Saturday 4 November 2017

TV Review: BLUE PLANET II + LOUIS THEROUX: TALKING TO ANOREXIA

This article was originally published in The Courier on 4 November 2017.


BLUE PLANET II: Sunday, BBC One

LOUIS THEROUX: TALKING TO ANOREXIA: Sunday, BBC Two


Immense awe and tremendous wonder were the order of the day in BLUE PLANET II, the long-awaited sequel to David Attenborough’s multi-award-winning natural history milestone. 

Filmed over four years and 125 global expeditions, this undersea epic began by introducing us to “creatures beyond our imagination”.

That was no idle boast – Attenborough isn’t one for hyperbole – as highlights included: surprisingly intelligent fish who can use tools and who’ve worked out how to calculate the trajectory of doomed seabirds; a vast army of nocturnal mobula rays feasting on glowing plankton; bizarre sea cucumbers stuffing themselves senseless; and a female fish changing sex to challenge a male for control of his subaquatic harem.

Inevitably, it wasn’t all mind-boggling fun and games. Ever since we became aware of global warming, Attenborough’s programmes have struck an increasingly sombre note. A female walrus desperately searching for some melting shore space to protect her infant was the programme’s most lasting, tragic image.


Festooned with typically stunning, innovative footage and a sensitive soundtrack from Hans Zimmer – not to mention Sir Dave’s comfortingly authoritative tones – this was another glistening example of why the BBC, for all its faults, should be cherished and preserved.

As if to cement that point, on the very same evening they broadcast LOUIS THEROUX: TALKING TO ANOREXIA, in which the nation’s favourite gentle interlocutor visited a London hospital specialising in care for inpatients with eating disorders.

He met vulnerable young women who are forced to adhere to strictly supervised meal schedules. For obvious reasons, toilets are locked during mealtimes and for half an hour afterwards. They also receive therapy and lessons preparing them for living healthily in the outside world. One of them likened it to prison. The recovery process is long, difficult and prone to failure.


Anorexia is a mental illness with the highest fatality rate of any psychological disorder. Its causes are complex and vary from patient to patient, although all of the women featured in the programme spoke of a debilitating lack of self-worth. For most of them, Anorexia is an extreme way of coping with anxiety and stress via obsessive-compulsive self-control.

The potentially long-lasting toll of this illness was encapsulated by a single woman in her sixties who’s been wrestling with Anorexia for most of her life. She told Theroux that she was scared of adult responsibilities and didn’t want to grow up. If she eats she feels like a failure. “I don’t feel I deserve,” she admitted.

Theroux doesn’t like to leave us feeling totally bereft, hence his visit to a young woman who, with support from her tired parents, seemed to be improving.

But as is so often the case with his programmes, one came away with a greater understanding of a complicated issue while at the same time wondering if the people he met will ever escape from their nightmarish condition. Life rarely provides neat, happy resolutions.


Cynics may carp about Theroux’s tried and tested “sad face” formula, but that says more about them than the programmes he makes. He always treats his contributors - the most important component of every Theroux report – with sensitivity and respect. His documentaries are about troubled people, never the man himself. He asks sensible questions, listens without judgement and gives voice to those who are rarely heard within mainstream society.

This film, which successfully raised awareness of a devastating mental illness, was a particularly valuable example of his craft. He’ll be as feted as Attenborough one day.

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