THE boss of RWE npower has said it is unrealistic to expect 400 workers will have a job when part of Didcot Power Station closes in 2015.

It came after Kevin McCullough, chief operating officer at the utility company, went under-cover for Channel 4 show Undercover Boss.

The 45-year-old spent two days shovelling coal in the coal-fired Didcot A station.

This part of the power station, which opened in 1970, is due to close by 2015 because of new rules on greenhouse gases, while gas-fired Didcot B is expected to remain open.

Mr McCullough said of the show’s experience: “It was very, very humbling. The people I met there were exceptionally passionate about what they do.

“This is something we should have done years and years ago. It really has been one of the most enlightening things I have ever done.”

Mr McCullough started his career shovelling coal at the age of 18 at a plant in Pontefract, Yorkshire, and said he sympathised with Didcot workers.

The Didcot A site is set to close after the decision was made not to install equipment that would have allowed it to continue.

He said: “Didcot provides power for two million households in the UK. It really is sad for someone like me to be part of that, but it has come to the end of its life.

“It is tough because I have been in the same place they are during my career. I have been down the road that people in Didcot are approaching.”

But Mr McCullough assured workers that jobs were still available for many of them.

He said: “Would I be telling the truth if I said everyone at Didcot had a future job?

“That is not true; it is not realistic.

“But we have some great opportunities.

“There will be opportunities for people who need a bit of help. But they have to want to do it with a passion.

“Locality is an issue, they’ll have to work with us and look at opportunities that are not on their doorstep.

“And there are also people there who have given their lives to the Didcot station.

From a personal perspective, we want to help those people leave with dignity and look forward to a long and happy retirement.”

He added: “For some people it might be painful, but we want that to be the smallest number possible.”

About 400 people work at Didcot A, with another 100 workers at Didcot B.

During the show, which aired on Wednesday, Mr McCullough also spent time in a Stockton call centre and on installing meters in customers’ homes.

He said: “I have been there now and seen it first hand.

“These people have never been just names on a page to us. We have a huge amount of empathy with them.”