The Swindon branch merges with Wernham Hogg’s Slough branch in the Christmas special of The Office (UK). The merger brings the two offices into closer contact and places David Brent alongside his more successful counterpart, Neil Godwin.
The Slough office is the show’s main setting, located in the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company’s Slough Trading Estate branch. Swindon is another Wernham Hogg location and becomes especially important in the second series, when employees from the branch arrive in Slough and Neil takes over as David’s superior.
The Christmas special takes place three years after the original documentary was filmed. David has been made redundant and is working as a travelling salesman, while Tim, Gareth and the other employees remain connected to Wernham Hogg. The specials revisit the office’s old relationships, including Dawn’s engagement to warehouse worker Lee and her unresolved feelings for Tim.
A common mix-up is confusing Swindon with Reading or London, which may sound plausible as nearby English business locations. In the show’s fictional company structure, however, Swindon is the branch directly associated with the Slough office’s merger storyline.