The world of high finance, as depicted in the BBC's critically acclaimed drama Industry, is one of relentless pressure, blurred ethical lines, and shocking excess. As the show returns for its highly anticipated fourth season, premiering on BBC iPlayer from 12th January 2026, viewers are plunged back into the cutthroat environment of Pierpoint & Co. But how closely does this fictional portrayal mirror the grim reality of London's trading floors and investment banks?
'He carried me around and slapped my bum': First-hand accounts of toxic culture
For those with insider experience, watching Industry can be a triggering experience. Maia*, an investment banker who spent eight years at a major American firm in London, confirms the show's unsettling authenticity. She tells Metro that a friend found the drama "very triggering, because it was very real to her." Maia's own anecdotes include hearing about wildly inappropriate annual ski trips that were cancelled for being "so wild," and a culture where "people would make really, really inappropriate jokes about women and doing drugs was very openly discussed."
Serena*, who worked for a London-based trading provider, shares a particularly visceral memory from a company Christmas party that echoes the show's infamous scenes. "At some point, a guy that I’ve never met before just lifted me and started carrying me around as if I was a piece of ham, slapping me on my bum and things like that," she recalls. Dismissed as mere "banter," it was not considered an HR issue. She also speaks of non-consensual photo sharing among male colleagues and a female peer who was eventually "pushed out because the environment was just so hard and just so horrible."
The normalisation of stress, drugs, and mental health crises
The structural misogyny and bad behaviour are compounded by an environment of extreme stress and substance abuse. Serena states bluntly that "cocaine is prevalent" on trading floors, and the drinking culture was so intense she found herself "drinking four working days a week." Maia highlights the devastating impact on mental health, a theme explored through Nabhaan Rizwan's character Hari in the show.
"Every day of my first three years, people would just go to the bathroom and cry. I would cry at least once a week, if not more," Maia reveals. She describes a surreal "cry circle" and colleagues napping in bathroom stalls due to exhaustion. This emotional turmoil exists alongside a ruthless attitude to failure: "People who lose big money, they get fired in a day or two. There is no remorse about these things."
Consequences and change: Is the industry evolving?
Accountability for senior figures appears scarce. Maia recounts an incident where a senior banker who bullied an associate faced no consequences, while the victim was moved teams. "The view is, if you do your job well at a senior level – you bring in lots of clients or money – then you get away with everything," she summarises.
However, both women acknowledge that the industry's notorious reputation has forced some change. Serena notes that her experiences were a decade ago and points to more subdued, family-friendly corporate events replacing the infamous blowout parties. Maia observed a concerted effort during her tenure to promote and retain women to improve gender balance, partly in response to bad press.
Yet, as Charlotte Minter's four-star review for Metro notes, the new season shifts focus towards the darker politics of business and marriage, while remaining "stressful, but in darker, more sinister ways." The real-life workers agree the show compresses timelines, but the essence – the toxic hierarchy, the affairs, the class anxiety – rings painfully true. For many, the glamorous world of high finance remains a brutal proving ground where, as the show's synopsis states, everyone is collateral.
*Names have been changed to maintain anonymity.
