Good Evening Lovelies, 

Tonight marks the start of a brand-new documentary series by the brilliant Cherry Healey on W called Sex, Knives & Liposuction, which will take audiences on a brand-new path about the world of surgery.

For many people, body issues are a tough subject and I will hold my hand up and say that I am one of those people lovelies. In the three-part series, Cherry is going into the controversial world of surgery to find out if happiness can be achieved with a simple nip tuck and whether she should have surgery herself.

When I saw the first episode, I found myself learning so much not only about the scary world of going under the knife, but about how we see our bodies and what some of those views make you do. I spoke to Cherry Healey about the show, how it impacted her before and after and what inspired her to make the series…

I did not prepare in any way what so ever, except that I wanted to go in with a blank canvas, because I had lots of preconceptions about surgery, such as its taboo. It is a bit risky. We all judge it. So, I wanted to change how I thought because I’m coming at it as a 38-year-old woman and actually what is really interesting is how many young people are having it done. When I was growing up, you didn’t tell anyone about surgery and it was always for the rich and famous. Whereas now its accessible to all and it is a lot cheaper. That is what we were really looking at. So, I just wiped the slate clean, but I had no idea about the rollercoaster we were about to go on.

I think the brutality of the surgery is something I want people to see. Not because I want people to see something that will make them unhappy, but we have seen surgery before and I think this is a different thing. We see someone electing to go under the knife, like a butcher, and the trauma and brutality of it, I really wanted that to come across. I want people to think really hard about whether they want to have this surgery done.

It is not just the brutality of it, it is the financial aspect because £5,000 as a student is a lot of money. Do you want to travel the world? Go and swim with dolphins in New Zealand? OR get your boobs done? You’ve got to make a well thought out choice.

I think yes primarily girls are experimenting with make-up and I think that is fabulous because you can take the make-up off and if there is a trend for a particular colour eyeliner, you can go with the trends. It is a really fun way to play with how you look. The same with hair. Play with the hair. Chop it off. Shave your head. Grow it long. Do whatever you want. You can change it.

The problem with surgery is that it is very permanent and at the moment there seems to be a real trend in a particular body shape. What happens when that goes? That is really difficult.

To be honest with you, my work is quite intense and serious. Inside the Factory is very loud, hard and very exhausting. This show was emotionally draining, so when I come home and watch TV it is genuinely quite frivolous. I like Graham Norton, Gogglebox and comedies. I have been watching Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekend’s, which are always brilliant.

To me personally, this stands out because there aren’t many serious female-led documentaries, where you are allowed to ask layered interesting questions.

Don’t judge women for what they have done! You decide where your line is and you have every right to decide where you line it, but that isn’t somebody else’s line. You don’t know what it is like to live in their skin. Don’t be cross with a woman going to get a boob job. She has lived in a world telling her that she is not perfect, and she better look perfect. And you know what, if she gets a boob job and feels happier, great!

Channel your frustration, if you have any, to society that sends women the message that they are not to be celebrated for their wisdom and intelligence!