Mary Portas On 19 June 2009, in a ceremony at Galashiels, Heriot-Watt University awarded Portas a Doctorate of Letters in recognition of her career and her contribution to the advancement of marketing and brand communications within the retail sector In December 2009, Portas opened her first permanent 'Living & Giving Shop' in support of charity Save the Children. There are now 16 shops open across London and Edinburgh. She was also named as the charity's Global Retail Ambassador. In 2011, Portas moved from BBC to Channel 4. Her first series for the channel was "Mary Portas: Secret Shopper" which aired in January
Mary Portas Our Shops" in June 2009. She appeared in the "Panorama" documentary "On the Rack" which exposed unethical production practices by fast fashion retailer Primark; and has appeared as a panellist on "" four times. In March 2011, Portas regularly appeared in the Channel 4 series "Lily Allen: From Riches to Rags", in which she advised the pop star on her venture into fashion retail. Following the BBC Two series "Mary, Queen of Charity Shops" in June 2009, Mary was appointed as Global Retail Ambassador for Save the Children. She developed the "Living & Giving" concept as a new type of