In this moving film, sensitively produced by John Furse, a former sufferer himself, we follow Gail as she tries to come to terms with her condition.
The Weekend Mirror Today’s Highlight: 7.03.00
Looks That Kill 2000
- Trailer
Director/Writer/Creative Producer
First-ever TV documentary programme about a young woman suffering from the little known mental condition Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) involving obsessive feelings of physical ugliness, acute self-mutilation and exceptional suicidalism, and her progress under Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
The programme attracted a very large audience of 4 million viewers and a “huge” BBC Helpline response. It instigated the setting up of nationwide support schemes for the condition, which soon became a regular subject in the media, often featuring high-profile names.
Interview with John McCarthy for BBC Radio 4 Something Understood - Peeling The Dragon Skin transmitted on October 13th 2013.
Gail has been cutting herself since she was 13 years old and spends five hours a day applying make-up in a desperate bid to disguise her “hideous” looks. In this painfully honest, sometimes shocking, but ultimately hopeful film, we follow Gail’s attempts to come to terms with a condition that she feels has made the past eight years of her life a total waste. It’s a truly absorbing piece of TV that will leave you steeped in admiration for the courage, and incredible honesty, of both Gail and the loved ones that support
her. ***** Heat, March 2000