On 29 October, John and Irene Hays appeared in a segment on BBC One’s The One Show which started by asking if the couple are ’bold, brave or bonkers?’ for acquiring the entire Thomas Cook retail estate.

“Some people think we’re crazy,” John said.

“We feel, obviously, that there is a place on the high street for travel agents. We wouldn’t have acquired an additional 555 stores if we didn’t.”

Although Irene said she could not disclose how much Hays paid for the former Cook shops, it has since come to light that the price was just over £6 million. 

The couple revealed that her and John’s salary was not the largest in the company – describing it as “a different form of capitalism”. 

There were also clips from inside a Hays office, in which some employees worked 8am to 10pm each day for three weeks. 

Jane Schumm, retail and training director at Hays, said: “Everybody mucks in and it’s what you have got to do.”

At the end of the segment, The One Show presenter Matt Baker proclaimed: “What a couple!”

The One Show airs on weekdays at 7pm on BBC One.