BBC Two to Premiere THE O WORD

BBC Two has commissioned Love Productions to make a new series in which people living with obesity come together to talk about their experiences and explore what it means to be obese in Britain today.

Obesity is rarely out of the headlines. Obesity levels in the UK have nearly doubled in the last 20 years, with a quarter of the country now classified as obese and a further 35 percent as overweight. It is one of the leading causes of health problems and early death, and places a huge strain on the NHS.

The O Word (working title) will get behind the statistics and enable people living with obesity to tell their own stories in their own words. Eight contributors will live together and explore what it's really like to be an individual whose appearance is, increasingly, the subject of public scrutiny.

There are many different opinions and attitudes among people living with obesity. The programme will give a voice to a range of different perspectives in this section of society, from how obesity affects their lives, their work and their relationships, to their views on a growing public prejudice towards them and on how the NHS and society at large should treat them.

Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning, Natural History & Specialist Factual, says: "Obesity is one of the most pressing issues in modern Britain, but all too rarely do we hear from those who experience it every day. This thoughtful, sensitive series will give voice to an often marginalised and misunderstood section of society. It will be challenging, thought-provoking and complex television."

The O Word (2x60) was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning, Natural History & Specialist Factual. It is being produced by Love Productions, where the Executive Producer is Sara Ramsden and the BBC Commissioning Editors are Tom McDonald & Jack Bootle.

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