Beauty & the Beast: The Ugly Face of Prejudice

2 February 2011

Nine out of ten women in Britain are unhappy with their appearance, over half would resort to surgery to change it and nearly three quarters of Brits think that being better looking would make them more successful. Meanwhile, half a million people in Britain have a serious facial disfigurement, and have to counter daily the negative connotations the majority of us apply to such visual differences.  Beauty and the Beast: The Ugly Face of Prejudice investigates the extremes of dissatisfaction and discrimination by bringing together two people defined by the way they look but who approach the beauty debate from very different sides. Can someone who lives with a facial disfigurement convince a self confessed beauty addict that true beauty comes from within?

Episode 1

In this episode 59-year-old Leo, who suffered severe burns to his face and hands, and self-confessed beauty addict 21-year-old Yasmin meet. Leo underwent over 120 surgeries to his face and hands following his accident. He is fiercely against the use of plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes and believes that women in particular are pressurised to attempt to emulate the physical perfection seen in the media. Yasmin spends 40 days a year doing her make up and would rather be vain than ugly. She is desperate to have breast surgery and would also like liposuction.

With the help of Dr. Laxmi Kathuria, a psychiatrist who specialises in body image, Yasmin and Leo explore the reasons behind Yasmin's obsession with her appearance. Will their shared experience change their perceptions of each other? Will Leo manage to convince Yasmin that surgery is not the answer to her self image issues and can the pair agree on what it truly means to be beautiful?

Throughout the series Adam Pearson, who lives with Neurofibromatosis which has given him a facial disfigurement, will investigate the level of prejudice in society and gives a voice to those normally excluded from the beauty debate. This week, Adam makes his own advertising campaign and takes it to the streets to see if the British public are ready to accept a different interpretation of beauty.

Episode 3

Facially different Andy Tedder tries to persuade beauty queen Elicia Davies that beauty really is more than skin deep.

As the reigning Miss Manchester, 23-year-old Elicia is totally dependent on makeup, taking up to three hours every morning putting it on and never leaving the house without it. Constantly striving for perfection, Elicia thinks nothing of spending the majority of her salary on her appearance and has even considered a nose job and fillers in her cheeks.

Meanwhile, landscape gardener Andy Tedder from Bournemouth has Treacher Collins syndrome, a genetic condition that affects 1 in 10,000 people. The condition stopped his facial bones developing in the womb, as well as his ears, the affects of which he has had to suffer through years of painful reconstructive surgery and taunts from the public.

When the two first meet, Elicia isn't shy in expressing her shock at Andy's condition, and admitting that if she looked like him she wouldn't be happy. And Andy is equally as shocked by Elicia's dependency on makeup and flippant desire for plastic surgery.

As the two spend the day in each other's lives, and listen to the guidance of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, Andy and Elicia begin to confront for the first time the personal insecurities that have plagued them throughout their lives. Will Andy ever gain the courage to put himself out there and find love, and can Elicia stop hiding behind the armour and free herself from the beauty beast?

Also this episode, campaigner Adam Pearson investigates the wide-spread use of airbrushing in magazines and advertising, and enlists the help of a digital re-toucher to see if giving him the perfect symmetrical face can make him more ‘beautiful' in the eyes of the public.

Episode 4

Can one young mum with a facial disfigurement convince a young glamour model and self confessed beauty addict that there is more to life than looking pretty?

Twenty-six-year-old mum of two, Jessica Whitfield was born with a haemangioma - a benign tumour that grows during infancy - on the right hand side of her face. After growing to the size of a tennis ball, much of the tumour was removed, but it left a prominent scar, which has caused the side of Jessica's face to sag. After years of unwanted attention from the public, Jessica feels excluded from the image-obsessed world we live in and worries about the care-free attitude to cosmetic surgery that is sweeping the nation

For 22-year-old glamour model and mum, Chloe Page, looking good is more than a lifestyle choice, it's her career. A self-confessed beauty addict, Chloe will not allow anyone to see her without makeup. She spends a staggering one month out of the year applying makeup, at a cost of over £300 per month. Despite this, Chloe still sees herself as far from perfect and, having already enhanced her breasts, liposuction and a nose job are both on her cosmetic surgery wish list.

When the two first meet, Chloe is shocked and saddened by Jessica's appearance, while Jessica is amazed that, with a two-year old daughter, Chloe still manages to spend so much time on her appearance. However these initial preconceptions are soon thrown into doubt, as a day spent in each other's lives reveals which of the two mums is really the biggest victim of the beauty beast.

With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, Chloe finally confronts the body-image insecurities that have burdened her since childhood. But can Chloe overcome these insecurities, put her wish for more cosmetic surgery on hold and become the confident mother and role model for her child that she longs to be?  

Meanwhile, campaigner Adam Pearson looks at the discrimination people with facial disfigurements face in the work place, and undertakes his own experiment to see if looks really do matter when serving the public.

Episode 5

A 22-year-old budding Olympic hopeful and burns victim comes to the aid of a 26-year-old self-confessed beauty-holic whose costly obsession has already put her thousands of pounds in debt and is threatening to ruin her life.

At eight months old, Michael Boateng was left with significant facial scarring when he rolled off his mother's bed and became trapped with his face against a boiling hot water pipe. Michael sustained severe burns and lost an ear, and after undergoing four painful skin grafts, lived through years of hurtful name calling. As a way of coping, Michael turned to sport and now hopes to compete in the 2012 London Olympics, but remains determined to put a stop to the trend for quick surgical fixes.

On the other side of the beauty debate is Laura Summers, a woman whose obsession with her appearance is threatening to consume her life. Having spent the past eight years chasing her dreams of physical perfection, Laura has altered her image to suit this ideal, with costly consequences. Now, the numerous surgical procedures - including several boob and nose jobs, botox and lip fillers - have left her a whopping £30,000 in debt.

Challenged to spend a day in each other's lives, Michael and Laura are both thrown outside their comfort zones in an attempt to embrace a different idea of beauty. But with views so deeply entrenched in opposing sides of the debate, this could be one of the toughest challenges yet. With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, can Michael convince Laura to accept her natural body, learn her limits and quell her beauty obsession for good?

Also this episode, Adam Pearson questions the fashion industry's notion of beauty and takes his campaign to London Fashion Week where he stages a runway show to prove that models of all shapes and sizes are beautiful.

Episode 6

In the final episode of the series, facially-disfigured campaigner Adam Pearson goes head-to-head with 21-year-old WAG lookalike Louisa Day in what could be his biggest challenge yet.

25-year-old graduate Adam Pearson was born with Neurofibromatosis, a rare condition that caused benign growths to grow on his head and face, impairing both his sight and hearing. Despite undergoing 27 surgical procedures, the growths remain prominent and Adam has lived through years of bullying as a result. Having accepted his condition, Adam hopes to convince people to see beyond the exterior and judge others by their characters rather than their appearance.

On the other end of the scale is Louisa Day, a young woman who's made a career out of her obsession with beauty. As a makeup artist, Louisa feels it is her job to look good, spending two hours getting ready each morning and up to three hours for a night out. And Louisa is willing to do whatever it takes to maintain and improve her appearance - having already undergone painful collagen fillers she's now considering a breast augmentation.

So far this series, Adam has been taking his campaign to get people like him noticed by a beauty-obsessed society to the streets, but how will he fare when faced with a woman who personifies this beauty craze?

It's a bumpy ride for both during this journey as they confront not just the public's prejudices but their own, and grapple with the uncomfortable memories that have shaped who they are today. With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, can Adam convince Louisa to see behind the superficial and love herself, and others, for who she is inside rather than what she sees in the mirror?

Nine out of ten women in Britain are unhappy with their appearance, over half would resort to surgery to change it and nearly three quarters of Brits think that being better looking would make them more successful. Meanwhile, half a million people in Britain have a serious facial disfigurement, and have to counter daily the negative connotations the majority of us apply to such visual differences.  Beauty and the Beast: The Ugly Face of Prejudice investigates the extremes of dissatisfaction and discrimination by bringing together two people defined by the way they look but who approach the beauty debate from very different sides. Can someone who lives with a facial disfigurement convince a self confessed beauty addict that true beauty comes from within?

Episode 1

In this episode 59-year-old Leo, who suffered severe burns to his face and hands, and self-confessed beauty addict 21-year-old Yasmin meet. Leo underwent over 120 surgeries to his face and hands following his accident. He is fiercely against the use of plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes and believes that women in particular are pressurised to attempt to emulate the physical perfection seen in the media. Yasmin spends 40 days a year doing her make up and would rather be vain than ugly. She is desperate to have breast surgery and would also like liposuction.

With the help of Dr. Laxmi Kathuria, a psychiatrist who specialises in body image, Yasmin and Leo explore the reasons behind Yasmin's obsession with her appearance. Will their shared experience change their perceptions of each other? Will Leo manage to convince Yasmin that surgery is not the answer to her self image issues and can the pair agree on what it truly means to be beautiful?

Throughout the series Adam Pearson, who lives with Neurofibromatosis which has given him a facial disfigurement, will investigate the level of prejudice in society and gives a voice to those normally excluded from the beauty debate. This week, Adam makes his own advertising campaign and takes it to the streets to see if the British public are ready to accept a different interpretation of beauty.

Episode 3

Facially different Andy Tedder tries to persuade beauty queen Elicia Davies that beauty really is more than skin deep.

As the reigning Miss Manchester, 23-year-old Elicia is totally dependent on makeup, taking up to three hours every morning putting it on and never leaving the house without it. Constantly striving for perfection, Elicia thinks nothing of spending the majority of her salary on her appearance and has even considered a nose job and fillers in her cheeks.

Meanwhile, landscape gardener Andy Tedder from Bournemouth has Treacher Collins syndrome, a genetic condition that affects 1 in 10,000 people. The condition stopped his facial bones developing in the womb, as well as his ears, the affects of which he has had to suffer through years of painful reconstructive surgery and taunts from the public.

When the two first meet, Elicia isn't shy in expressing her shock at Andy's condition, and admitting that if she looked like him she wouldn't be happy. And Andy is equally as shocked by Elicia's dependency on makeup and flippant desire for plastic surgery.

As the two spend the day in each other's lives, and listen to the guidance of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, Andy and Elicia begin to confront for the first time the personal insecurities that have plagued them throughout their lives. Will Andy ever gain the courage to put himself out there and find love, and can Elicia stop hiding behind the armour and free herself from the beauty beast?

Also this episode, campaigner Adam Pearson investigates the wide-spread use of airbrushing in magazines and advertising, and enlists the help of a digital re-toucher to see if giving him the perfect symmetrical face can make him more ‘beautiful' in the eyes of the public.

Episode 4

Can one young mum with a facial disfigurement convince a young glamour model and self confessed beauty addict that there is more to life than looking pretty?

Twenty-six-year-old mum of two, Jessica Whitfield was born with a haemangioma - a benign tumour that grows during infancy - on the right hand side of her face. After growing to the size of a tennis ball, much of the tumour was removed, but it left a prominent scar, which has caused the side of Jessica's face to sag. After years of unwanted attention from the public, Jessica feels excluded from the image-obsessed world we live in and worries about the care-free attitude to cosmetic surgery that is sweeping the nation

For 22-year-old glamour model and mum, Chloe Page, looking good is more than a lifestyle choice, it's her career. A self-confessed beauty addict, Chloe will not allow anyone to see her without makeup. She spends a staggering one month out of the year applying makeup, at a cost of over £300 per month. Despite this, Chloe still sees herself as far from perfect and, having already enhanced her breasts, liposuction and a nose job are both on her cosmetic surgery wish list.

When the two first meet, Chloe is shocked and saddened by Jessica's appearance, while Jessica is amazed that, with a two-year old daughter, Chloe still manages to spend so much time on her appearance. However these initial preconceptions are soon thrown into doubt, as a day spent in each other's lives reveals which of the two mums is really the biggest victim of the beauty beast.

With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, Chloe finally confronts the body-image insecurities that have burdened her since childhood. But can Chloe overcome these insecurities, put her wish for more cosmetic surgery on hold and become the confident mother and role model for her child that she longs to be?  

Meanwhile, campaigner Adam Pearson looks at the discrimination people with facial disfigurements face in the work place, and undertakes his own experiment to see if looks really do matter when serving the public.

Episode 5

A 22-year-old budding Olympic hopeful and burns victim comes to the aid of a 26-year-old self-confessed beauty-holic whose costly obsession has already put her thousands of pounds in debt and is threatening to ruin her life.

At eight months old, Michael Boateng was left with significant facial scarring when he rolled off his mother's bed and became trapped with his face against a boiling hot water pipe. Michael sustained severe burns and lost an ear, and after undergoing four painful skin grafts, lived through years of hurtful name calling. As a way of coping, Michael turned to sport and now hopes to compete in the 2012 London Olympics, but remains determined to put a stop to the trend for quick surgical fixes.

On the other side of the beauty debate is Laura Summers, a woman whose obsession with her appearance is threatening to consume her life. Having spent the past eight years chasing her dreams of physical perfection, Laura has altered her image to suit this ideal, with costly consequences. Now, the numerous surgical procedures - including several boob and nose jobs, botox and lip fillers - have left her a whopping £30,000 in debt.

Challenged to spend a day in each other's lives, Michael and Laura are both thrown outside their comfort zones in an attempt to embrace a different idea of beauty. But with views so deeply entrenched in opposing sides of the debate, this could be one of the toughest challenges yet. With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, can Michael convince Laura to accept her natural body, learn her limits and quell her beauty obsession for good?

Also this episode, Adam Pearson questions the fashion industry's notion of beauty and takes his campaign to London Fashion Week where he stages a runway show to prove that models of all shapes and sizes are beautiful.

Episode 6

In the final episode of the series, facially-disfigured campaigner Adam Pearson goes head-to-head with 21-year-old WAG lookalike Louisa Day in what could be his biggest challenge yet.

25-year-old graduate Adam Pearson was born with Neurofibromatosis, a rare condition that caused benign growths to grow on his head and face, impairing both his sight and hearing. Despite undergoing 27 surgical procedures, the growths remain prominent and Adam has lived through years of bullying as a result. Having accepted his condition, Adam hopes to convince people to see beyond the exterior and judge others by their characters rather than their appearance.

On the other end of the scale is Louisa Day, a young woman who's made a career out of her obsession with beauty. As a makeup artist, Louisa feels it is her job to look good, spending two hours getting ready each morning and up to three hours for a night out. And Louisa is willing to do whatever it takes to maintain and improve her appearance - having already undergone painful collagen fillers she's now considering a breast augmentation.

So far this series, Adam has been taking his campaign to get people like him noticed by a beauty-obsessed society to the streets, but how will he fare when faced with a woman who personifies this beauty craze?

It's a bumpy ride for both during this journey as they confront not just the public's prejudices but their own, and grapple with the uncomfortable memories that have shaped who they are today. With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, can Adam convince Louisa to see behind the superficial and love herself, and others, for who she is inside rather than what she sees in the mirror?

Nine out of ten women in Britain are unhappy with their appearance, over half would resort to surgery to change it and nearly three quarters of Brits think that being better looking would make them more successful. Meanwhile, half a million people in Britain have a serious facial disfigurement, and have to counter daily the negative connotations the majority of us apply to such visual differences.  Beauty and the Beast: The Ugly Face of Prejudice investigates the extremes of dissatisfaction and discrimination by bringing together two people defined by the way they look but who approach the beauty debate from very different sides. Can someone who lives with a facial disfigurement convince a self confessed beauty addict that true beauty comes from within?

Episode 1

In this episode 59-year-old Leo, who suffered severe burns to his face and hands, and self-confessed beauty addict 21-year-old Yasmin meet. Leo underwent over 120 surgeries to his face and hands following his accident. He is fiercely against the use of plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes and believes that women in particular are pressurised to attempt to emulate the physical perfection seen in the media. Yasmin spends 40 days a year doing her make up and would rather be vain than ugly. She is desperate to have breast surgery and would also like liposuction.

With the help of Dr. Laxmi Kathuria, a psychiatrist who specialises in body image, Yasmin and Leo explore the reasons behind Yasmin's obsession with her appearance. Will their shared experience change their perceptions of each other? Will Leo manage to convince Yasmin that surgery is not the answer to her self image issues and can the pair agree on what it truly means to be beautiful?

Throughout the series Adam Pearson, who lives with Neurofibromatosis which has given him a facial disfigurement, will investigate the level of prejudice in society and gives a voice to those normally excluded from the beauty debate. This week, Adam makes his own advertising campaign and takes it to the streets to see if the British public are ready to accept a different interpretation of beauty.

Episode 3

Facially different Andy Tedder tries to persuade beauty queen Elicia Davies that beauty really is more than skin deep.

As the reigning Miss Manchester, 23-year-old Elicia is totally dependent on makeup, taking up to three hours every morning putting it on and never leaving the house without it. Constantly striving for perfection, Elicia thinks nothing of spending the majority of her salary on her appearance and has even considered a nose job and fillers in her cheeks.

Meanwhile, landscape gardener Andy Tedder from Bournemouth has Treacher Collins syndrome, a genetic condition that affects 1 in 10,000 people. The condition stopped his facial bones developing in the womb, as well as his ears, the affects of which he has had to suffer through years of painful reconstructive surgery and taunts from the public.

When the two first meet, Elicia isn't shy in expressing her shock at Andy's condition, and admitting that if she looked like him she wouldn't be happy. And Andy is equally as shocked by Elicia's dependency on makeup and flippant desire for plastic surgery.

As the two spend the day in each other's lives, and listen to the guidance of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, Andy and Elicia begin to confront for the first time the personal insecurities that have plagued them throughout their lives. Will Andy ever gain the courage to put himself out there and find love, and can Elicia stop hiding behind the armour and free herself from the beauty beast?

Also this episode, campaigner Adam Pearson investigates the wide-spread use of airbrushing in magazines and advertising, and enlists the help of a digital re-toucher to see if giving him the perfect symmetrical face can make him more ‘beautiful' in the eyes of the public.

Episode 4

Can one young mum with a facial disfigurement convince a young glamour model and self confessed beauty addict that there is more to life than looking pretty?

Twenty-six-year-old mum of two, Jessica Whitfield was born with a haemangioma - a benign tumour that grows during infancy - on the right hand side of her face. After growing to the size of a tennis ball, much of the tumour was removed, but it left a prominent scar, which has caused the side of Jessica's face to sag. After years of unwanted attention from the public, Jessica feels excluded from the image-obsessed world we live in and worries about the care-free attitude to cosmetic surgery that is sweeping the nation

For 22-year-old glamour model and mum, Chloe Page, looking good is more than a lifestyle choice, it's her career. A self-confessed beauty addict, Chloe will not allow anyone to see her without makeup. She spends a staggering one month out of the year applying makeup, at a cost of over £300 per month. Despite this, Chloe still sees herself as far from perfect and, having already enhanced her breasts, liposuction and a nose job are both on her cosmetic surgery wish list.

When the two first meet, Chloe is shocked and saddened by Jessica's appearance, while Jessica is amazed that, with a two-year old daughter, Chloe still manages to spend so much time on her appearance. However these initial preconceptions are soon thrown into doubt, as a day spent in each other's lives reveals which of the two mums is really the biggest victim of the beauty beast.

With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, Chloe finally confronts the body-image insecurities that have burdened her since childhood. But can Chloe overcome these insecurities, put her wish for more cosmetic surgery on hold and become the confident mother and role model for her child that she longs to be?  

Meanwhile, campaigner Adam Pearson looks at the discrimination people with facial disfigurements face in the work place, and undertakes his own experiment to see if looks really do matter when serving the public.

Episode 5

A 22-year-old budding Olympic hopeful and burns victim comes to the aid of a 26-year-old self-confessed beauty-holic whose costly obsession has already put her thousands of pounds in debt and is threatening to ruin her life.

At eight months old, Michael Boateng was left with significant facial scarring when he rolled off his mother's bed and became trapped with his face against a boiling hot water pipe. Michael sustained severe burns and lost an ear, and after undergoing four painful skin grafts, lived through years of hurtful name calling. As a way of coping, Michael turned to sport and now hopes to compete in the 2012 London Olympics, but remains determined to put a stop to the trend for quick surgical fixes.

On the other side of the beauty debate is Laura Summers, a woman whose obsession with her appearance is threatening to consume her life. Having spent the past eight years chasing her dreams of physical perfection, Laura has altered her image to suit this ideal, with costly consequences. Now, the numerous surgical procedures - including several boob and nose jobs, botox and lip fillers - have left her a whopping £30,000 in debt.

Challenged to spend a day in each other's lives, Michael and Laura are both thrown outside their comfort zones in an attempt to embrace a different idea of beauty. But with views so deeply entrenched in opposing sides of the debate, this could be one of the toughest challenges yet. With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, can Michael convince Laura to accept her natural body, learn her limits and quell her beauty obsession for good?

Also this episode, Adam Pearson questions the fashion industry's notion of beauty and takes his campaign to London Fashion Week where he stages a runway show to prove that models of all shapes and sizes are beautiful.

Episode 6

In the final episode of the series, facially-disfigured campaigner Adam Pearson goes head-to-head with 21-year-old WAG lookalike Louisa Day in what could be his biggest challenge yet.

25-year-old graduate Adam Pearson was born with Neurofibromatosis, a rare condition that caused benign growths to grow on his head and face, impairing both his sight and hearing. Despite undergoing 27 surgical procedures, the growths remain prominent and Adam has lived through years of bullying as a result. Having accepted his condition, Adam hopes to convince people to see beyond the exterior and judge others by their characters rather than their appearance.

On the other end of the scale is Louisa Day, a young woman who's made a career out of her obsession with beauty. As a makeup artist, Louisa feels it is her job to look good, spending two hours getting ready each morning and up to three hours for a night out. And Louisa is willing to do whatever it takes to maintain and improve her appearance - having already undergone painful collagen fillers she's now considering a breast augmentation.

So far this series, Adam has been taking his campaign to get people like him noticed by a beauty-obsessed society to the streets, but how will he fare when faced with a woman who personifies this beauty craze?

It's a bumpy ride for both during this journey as they confront not just the public's prejudices but their own, and grapple with the uncomfortable memories that have shaped who they are today. With the help of psychiatrist Dr Laxmi Kathuria, can Adam convince Louisa to see behind the superficial and love herself, and others, for who she is inside rather than what she sees in the mirror?