Eureka!: Make my Body Younger (Twofour for BBC3)
- Published: 02 July 2008 16:55
- Last Updated: 02 July 2008 16:55
- Reader Responses
&articleUri=tcm:19-1679447&pageUri=tcm:19-1679453-64&xlImageUrl=/images/Make-My-Body-Younger_resized_150_tcm19-1679348.jpg "Eureka!: Make my Body Younger (Twofour for BBC3)")
Series producer Sarah Wood on performing "living autopsies" on over-indulgent teens.
Where did the idea come from?
The Twofour development team was thinking about fresh approaches to health programming and they came up with the idea of creating a "living autopsy". It's great because it's such a strange concept - the initial reaction is "you can't do that". The company's technology arm, HMC Interactive, is amazingly creative and knew they could, so Stuart Murphy pitched it to Danny Cohen at BBC3.
What's the full format?
It's a health show for young people who live lives of excess - whether it's food, drink, drugs or even sunbeds. They have tests ranging from a full-body MRI scan to blood tests to ones that check lung capacity and brain functions. The results are analysed and an image of their vital organs is created. The participant is then wheeled into an autopsy theatre, lying on a trolley, and the image is projected onto their body. We tell them the functional age of their organs and then a young medic lives with them to support them in changing their lifestyle.
How did it develop?
We worked on the tone. The BBC was clear it didn't want a lecturing or finger-wagging show. As host, George Lamb lightens the mood, but not by taking the piss.
Any challenges?
We had to make sure the casting was right. You have to care about someone if you're going to hand over an hour of your time and they need to be very open if they're going to talk about drinking or using drugs.
What took the most time?
We spent months on the autopsy and the build-up. It's really dramatic and the last thing we wanted was it to look like a wobbly Crossroads moment. We worked on the lighting, how the participant is wheeled in, the viewing gallery of family and friends and most of all the technology. It was so realistic: the heart is beating and the lungs are inflating. Then there's an incision and the skin and ribs are pulled back. The participants have to wear a skin-coloured leotard and I was convinced someone would refuse.
