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TV: Pick of the day

TV: Pick of the day

1    When Beauty Goes Wrong    
 (28 July, BBC3, 9pm) 
 Across the world there are many variations
 in the idea of what it means to be beautiful,
5 but most cultures are in broad agreement
 that a rotting nose, festering tongue or
 oozing foot growths do not fall into that
 category. This documentary follows the
 former BBC Blue Peter presenter Konnie
10 Huq as she investigates some of the
 problems that can accompany our endless
 quest for beauty: the eyelash tint that
 nearly blinded a bride on her wedding day,
 a home hair-dye treatment that triggered a
15 life-threatening anaphylactic shock1) and
 the excruciatingly painful and unsightly
 growths than can be the price to pay for a
 love of high heels.
2    Huq does not come across as an
20 experienced investigative journalist: her
 interviewing technique largely consists of
 looking disgusted as some poor person reveals
 how their desire to be wrinklefree nearly cost
 them their nose, then squealing, “That’s so mad.”
25 There is, however, a public service element
 lurking behind the wacky graphics and shock
 tactics: while the news that the regular use
 of sun beds can double your chances of skin
 cancer is far from revealing, the information
30 about the dangers of having a piercing if you
 suffer from an existing heart condition might
 possibly stop someone from making not only a35 Victoria Segal
 grave fashion mistake but also a potentially The Sunday Times, 2008
 fatal one.