Episode 2
“On so many occasions people say, ‘Are you okay? You look tired’. Whether I’ve had 18 hours sleep or two hours sleep, I get puffiness around my eyes. I’m hoping this will all change. I’m up for it, I’m not scared of it, as long as it don’t hurt too much!” Sid Owen
Research shows that people with bad lifestyles age three times faster than normal, but can a lifetime of unhealthy habits be reversed in just 21 days? In a brand new four-part series, eight well-loved and well-worn celebrities take part in a bold and unique experiment to find out if we really can stop the ageing process. Soap legend June Brown, actress Claire King, presenter Roy Walker, Eastenders stalwart Sid Owen, actress and presenter Sherrie Hewson, musician Shaun Ryder, astrologer Russell Grant and Gogglebox star Sandra Martin are the celebrity guinea pigs subjected to scientific testing to discover how well, or badly, they are ageing, inside and out.
Britain’s leading longevity professor invites the group to Sardinia, home to one of the oldest populations in the world. They are asked to commit to a strict diet and tough exercise regime bespoke for their individual needs, which will push them to their limits, whilst undertaking cutting edge and extreme anti-ageing treatments including snail facials, coffee enemas and cow urine shampoos. After 21 days of intensive rejuvenation, the celebrities are assessed once again. Can they collectively lose 100 years from their face, body and brain ages, without going under the knife?
In episode two, the group wake up to the seventh day of their tough new anti-ageing regime and it’s beginning to take its toll. Shaun explains: “There’s some mornings I’ve woken up and I’m going, ‘I’m a pampered celeb, I want to go home’.”
There’s more bad news in store, as nutritionist Thor announces at breakfast that she is stepping up their cleanse to a liquid diet and for the next four days the celebrities will only be allowed juices and shakes. Breakfast is a protein shake followed by a green juice and the celebs are not happy. Thor says: “The digestive system will work better and the liver will cleanse itself and the natural function of the body will work better.”
Everyone needs to take part in a rigorous daily exercise regime lead by former Real Madrid fitness coach Simone Ripamonti but unfortunately half the class now appear to have doctor’s notes. Shaun says: “The lump in the testicle that is pressing on a nerve has moved, I don’t know how it works but it’s moved, it’s a lot worse and it’s agony…I just can’t do it, obviously it looks like I’m blagging, but it’s like having toothache in your bollocks.”
55-year-old actress Claire King used to lead an active lifestyle but now struggles to do any form of exercise.
Claire explains: “I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in the early 90s when I’d just started Emmerdale. It was a really scary thing to hear cos you just think that’s an old people’s disability, and it’s getting worse.”
For one member of the team, high intensity exercise and weight loss isn’t the solution to a younger body. Unlike the others, underweight June Brown is on a body building mission, eating three solid meals a day and healthy snacks to try and put some weight on.
After a liquid lunch, the group are feeling tired and irritable. To make matters worse, Thor announces that they will now be using their own urine, for a facial. Many beauty creams contain urea, naturally found in urine, which acts as an exfoliant and moisturiser, both essential steps to help rejuvenate ageing skin. The celebrities pour their urine onto a flannel and massage it onto their faces, leaving it for 10 minutes before washing it off.
Sandra says: “I can’t believe this, my own piss on my face...”
Claire says: “I came up seven years older facially, than what I actually am. But If it means putting urine on my face every day I will remain seven years older!”
Sid is impressing Simone with his motivation in the fitness sessions, but Sid’s 20-a-day smoking habit is an issue and after a meeting with Professor Philp he agrees to try and quit. Sid says: “Today was a tough day and tomorrow is the day that I stop smoking, I’ve got my patches, I’m ready to go. Fingers crossed.”
Sid also turns his attention to his face for some non-surgical treatments with a visit to the clinic’s dermatologist Dr Chopra. Sid opts to have a mini thread treatment, to reduce the wrinkles around his eyes, using dissolvable stitches that stimulate the collagen naturally found under the skin. Meanwhile, in a room nearby, Sandra undergoes a procedure to remove skin tags on her face, using a probe that heats up and burns the skin. The screams coming from Sandra’s room prove a little off-putting for Sid, as he tries to relax during his treatment.
Carrying more weight than anyone else in the group, Russell and Sandra have been told to hit the swimming pool with the clinic’s medic Ian Forbes. The only trouble is, neither of them can swim. Russell says: “When I was younger, I was thrown into a pool. One of my relatives thought that by throwing me, I’d either sink or swim. The trouble is I sunk. It left me with a phobia about water. For me, if I can leave Sardinia and know how to swim, that would be such an achievement. I’m getting a bit emotional about it. It would be wonderful.”
To celebrate the end of the liquid diet, Simone has organised an outing to local shepherd Paolo’s house, but it involves a two-hour trek up a mountain. Will the home-cooked feast waiting for them at the top be enough motivation for the celebrities to climb the tough terrain?
No comments:
Post a Comment