4oD highlights for week 31

24 July 2012

Ruby Wax's Mad Confessions
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/ruby-waxs-mad-confessions/4od
(Will be available after broadcast)
Part of Channel 4's season challenging mental health stigma and discrimination, 4 Goes Mad. Comedian Ruby Wax describes herself as 'the poster girl for mental health'. In this programme she campaigns to break down the stigma that still surrounds mental illness. She wants to support people who choose to stand up and be honest about their condition, and follows three successful businesspeople as they disclose their mental illness to their employers - and, in some cases, their friends. She also takes her cause to the House of Commons and explores her life-long battle with depression.

 

Jon Richardson: A Little Bit of OCD
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/jon-richardson-a-little-bit-ocd/4od
(Will be available after broadcast)
Part of Channel 4's season 4 Goes Mad. For the past decade, comedian Jon Richardson's life has been driven by a quest for perfection. It has dictated everything from his eating habits and his relationship with his mother to his ability to go on dates. Here he delves into the world of obsessive compulsive disorders and, in bid to find out more about what OCD is, meets some of the million suffers around the UK. Ultimately Jon finds out, once and for all, whether he's a simply a demanding perfectionist or if he has OCD.

 

Superscrimpers
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/superscrimpers/4od
SuperScrimpers returns for a third series with Mrs Moneypenny leading the way and her brand new thrifty army primed with enough money-saving tips to help everyone live life for half the price. The Thrifters have got ingenious penny-pinching tips by the bucket load, for every conceivable situation; from cleaning the house to entertaining the kids, from gardening to recipes for leftover food. Plus there's more £50 challenges for Britain's overspending families. In this episode Harry Wallop investigates confusing energy tariffs and takes on an energy giant for a customer left at boiling point.

 

World's Maddest Job Interview
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/worlds-maddest-job-interview/4od
(Will be available after broadcast)
Part of Channel 4's season 4 Goes Mad. Eight volunteers have five days and one mission: to pass the world's maddest job interview. Some have had or are managing significant mental health conditions, others have not; they've all agreed to have their work skills evaluated in the toughest of appraisals. Over the last two weeks these eight volunteers have already appeared across major Channel 4 programmes like Location, Location, Location. Now they've come together to try to impress a panel of business people and challenge the discrimination that sees one in five workers claim they are eased out of their jobs after telling an employer about their mental health issue. Can the volunteers prove the stereotypes wrong?

 

The Churchills
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-churchills/4od
(Will be available after broadcast)
Dr David Starkey tells the story of the two greatest war leaders in British history, both of whom were called Churchill. Everyone knows Winston Churchill led Britain and her Allies in their struggle against Hitler; less well known is John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, who led Britain and her Allies against an earlier would-be dictator of Europe: the Sun King Louis XIV of France. John Churchill was Winston's ancestor, inspiration and the subject of Winston's million-word biography John Churchill, Marlborough: His Life and Times. This first programme tells the story of how Winston came to write Marlborough.

 

Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder: The Big Clear Out
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/obsessive-compulsive-hoarder/4od
Part of Channel 4's season 4 Goes Mad. A follow-up programme looking at the progress of chronic hoarder Richard Wallace whose hoarding was so out of control that his own life was in danger. Richard was shunned by many of the residents of Westcott Village until landscape gardener Andy Honey offered to help. Six months later, Andy is still by Richard's side. Now they are trying to deal with the bigger problem of clearing Richard's home to make it safe. But inside the bungalow the dangers have got worse. Opinions in the village about Richard are mixed, and when Andy and Richard's friendship takes an unexpected twist, some locals start to question Andy's motives for helping.