Reposted from Channel 4 website
Channel 4's Chief Creative Officer, Jay Hunt today announced a number of bold new commissions that will see Channel 4 put people with mental health conditions to work on the channel's shows in 4 Goes Mad; open the ultimate hotel run by Gordon Ramsay and Mary Portas alongside some of Channel 4's biggest names in Hotel Britannia; and give job-seekers the ultimate test with the interview from hell in The Intern.
Speaking at the presentation for Channel 4's annual report, Jay Hunt said: "This year, we will tackle one of the biggest stigmas surrounding mental health by putting people with mental health conditions to work on Channel 4 shows and asking employers a simple question: We gave them a job; would you?
We'll also be taking on one of the biggest issues affecting our audience – youth unemployment – with two hugely exciting new shows. If Channel 4 were to run a hotel it would probably be the best hotel in the world and that's exactly what Hotel Britannia will aim to be as our biggest talent put themselves on the line to help kick-start careers for young people in the service industry. And, we'll be testing the mettle of the UK's job seekers with a nightmare week of work experience in The Intern – with a real internship at some of the nation's biggest companies at stake…These shows are about doing what Channel 4 does best – bringing complex issues alive with real creative flair."
The centrepiece of 4 Goes Mad – a two part event produced by Cineflix Productions will feature a cast of eight dynamic employees, some of whom have a mental health condition, who are out to prove the stereotypes wrong. They have agreed to take part in a variety of tasks and activities before a prestigious panel of employers whose job is to decide who they consider to be employable. A psychiatrist and psychologist will guide viewers through the maze of mental health conditions. In an added twist, some of the contributors will also have appeared 'undercover' on some of Channel 4's most popular prime-time strands in the week before the two-parter is broadcast, with clips of these appearances shown throughout the series.
Factual Commissioning Editor Lina Prestwood is overseeing the season, she says: "This lively and entertaining format will encourage viewers to see the person rather than the diagnosis. We're confident that the individuals who do have a mental health problem will be indistinguishable from other contributors as they appear across the schedule and that their appearance in this series will defy deeply-ingrained assumptions about people with mental health-problems – particularly relating to their ability to work. We have worked closely with leading mental health organisations including the Mental Health Foundation and Time to Change to ensure that, across the week, our audiences will be meeting people with conditions such as depression, bipolar, eating disorders, OCD and schizophrenia in a way that is surprising and enlightening."
Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, England's national mental health anti-stigma programme, run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, said: "The stigma that still surrounds mental health problems is life-limiting and sometimes tragically life threatening. Even though mental health problems are very common, people still feel too embarrassed or afraid to talk about them. However we are slowly starting to see more open public discussion, and growing interest from employers. It's encouraging to see a major broadcaster tackle this deep-seated taboo. We realise that, at its heart, this is an entertainment season but we hope it will turn the spotlight onto a subject that desperately needs to be de-mystified and open it up to a much wider audience."
As part of the week of programming, in Ruby Wax's Mad Confessions (wt), Wax – who herself has depression, will follow a number of successful business people as they disclose a mental health condition to their employers, friends or family. And, in Jon Richardson: A Little Bit OCD(wt), the comedian will delve into the world of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders – meeting people across the OCD spectrum to find out once and for all if he's a simply a demanding perfectionist or has OCD.
In Hotel Britannia (wt) some of Channel 4's biggest names will come together to get Britain working. Head boy Gordon Ramsay and head girl Mary Portas will be joined by some of Channel 4's biggest talent and together they will take over a hotel and turn it into a fund-raising machine and training ground for a range of currently unemployed people desperate for a break.
Each of the C4 faces will mentor two of the hotel's workers – train them and support them – and every day there will be a major event or challenge in the hotel designed to raise money and test the emerging skills of the staff. Meanwhile, members of the public can book to stay in the hotel or visit the spa and restaurant – and pay for the services on offer. Hotel Britannia is produced by Optomen.
In brand new series The Intern (wt), Channel 4 will offer talented, ambitious and deserving candidates a leg up the ladder in their chosen career by giving them the chance to win an internship with some of the most exciting employers in the UK.
To prove their mettle, the candidates will be thrown in at the deep end and, over the course of a week, will experience a super-charged version of life in their chosen field through a number of challenges and real-life scenarios devised to test their suitability for their chosen profession. The Intern is produced by Boundless.
