This
week Channel Five brings
us Celebrity Detox Camp
(Thursday May 22 2003 |
8.00pm)
Imagine living
without food, booze and
cigarettes for seven
days. This hellish
hypothesis becomes
gruelling reality for
four celebrities as they
travel to Thailand for a
week of detox at a
health spa with a
difference.
Richard Blackwood,
Keith Duffy, Kim Wilde
and Tamara Beckwith must
undertake a week of
fasting, exercising and,
more ominously,
irrigating their colons.
The camp, although
scenic, is host to the
toughest health regime
in the world. In seven
days, these celebrities
can expect to feel as
good as reincarnated –
if they can last the
distance.
They must not eat a
morsel of food and are
only allowed to drink
five sickly potions a
day to provide them with
essential nutrients.
However, the real
looming terror for the
celebrities are
twice-daily,
self-administered
enemas. This involves
pumping 18 litres of
coffee solution into
their stomachs to purge
their insides of years
of bad living. The
celebs are each putting
themselves through the
challenge for different
reasons. Richard wants
to tone up, whereas Kim
is more focused on
relaxation. Both Tamara
and Keith believe their
bodies are due a week
off. As Keith says:
"This will be the
first time I will have
met Richard when I won’t
be drunk."
The celebs arrive
after a 14-hour flight,
and are soon being
prepared for their first
enemas by Spa manager
Robert ‘Buzz’
Bezzina. It is not a
pleasant experience for
any of them – after
the tube insertion comes
pain and undignified
expulsion noises. Keith
suffers the worst and
orders the cameraman out
of his room. Kim is
already feeling the
strain after the first
enema is over – the
prospect of two of these
a day for seven days is
not a happy one. "I’m
wondering if I might
lose it after a
week," she worries.
On day two, Richard goes
shopping in the nearby
town, while Kim and
Tamara immerse
themselves in the
voluntary therapy
sessions. Ex drug-dealer
San Bao introduces them
to ‘Chi Gung’
therapy, a t’ai chi-esque
activity that is said to
rid the mind of toxins.
Tamara doesn’t get
into it, but Kim enjoys
it: "I feel more
interested in the
spiritual side of it
here," she says.
On day three, Keith
emerges as the new
favourite to quit.
"If I last three or
four days I’ll be
happy," he says.
While Tamara pines for
pork chops and crisps,
and Richard seems likely
to lose his temper, Kim
feels great – not only
is she coping with
fasting, but she is
throwing herself into
all the therapy and
exercise with real
vigour, including an
underwater bathing
technique that is
supposed to replicate
the feeling of being in
the womb. "It is
very easy to be cynical
about lots of
things," she
explains, "but that
is a bad attitude –
especially
here."
According to ‘Buzz’,
day four is perhaps the
toughest. "I’ve
had people telling me
they are going to die
today," he laughs.
Only Kim seems to be
benefiting from the
treatment so far – by
the end of day five she
has lost a stone. Tamara
is plagued by headaches,
Keith feels constantly
"wrecked" and
Richard is struggling to
raise a smile – or any
part of his anatomy, he
grumbles. On day five,
Buzz announces to the
group that he wants them
to sieve their colonic
expulsion for his
inspection. "If
people are aware of what
comes out," he
explains, "they can
gauge their
health." Even
ultra-keen Kim is
dubious about this
procedure, and Tamara
and Keith are also
against it. Will this be
a bridge too far for
some celebrities, or
will they and their
bodies survive the most
challenging of weeks?
Executive
Producer: Andrew
Mackenzie | Producer:
Helen Alexander
