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C4 slammed for ‘Beauty & the Beast’ reality series
Broadcaster has replaced Big Brother with new ‘freak show’ say critics
Just as Big Brother comes to an end after its controversial 10-year run, Channel 4 has unveiled a new reality TV series which has already been condemned as an "extraordinary freak show". Beauty and the Beast will involve two people - one deemed "very attractive" and obsessed with beauty, the other with a severe physical disfigurement - sharing a house over several weeks.
The new six-part series will feature a different combination of people every week. Each pair of participants will be filmed living together in a ‘house of mirrors’ - decorated with wall-to-wall reflected glass to highlight their differences - as well as out and about in central London.
The programme's makers insist their aim is to expose the different ways people are treated based on their appearance. The independent TV production company Betty told the Sunday Telegraph that it is making the show with the co-operation of a disfigurement charity, Changing Faces.
In a statement, Channel 4 called Beauty and the Beast "an immersive lifestyle experience that uncovers attitudes to looks and beauty".
However the show has already attracted criticism, with the director of the campaign group MediaWatch, Vivienne Pattison, calling it "voyeuristic".
Yesterday she described it as "an extraordinary freak show”. She added: "Channel 4 pledged an end to this kind of voyeuristic programming when they announced the end of Big Brother. Putting a disfigured person in a mirrored house in the name of entertainment is neither a healthy nor an appropriate subject for a television programme."
In response, Channel 4 said the show, which is due to air next year, will be a "key" part of its public service broadcasting in 2011. "It is part of our remit to tackle difficult and often marginalised issues and open these up to a mainstream audience and debate," a spokesman said. "The series aims to challenge people's narrow definition of beauty in a frank and engaging format."
Channel 4's eleventh and final series of Big Brother ends this week. First broadcast in 2000, the show (above) has seen its ratings plummet in recent years. ·
