Takes Wan to know one (From The Northern Echo)

Takes Wan to know one

6:24pm Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Tonight's TV By Steve Pratt

Gok’s Teens: The Naked Truth (C4, 8pm)
Junior Doctors: Your Life in Their Hands (BBC3, 9pm)
Leverage (FX, 10pm)

SOME people would say that being self-conscious is part of being a teenager – just as looking back on the photos of your adolescent self and wondering what you were so embarrassed about is a normal part of middle age.

However, some pundits feel that thanks to the wonders of the internet and photo manipulation, today’s teenagers are under more pressure than ever to conform to an unobtainable standard of beauty, and it’s taking a serious toll on their self-esteem.

Gok Wan has a good idea what they’re going through, having struggled with his own body image while he was growing up, and in Gok’s Teens: The Naked Truth he is out to give them a much-needed boost.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that he has tried to persuade us that we all look fabulous just the way we are. As the presenter of How to Look Good Naked, he encouraged women everywhere to love their lumps and bumps, proving that all they needed was a bit of confidence – and, at a push, some supportive underwear and a more flattering haircut – to be gorgeous.

Recently, he’s been looking at ways for more radical solutions to body issues. For example, in 2009 Gok presented a petition of more than 50,000 signatures to Downing Street as evidence of public support for having an hour of body confidence taught per academic year in every secondary school added to the national curriculum.

In this new series, he will draw on his personal experiences, as well as advice from the experts, and will address their issues and anxieties over issues such as body image, sexuality and simply feeling like they’re different.

In the first part of the series, he meets youngsters who suffer from body dysmorphia, a condition that leaves them permanently unhappy with their own appearance, and discovers the dangers of so-called pro-ana sites, where people with eating disorders can share their extreme weight-loss tips.

He also takes 15-year-old Paige and her friends to a professional photoshoot to show all the tricks of styling and computer retouching trade that go into creating the perfect image.

WHEN Junior Doctors: Your Life In Their Hands, which follows newly-qualified doctors, originally aired earlier last year, we spent much of it on the edge of our seats, sucking in our breath and not daring to peer through the fingers covering our eyes.

As it turned out, the young doctors were actually rather good at their jobs, so breathing could return to normal by the end of the show’s run.

In the series this week, a 17-yearold barmaid with a – brace yourself – receipt spike piercing her hand is treated by Amieth, and Andy ensures a patient does not eat before an operation.

Meanwhile, Lucy’s professionalism is put to the test when she helps patients with life-threatening illnesses, but finds it difficult not to grow emotionally attached to an elderly man.

OSCAR-WINNER Timothy Hutton and Coupling veteran Gina Bellman return for another helping of the slick Hustle-style series Leverage.

For newcomers, it follows the adventure of a highly-skilled team out to settle scores against those who use power and wealth to victimise others.

The gang is led by former insurance investigator Nate Ford (Hutton), and his group includes Sophie Devereaux (Bellman), a grifter who uses her acting skills to corner her marks.

In the first episode of season three, Nate and his colleagues decide to make the best of their time behind bars by clashing with a corrupt prison warden, and plan to save an innocent inmate along the way.