Embarrassing Bodies - History - Zodiak Rights

Embarrassing Bodies started life as a 30-minute lifestyle format in 2007.Originally entitled Embarrassing Illnesses, the Channel 4 programmebroke new ground in the make-over genre with its frank approach todealing with medical conditions which leave many people needlesslyashamed, de-stigmatizing them in the process.In what was to become their trademark no-nonsense style, the doctorsoffered sympathy and help for patients with problems ranging from adisease causing curvature of the penis, disfiguring skin rashes inintimidate parts of the body, incontinence, and misshapen breasts - toname just a few of the blush-inducing conditions which patients had beenkeeping under wraps.Coupled with the frank examinations, clear advice and footage ofoperations, Ashley Jensen‟s voiceover explained to the audience statisticsaround the illnesses, covering who they commonly affect, how to avoidthem and how they can be treated.The first season was so well received that a week-long season of therebranded Embarrassing Bodies was commissioned. Stripped across fourconsecutive nights, the season saw Drs. Christian Jessen, Dawn Harperand Pixie McKenna taking their clinic on the road, criss-crossing thecountry to seek out and sort the nation‟s most cringe-worthyconditions."This is perhaps the most graphic programme yet made for television, butits intent - to destigmatise common complaints - could not be moreworthwhile. Awe inspiring" - The Times"I would just like to thank all who were involved in making this programme.My mam checked her breasts for lumps after watching and found a lumpwhich we now know is cancerous. My mam would have most likely beenchecked within the next two years, thanks to your show however, wemanaged to get to the cancer a lot earlier. Hopefully the doctors will beable to remove it before it spreads. Mine and my families heartfelt thanksto everyone involved in the show. You may well have saved my mam‟slife." - Call to Channel 4 Viewer EnquiriesWithin 10 days of TX over a quarter of those viewers had gone to theChannel 4 website and checked themselves using our four specially-madeguides to spotting the early signs of skin, breast, testicular and vulvalcancer. Across the week of transmission, the Embarrassing Bodieswebsite had an extraordinary 3.5 million page views. There were 367,000visits to the site, over 600,000 views of video content and 12,314 mobilevideo downloads making it one of the most successful in Channel 4‟s 26year history. (Source: Ipsos Mori Research)The shows were watched by 12 million people across the week - 23%of the UK population - averaging 3.2million viewers and 14.3% shareover its four episodes..

EMBARRASSING TEENAGE BODIESSeason 1 was followed up with another season in fall 2008specifically targeting teenagers. In Embarrassing Teenage Bodies,The doctors were again out on the road, tackling teen angst at musicfestivals, going „below the belt‟ on college campuses and eventravelling overseas to confront teenage bodies „behaving badly‟ in theholiday resort of Magaluf.The season was well received by the broadcaster, critics andviewers. Not only delivering [above] the slot average with over 3million viewers each night, 60% of whom were women, and attractinga much higher percentage of the sought-after, yet elusive, youngdemographic – with over 44% being under 34.But it‟s not only the audience share that points to a successfulseason. The huge public service value of the season which hasprompted the respected UK broadsheet press to write the following…"Their intention - to de-stigmatize unmentionable complaints andspread the gospel of health - could hardly be more valuable." - TheTimes"The show's public service remit is perfectly fulfilled by teen targeteditems on sexual health, skin cancer and personal hygiene" - SundayTimes Culture"The Embarrassing Teenage Bodies road-show can wave the flag ofpublic health education...I have no idea how Embarrassing TeenageBodies persuades these children to sacrifice their dignity, but theresult is not bad public service television." - The Independent

SEASON 2The brand continued to go from strength to strength, returning in spring2009 a brand new 60‟ format, which introduced an oral health strand andalso saw the doctors putting themselves through tests such as HIV andfertility. Along with adding further interactive elements that generated apicture of the nation‟s health, a revisit format called „Back To The Clinic‟was produced, which caught up with some of the previous contributors torecap on how taking part in the programme had changed, and on someoccasions saved, their lives.This season transmitted on a weekly basis in the prime-time 8pm slot over11 weeks. The season averaged 3.13m – with a peak of 3.8m on June10th. During broadcast it was consistently the highest rating show onChannel 4 television – and the broadcaster‟s 6th most popular programmeof the year.“If you can sit through this programme, the first in a new series, from startto finish without flinching you should consider applying for medical school.Nonetheless, it is an entirely worthwhile and responsible programme thatencourages people to see their GPs as soon as soon as any part of theirbody starts unexpectedly to swell, leak, itch, suppurate, droop, fester, goblack or drop off.” - The Times“It was fascinating to watch people who in some cases had been reluctantto visit their GPs with sensitive fungal complaints quite cheerfully droppingtheir underwear with a Channel 4 camera crew in attendance…Embarrassing Bodies is extremely uplifting.” - The Independent“Judging by the substantial number of patients who agree to be filmed, andthe traffic to its website, there are a whole lot of concerned people outthere. This series provides a real public service - it‟s entertaining andinformative, but doesn‟t tip over into shock-doc territory. Theprofessionalism and empathy from the resident doctors give it aneducational backbone. And somehow they manage to get groups ofpeople to muck in and strip off to show the nation what‟s normal and whatisn‟t.” - Broadcast“Embarrassing Bodies works. You learn more about basic health in oneepisode than in a hundred worthy documentaries.” – Metro

SEASON 3Embarrassing Bodies returned in February 2010 for a run of 8 originationsand 4 revisits, with more jaw-dropping cases of medical embarrassment,new strands to demystify incurable conditions and mental health problems,and greater website interactivity than ever before.The opening show featured a man with a penis shaped like a horseshoe, ayoung woman complaining of deformed breasts, a mother with terribleflatulence and a teenager with such a smelly infected toe she‟s kept hersock on for months. And Doctors Christian Jessen, Pixie McKenna andDawn Harper took to the road in their mobile clinic.New for this season, the team broached the stigma around mental healthand neurological problems and the doctors put themselves to the test tocast a light on these often misunderstood conditions. In the first episode,Dr Christian underwent an experiment used to help diagnose autism todemonstrate how people affected perceive the world around themdifferently, which often leads to misunderstandings and embarrassment.Online, we encouraged viewers to take an Autism Spectrum test, preparedby the Cambridge Autism Research Centre. More than 150,000 viewersrushed online to take the test and share their results, creating the world‟slargest Autism Spectrum test of its kind.A further new strand is „Living With‟, where patients with incurableconditions dispel many of the myths associated with their illness.Conditions covered include using a Colostomy Bag, Schizophrenia, CysticFibrosis, Parkinsons, Arthritis, Tourettes and HIV.The first two shows saw average ratings of 3.9 million for 9pm Wednesdaybroadcasts (slot average 2.2m), before moving to Friday at 9pm andseeing average ratings of 3.5 million (slot average 2.1m), up 17% onseason 2, and with 62% of viewers being female. The season wassponsored by Jergens natural skincare.“Since Friends ended (in real time, not in the endless cycle of era-defyingrepeats), Channel 4 has struggled to fill its Friday night slot with anythingquite so talked-about. Now that this medical mystery show is happilyensconced at 9pm, that could change... all in the name of demystifyinghealth issues.” - The Guardian“Embarrassing Bodies had nothing to be shy about last night, with 3.6mviewers tuning in - its biggest audience to date. The show regularly hoversaround the 3m barrier, but last night edged ahead of its previous best,when 3.5m watched on 10 June 2009.” - Broadcast“Today a programme such as Embarrassing Bodies on Channel 4 iscommonplace, yet two decades ago bodily functions were regarded as offlimitsfor public discussion. Lynn‟s achievement is rooted in the instinctthat removing the barriers surrounding the subject of bottoms and poocould save lives.” - The Times

EMBARRASSING BODIES: KIDSIn this special series the Embarrassing Bodies clinic opened its doors tokids only, proving that it‟s never too early to learn that being embarrassedabout our bodies is simply childish. Throughout this series we stripped thestigma from three of the most embarrassing toddler taboos, from birthdefects through developmental issues to adolescent angst as weconfronted potential problems at birth such as misshapen heads, twistedspines and displaced hips, discomforting developments through childhoodincluding bed-wetting, excessive hair and all manner of poo problems, tocreepy crawly infections that kids pick up along the way including a childwho‟s been harbouring a nit infestation for 4 years.A recent survey found that around 44% of children said they‟d been teasedor bullied at school, often leading to long-term psychological damage, sothe Embarrassing Bodies truck parked up in one of Britain‟s top themeparks, Drayton Manor, as part of our mission to replace schoolyard stigmawith the medical mantra of „there‟s no shame we‟re all the same‟.Alongside offering reassuring medical advice to parents and kids of allages, Drs Christian, Pixie and Dawn adapted some classic fairgroundattractions such as „hook a duck‟ to educate kids about the horrors ofchildhood parasites and beastly bugs.Dr Pixie and Dr Christian also went back to school to give not only kids,but parents, lessons on how to combat allergies¸ how not to get fat, andput the parasites and micro-organisms that cause all sorts of childhoodinfections under the microscope on a field trip with a difference.Whilst the „Living With‟ strand that looked at the realities of people livingwith long term conditions focused on a family coping with 6-year-oldautistic twins who are still in nappies and explored how another familyhave adapted their home to deal with their 8 year olds 200 daily epilepticfits.“I'm sure this is all a good idea, getting rid of the stigma of these horriblethings, and hopefully some of the horrible things themselves.” - TheGuardian

CHARLOTTE’S STORYIn the autumn of 2008, eight year-old girl Charlotte Wilson visited theEmbarrassing Bodies clinic with her mother Sofia, desperately seekinghelp for an extreme condition that left Dr Christian Jessen speechless. Herfeet were covered with veruccas; a common viral infection that mostpeople‟s immune system fights and defeats. But Charlotte was losing thatbattle.This one-off Embarrassing Bodies special narrated by Dr Christian, followson from what happened to Charlotte since her appearance onEmbarrassing Bodies in April 2009 and gives a unique insight into theturmoil experienced by a family faced with a life threatening situation.Last year‟s programme saw Charlotte referred to Great Ormond StreetChildren‟s Hospital in London where medical tests revealed that herimmune system was virtually non-existent. The immunologist warned thatas Charlotte gets older she would be vulnerable to life threateninginfections without a properly functioning immune system.So Charlotte needed a new immune system, and that meant a bonemarrowtransplant. This is a huge procedure and Dr Paul Veys, whoconducted the transplant, admitted that if it went wrong there could be lifethreateningconsequences.The documentary followed the family‟s emotional journey as they learntthis news and the anxiety of finding a bone-marrow donor for Charlotte.Charlotte‟s Story transmitted 7 th April on Channel 4 and was the highestrated Channel 4 show that week, along with being pick of the day in mostnewspapers.The show and the Embarrassing Bodies website encouraged viewers tosign up for the Bone Marrow Register, and in the days followingtransmission, the Anthony Nolan Trust (the UK‟s largest bone marrowcharity) reported a 4,000% rise in enquiries.“What a fantastic and moving programme. I cried all the way through.Thank you Channel 4 for yet another fantastic programme. I am delightedthat Charlotte and her family are doing so well. All the best for the future.” -Maria on the Embarrassing Bodies website“Charlotte's story has really inspired me to become a bone marrow doner,knowing that i could help somebody in the future means a great deal tome.” – Victoria on the Embarrassing Bodies website“In tears at Charlotte‟s story on Channel 4 ... now contemplating bonemarrow donation as a result” – bradfordka on Twitter“Just watched amazing ch 4 doc Charlotte‟s story. What a brave girl &family... and lucky to have had her condition spotted by a good doc!” –drtwitchett on Twitter

SEASON 4Season 4 of Embarrassing Bodies is in production, to air in 2011. The seriescomprises 18 originations and a further 8 revisits. The new series will be castingmore cases of frank nudity and mortifying embarrassing conditions than everbefore. Cases already on the clinic list to be seen by Drs Christian, Pixie andDawn include a middle aged woman with a rectal prolapse and a young boy witha malformed tongue which he is unable to retract.There will be a return to dental cases this series with a particular focus on facialsurgery – the correction of overbites and cleft lips will be featured. The show willfurther develop the work of Season 3 by continuing to find more engaging „LivingWith‟ cases to de-stigmatise incurable conditions and shine a light into theshadows of mental health – already cast a man with a phobia about swallowing.The group stunts where groups of people - soccer teams or workplace friends forexample - are cast to take part in interactive tests to educate both them and thewider public about public health campaigns will be expanded with a new seriesof educational but fun events on such topics as self checking for testicularcancer or learning how to recognise the signs of urinary infection or bowelcancer. The doctors will be looking for more ways to put their own bodies to thetest to educate people about medical treatment. And this season the trademarkEB mobile clinic will be taking on a Summer Roadshow – offering free medicaladvice to the public as they enjoy their holidays at music festivals, theme parksor sunbathe on the beach at a selection of popular resorts around the UK andabroad!EMBARRASSING OLD BODIESThis one-off Embarrassing Bodies special was part of Channel 4 Comingof Age season and took a look at common medical conditions associatedwith aging, from cancer scares and genital malfunctions to bunions andloss of hearing.This time the Embarrassing Bodies doctors were taking the stigma andembarrassment out of old age. A woman with double incontinence, aman suffering from prostate cancer and a chap with unsightly varicoseveins were amongst the patients helped by Dr Christian and Dr Pixie.And to show you‟re never too old to get help, they travel to Benidorm –holiday of choice for thousands of ageing Brits every year - withmessages on safe sun and safe sex for the over 65s.Dr Christian even roped in his own father – who‟s twice his age – todemonstrate how their two bodies differ because of the natural ageingprocess. Meanwhile, Embarrassing Bodies Dentist Dr James Russellshowed how well fitted dentures could help the nation‟s millions oftoothless OAPs regain both their appearance and their ability to eatcomfortably.EMBARRASSING FAT BODIESA series of four Embarrassing Bodies specials, specifically targeting theillnesses and ailments associated with being overweight, airing inNovember 2010.As the UK‟s waistline continues to expand, Embarrassing Fat Bodies willaddress not only embarrassing physical conditions caused by obesity, butalso the long lasting affects being overweight has on the body internallyand externally, even once a person has lost weight.Covering issues such as type II diabetes and whether being overweightreally is something that can be passed on genetically, the series will alsofeature the science behind fat and how even apparently slim people cancarry dangerous fat levels inside their bodies.

AWARDSEmbarrassing Bodies won two Royal TelevisionSociety Awards in 2009, and EmbarrassingTeenage Bodies was nominated for a RoyalTelevision Society Education Award in the sameyear.Embarrassing Bodies Online won the award forBest Interactivity at the 2009 BAFTA TelevisionAwards, and Embarrassing Bodies Live won the2010 BAFTA for Interactive CreativeContribution, and a Broadcast Digital Award, andis nominated for a 2010 World Television Awardand a Rose d‟Or.Embarrassing Bodies Online received a BritishInteractive Media Award for Best IntegratedCampaign and the award for Best Innovation &Multimedia from the Royal Television Society in2008. The site received a Special mention in theVideo category at the 2008 Association of OnlinePublishers Awards, and the cross platformoffering was nominated in the Interactivecategory at the 2009 World Television Awards.

EMBARRASSING BODIES ONLINE & MOBILEEmbarrassing Bodies Online is the interactive dimension of the Embarrassing Bodiescross-platform initiative incorporating TV, web and mobile. It aims to deliver clear, open,honest, non-judgmental information around key preventive health topics using networkedvideo, games and applications.It contains over 200 easy-to-understand guides to the conditions featured in the show,alongside specially commissioned videos – for example showing how viewers could checkthemselves for breast, testicular, vulval and skin cancer. Many of these videos are madeavailable on mobile phones to allow users to conduct checks in private.The site has several interactive applications, including an STI checker (which has nowbeen used by over 850,000 people), an anatomy game and a health calculator tool.This content was an unprecedented success for Channel4.com, generating over 42% oftraffic to its website at its peak, and outperforming even the biggest entertainment brands.On the back of this success a second iteration of the site was launched to coincide with theEmbarrassing Teenage Bodies season in October 2008.The site now contains more than 100 videos, including exclusive content, extended cuts,and video responses to the most popular of the 76,000 user comments received to date.The site also allows users to take tests at home, with results fed back into the TV show,where the doctors explain the results.The website has been a phenomenal success, generating 60 million page views from 7.5million users, and seeing its videos viewed over 7 million times on our website, with afurther 12 million views through the official YouTube channel. The UK Facebook group forEmbarrassing Bodies also has 147,000 fans.In April 2010, a kid‟s health site aimed at parents was launched alongside the TV series,which aims to be the UK‟s top site for children‟s health by 2012. Alongside video, guidesand community functions, the site includes applications for parents to track their child‟sdevelopment, and assess their risk of key conditions.www.channel4.com/bodieswww.channel4.com/kids

EMBARRASSING BODIES LIVEFebruary 2010 saw a UK broadcasting first, as viewers watched theopening episode of the new series of Embarrassing Bodies on TV, thenwent online immediately after the episode to watch the first of three livestudio shows, featuring the doctors alongside a host, and contributors fromthe show.The editorial of the show was be shaped and driven by viewers who couldhave their questions answered, discuss their experiences and even havetheir conditions diagnosed online in real-time.Whilst previous turnover shows on UK television have been on linear TVchannels, by being on the web, this show enabled a level of interactivityand personalisation not previously experienced. Other interactive showshave encouraged users to send tweets and leave online commentsalongside their TV viewing, but Embarrassing Bodies Live, for the first timebrought this two screen experience together, with all the interaction takingplace around the live video stream on a single PC screen. EmbarrassingBodies Live focussed on things you can‟t do on a digital channel or a radiophone-in, making full use of the interactivity of the web to provide aparticipative, proactive experience.their questions and concerns live immediately following the check. Show 2encouraged users to sign up to the Bone Marrow Register, and Show 3imparted life saving first aid advice.Show 2 tested wart cures from around the world on volunteers, and Show3 included a consumer test, looking at over the counter treatments for nits.Within weeks of airing, Embarrassing Bodies Live won a BAFTA forInteractive Creative Contribution, a Broadcast Digital Award, plus WorldTelevision Award and Rose d‟Or nominations.www.channel4.com/bodiesliveShow 1 ran for 28 minutes, but due to the volume of interest and viewersubmissions, Show 2 (April 2010) ran for 54 minutes and Show 3 (May2010) for 44 minutes.During each show, the doctor‟s discussed the main talking points from theepisode just seen on Channel 4. Show 1 included a catch-up with one ofthe programme‟s patients, chosen by the audience. Throughout the webshow the presenters interacted with viewers who were able to dictate theeditorial of the programme through questions and live polls, as well asexamining images submitted by viewers, and picking out key concerns andtrends on Twitter.The three shows attracted more than 11,000 questions from users, with500 images being uploaded for diagnosis during transmission.Show 1 included a live testicle check that viewers could carry out at homewhilst watching the show. The doctors then encouraged users to share

VIEWER COMMENTS"We would just like to say thank you to this programme because afterregularly watching this programme, our 14 year old son said he had anembarrassing problem and told us about an enlarged lump in one of histesticles. After initial inspection the doctors and specialists thought it wasvery likely a cancerous tumour. After an Ultrasound scan it luckily turnedout to be a very large Hydrocele. He still requires surgery but it is notcancerous. He told us that it was after watching your programme oneevening that he decided to tell someone about the lump that he had hadfor months. Had he not told someone until much later it may have been adifferent story. We just wanted to let you know that we think it is anexcellent programme and very valuable to raise awareness particularlywith young people.""I just wanted to write and say this show is absolutely brilliant - bringinghealth concerns to the fore and getting people talking about it is so greatfor a society that is so obsessed with looks and embarrassed to admit thatthey have problems. The style of the show, and the doctors areapproachable, cool and honest, while not being condescending at thesame time. It is also wonderful having the website alongside people thatwant to know more, but don't necessarily want to go to the doctor yet. Itwould have been useful when I was a teenager! Thank you for this show.""I watched the last season of EB with relish (well, with mild nausea, butstill) and am enjoying this season enormously as well. Your programmehas made me extra health conscious and is extremely interesting. Apartfrom this, I curate a medical museum and the programme is beingwatched by the young people who come to visit, which in turn means I cantalk about your programme as an extra battery of interest when they seethe collection. I cried and cried last night watching that beautiful womanhear that her hair loss problem could not be permanently solved, andthought your doctor was so very kind. I don't normally leave reviews butfelt the need to send a big thumbs up your way for another excellentprogramme. Keep it up!" AKC"I would first of all like to praise you on a fantastic show, which helps toeducate the lay people / general public re: medical conditions and bringunderstanding to everyday conditions. Credit to your team and Medicalprofessionals. Keep up the good work." JI“After watching your show, my husband decided to check himself onenight whilst having a shower. To his shock he found a lump. He wentstraight to his doctor and within a week he had surgery for testicularcancer, needs to have a few more scans, but thanks to the show hemanaged to find it in time.”"I would like to take this opportunity to compliment you and the team onthe wonderful work you are doing, to bring things like this out in the open.Those people who have attended your session, you've made their lives awhole lot better." FI