ITV commissions radical attempt to reverse diabetes
ITV has commissioned a groundbreaking factual entertainment series in which people with Type 2 diabetes will attempt to reverse their condition, potentially saving their lives - and the NHS billions of pounds.
Diabetes: The Fast Fix, presented by Anita Rani, will feature five obese and overweight patients moving into the Fast Fix Clinic and in a TV first, living on a radical liquid only diet of just 800 calories per day for four weeks at the clinic in order to 'fast themselves better' as they attempt to shed more than two stones (15kg).
Produced by 7Wonder, the two-part (2x60) series will look at the nation's risk of overeating itself into health problems and will feature famous faces Rosemary Shrager and Paul Sinha attempting to trim their waistlines to avoid underlying health issues by undertaking their own extreme fasting diets.
Joining Anita are GP and diabetes expert Dr Zoe Williams and Professor Jason Gill, who was at the forefront of the diabetes research that inspired the programme, undertaken by Professor Roy Taylor and his teams at University of Newcastle and University of Glasgow and funded by Diabetes UK.
At a time when the NHS is buckling under the ticking timebomb of diabetes, Anita, Zoe and Jason aim to get to the bottom of the issue and offer hope to those affected and practical advice on what we can all do to help ourselves.
ITV Commissioning Editor, Factual Entertainment Satmohan Panesar said: "With a bold experiment at its heart, this specialist factual entertainment event is going to find out if we can genuinely change the lives of our patients by reversing diabetes and the damage done and potentially save the NHS billions."
Anita Rani said: “Type 2 diabetes is a national crisis and a massive challenge to the NHS. But this experiment proves that there is real hope of turning the clock back and reversing type 2, using this revolutionary diet to stop this epidemic in its tracks.”
The series was commissioned by Satmohan Panesar, ITV Commissioning Editor, Factual Entertainment and executive produced by Eve Kay and Duncan Coates for 7Wonder.