again, the challenges they’ve faced on site, the moments they’ve come close to giving up, and the worst things they’ve experienced with customers and projects.

Joel and Todd also share some of their own examples - both within the trade and before they got into Painting & Decorating!

Todd Von Joel and Joel Bardall tackle the paperwork, admin and other jobs that come with running a trade business.

Todd admits he’s been struggling with a mental block when it comes to keeping on top of the back end of his business, so they speak to fellow business owners Chris Ordinaire and Danny Webb about how they manage everything from invoicing and quotes to bookkeeping, emails, ordering materials and keeping records.

They share the systems they’ve developed, what they’ve learned through trial and error, and some of the common traps that can make business admin even more difficult.