Health TV Series Enquiry

Hello Frances,

Apologies for emailing out of the blue. I work for television company Red Sky Productions, based in Glasgow. We produce a variety of health and medical television programmes for the UK channels. I’m currently working on a new ‘health MOT’ series for BBC Scotland and I’m looking for people to participate. I was wondering if you might be able to help me reach out to runners in East Kilbride, and surrounding areas, to see if any of your members would be interested in getting involved.

The series itself will comprise three hour-long programmes for the new BBC Scotland channel. The basic premise of the programme is that you take two individual volunteers with very different lifestyles and give them a series of rigorous health tests – blood tests, urine analysis, fitness tests, etc. – in order to build up a picture of their health. A team of medics interpret the results, identify areas of health/lifestyle that could cause problems in the future for the individual, then prescribe an 8 week programme of lifestyle change to help improve their health. This doesn’t necessarily just mean eating better or exercising more – it can mean reducing caffeine intake, using calming techniques or CBT, or making sure they get enough sleep. After 8 weeks we redo the tests, and see if the intervention has helped their health. In our pilot show, one of the candidates lost half a stone, reduced his blood fats by about 80%, and cut his risk of diabetes in half, so we know it works.

The series doesn’t just focus on obvious issues – e.g. being overweight – as we’re keen to reflect a range of modern day health problems, and show to a wide audience (some of whom may be suffering with similar conditions) how small lifestyle changes can genuinely make a big difference. So that might be a runner, who despite having excellent cardiovascular fitness, is finding they’re unable to outrun their bad diet – as a runner myself, this is something I’m definitely guilty of! Ultimately, the purpose of the series is to show people how small, simple changes can have a big impact on health – and of course we want it to be entertaining to an audience too.

In order to get the right mix, we want as wide a range of volunteers as possible. I know that running clubs are inclusive of people of all abilities and that those who take part do so for a variety of different health reasons. It would therefore be fantastic if you could include this information in an email, or a post on social media, to your community of runners outlining the basic purpose of the series, and requesting any interested individuals contact me directly if they wish to take part.

If you think that this is something you could help with, please do let me know. I’ve attached the flyer (both pdf and jpg formats) that I’ve been using to generate interest, but would be happy to give you more information if you need it.

All best wishes,

Claire

Claire Tippett | Assistant Producer
T: +44 (0) 141 343 8199 | E: claire.tippett@redskyproductions.co.uk 
Address: Four Winds Pavilion, Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1DZ