New Channel 4 TV show lets people win free cosmetic surgery
A new Channel 4 series where a “jury” of the public decide if people get to undertake cosmetic surgery for free is being billed as “controversial” and “exploitative”.
The Surjury is due to air in 2020 and is described by Channel 4 as a “factual entertainment series” whereby people seeking a cosmetic surgery will stand before 12 members of the public to explain their reasons for wanting the procedure.
The jury will give “measured advice” and share their own opinions and experiences if they themselves have had a cosmetic procedure in the past. The candidate must get a majority vote in order to win the free surgery.
Love Island presenter Caroline Flack will host the series, introducing those wanting surgery to the jury while explaining and sharing facts about the procedure in question.
Following Flack’s announcement that she’s set to take part in the series, The Surjury is facing serious backlash from some media outlets, with The Times calling it “a distressing idea for an entertainment show” and I News branding it “a new low for television”.
In a news release, Channel 4’s factual entertainment commissioning editor Becky Cadman said: “We’re delighted to have Caroline on board. To many, cosmetic surgery can seem like a ‘quick fix’ to a problem, but with Caroline and the Jury’s help, this new series looks at who wants it, and why – allowing those who make a strong enough case to their peers, to undergo the procedure of their choice.
“The show will neither glamorise nor condemn their choices: the aim is instead to interrogate the realities.”