In their 2000s ‘heyday’, makeover shows sneered at guests, gave them brutal surgery and put their attractiveness to a public vote. Now they are back – and all about body positivity
What do you picture when you think of classic “makeover shows”? Gok Wan hurling a long tasselled scarf around anyone in his vicinity? Trinny and Susannah on What Not to Wear (2001-2013) telling some poor unsuspecting woman that she has “tits down by her knees”? Or someone’s mum being trotted out on a British high street for 10 Years Younger (2004), while members of the public guess her – ostensibly much younger – age? After which she has her face cut up and sewn back together, or sometimes her fat sucked out, before being swaddled in a tasteful blazer and kitten heels?
Makeover shows at their peak, in the 2000s, were famously unhinged, arguably even more so across the Atlantic. The US had Extreme Makeover (2004), whereby “ordinary” people underwent invasive surgery, strict exercise regimens and a wardrobe overhaul. On The Swan (2004), Fox’s controversial reality show, two “ugly ducklings” were completely physically transformed – including the use of surgery – before battling it out for the title of “the swan”. Some, too, might remember Bridalplasty (2010), in which 12 women fought to win their perfect wedding as well as an entirely new face or body (to be revealed down the aisle. I’m not making this up.)
