''Freaky Eaters'' is a British factual television programme produced by independent television production company ''betty'' for

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, cov ...

. Broadcast dates were February-March 2007 (Series 1), February-April 2008 (Series 2), and February-April 2009 (Series 3). Series 1 was narrated by the actress Jill Halfpenny and Series 2 by

Sharon Horgan Sharon Lorencia Horgan (born 13 July 1970) is an Irish actress, writer, director, comedian and producer who co-wrote and starred in the comedy series '' Pulling'' (2006–2009) and '' Catastrophe'' (2015–2019). She also created the HBO comedy ...

Synopsis

Each episode focuses on an individual with some form of

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating ...

, often a

selective eating disorder Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a type of eating disorder in which people eat only within an extremely narrow repertoire of foods. It is a serious mental health condition that causes the individual to restrict food intake by ...

(an extremely restricted diet, often to the point of avoiding entire

food groups A food group is a collection of foods that share similar nutritional properties or biological classifications. List of nutrition guides typically divide foods into food groups and Recommended Dietary Allowance recommend daily servings of each gr ...

), or

food neophobia Neophobia is the fear of anything new, especially a persistent and abnormal fear. In its milder form, it can manifest as the unwillingness to try new things or break from routine. In the context of children the term is generally used to indicate ...

. With the help of a team of specialist experts, techniques are employed to help the person overcome their eating problems and develop more healthy diets. In Series 1, the specialist experts were

nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disciplines. In many ...

Natalie Savona and psychological coach Benjamin Fry. In Series 2

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how ...

Dr.

Stephen Briers Stephen Briers is a British clinical psychologist. Briers was an on-screen expert in BBC Three's ''Little Angels'' and ''Teen Angels'', working with Tanya Byron. In 2006, he presented the Channel 4 series, ''Make Me A Grownup''. He also present ...

took over from Benjamin Fry. In Series 3, Charlotte Watts took over as nutritionist and Felix Economakis as the psychological coach. Dr. Pixie McKenna adopted the role of programme

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles * ...

across all three series.

Episodes

Series 1

#Addicted to

Crisps A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or ...

and

Pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, ...

(Kevin Johnson) #Addicted to

Chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

(Sarah Dolby) #Addicted to

Cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During product ...

(Dave Nunley) #Addicted to

Spaghetti hoops SpaghettiOs is an American brand of canned ring-shaped pasta pieces that are always in tomato sauce. It is marketed to parents as "less messy" than regular spaghetti. More than 150 million cans of SpaghettiOs are sold each year. They are sold in ...

(Adrian England) #Addicted to

Chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civil ...

(Rachel Renton) #Addicted to

Junk Food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calories from sugar and/or fat, and possibly also sodium, but with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, or other important forms of nutritional value. It is also known ...

(Debbie Ezeogu) #Addicted to

2 (Martyn Sadd)

Series 2

#Addicted to Burnt

Sausages A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

(Natalie Holland) #Addicted to Junk Food (radio presenter

Chris Hawkins Christopher Charles Hawkins (born 23 September 1975) is a British radio presenter, DJ, and music pundit. Hawkins is a regular early morning presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music. He can also be heard presenting documentary programmes on BBC Radio 4 ...

) #Addicted to Meat (Pete Turner) #Addicted to Bread (Joanne Stappard) #Addicted to Meat and

Potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

(Kerry Singleton) #Addicted to

Biscuits A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be s ...

(Andrew Forster) #Addicted to Potatoes (Joanne Adams) #Addicted to

Pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are ...

(Helen Tree) #Addicted to Cheese (Kate Silk)

Series 3

#Addicted to

Bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sa ...

and Burgers (Niquita Hartchley) #Addicted to Cheese (Vicki Zukiewicz) #Addicted to

Beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes t ...

and

chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

(Tom Bull) #Addicted to Brown Sauce (Jamie Davidson) #Addicted to Chips (Dave Wheatley) #Addicted to Diet Cola (Katie Walker) #Addicted to

Yorkshire puddings Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. A common British side dish, it is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on its ingredients, size, and the accompanying compon ...

(Aaron Saunders) #Addicted to Meat (Richard Smart)

Cancellation

The show was cancelled by the BBC in April 2010. On the Richard Bacon BBC Radio 5 Live show in December 2010,

Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performa ...

, who had regularly lampooned ''Freaky Eaters'' on ''

Harry Hill's TV Burp ''Harry Hill's TV Burp'' (also known as just ''TV Burp'') is a British television comedy programme broadcast between 2001 and 2012 on ITV. The show was produced by Avalon Television and was written and hosted by comedian Harry Hill. Each e ...

'', stated he had been told by a producer of ''Freaky Eaters'' that his coverage of the show was the reason it had been commissioned for a second and third series.

American version

''Freaky Eaters'' spawned an American version that aired on TLCOn TLC's 'Freaky Eaters,' weird food addictions come with a price
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', 7 September 2010 (Retrieved 22 September 2010) from September 2010 to June 2011.

References

External links

*
betty tv
* {{IMDb title, id=1385169, title=Freaky Eaters 2007 British television series debuts 2009 British television series endings BBC high definition shows BBC television documentaries English-language television shows Television series by All3Media