The document discusses the evolution of the Embarrassing Bodies TV show and brand into a multiplatform entity. It started on Channel 4 in the UK as a show about taboo medical conditions. It then expanded with websites, apps, games and live interactive elements where viewers can get diagnoses. This pioneering approach integrates TV, online and social media to educate about health issues. The brand has become very successful while pushing boundaries on discussing taboos on TV. It provides important medical information and support to viewers.

1. Embarrassing Bodies:
Multiplatform Medical Taboos
#EBTaboo
Nick Lockey – Development
Producer, Maverick Television

3. Maverick Television: An award-winning TV and multiplatform production
company working with broadcasters and clients in the UK and beyond.

4. With our TV production crews and in-house digital
teams working in tandem, we create shows that are
inherently multiplatform at their core.
© Robert S. Donovan

5. ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ is our revolutionary interactive health brand.
This talk looks at its evolution and explores how EB has pushed the
boundaries of multiplatform TV production.

6. The British TV landscape very different to the US. Instead of big
networks and local affiliates, five main national broadcasters
dominate the viewing audience.
© Brett Jordan

7. Channel 4, the home of Embarrassing Bodies, is one of the big five. As
a public service broadcaster with a reputation for risk taking, trouble
making and innovation, it was the perfect place to grow the brand.
© Ahisgett

8. The UK health landscape is also hugely different too. The National
Health Service (NHS) is paid for through central taxation and is free
at the point of use for all UK citizens.
Adapted from Image © Pickersgill Reef

9. The Evolution
of Embarrassing
Bodies

10. Embarrassing Bodies sees us follow the stories of people suffering
from ‘socially awkward’ illnesses that they’re too embarrassed to
see their own doctors about.
Embarrassing Bodies

11. The main narrative of the show sees our three onscreen doctors
meet a number of patients for an initial consultation, with several
cases followed in each episode.

12. We then follow each patient through their recommended
procedure, looking in-depth at what’s involved…

13. …and finally we film a follow-up consultation a few months later
to see how they’ve progressed.

14. EB has not only
become one of the
highest rating factual
shows on Channel 4, it
has also become
famous for its
unflinching, no
nonsense approach to
exploring taboo
medical subjects .

15. In the show we feature full nudity and graphic footage of extreme
medical conditions, never pixelating or censoring. What’s more this
goes out at 8pm on one of the UK’s most popular channels!

16. Eric after his treatment

17. Even cult Taiwanese 3D news channel Apple
Daily had their take on Eric’s story!

18. Embarrassing Bodies has been pushing the boundaries of multiplatform
content for over seven years. At first we had to convince our TV
commissioners to take it seriously. Now it is a vital and integral part of
the show.

19. As well as our TV formats, the EB brand now encompasses
websites, apps, games, crowdsourced projects, live on-air video
consultations, interactive health tools and more.

20. We were the first show to take the ‘second
screen’ seriously, pioneering on-screen
‘pushes’ to our multiplatform content during
TV broadcasts. Our sites and apps are
designed to stand up to the huge spikes in
traffic that these calls to action create.

21. In 2010 we pioneered a new interactive format in the form of ‘EB:
Live’, a web switchover show that saw viewers submitting online
questions and photos to our TV doctors for discussion in a live
online video broadcast.
EB: Live

22. Live From The Clinic
The success of this web experiment led to ‘Live From the Clinic’, our
live, multiplatform medical show. Broadcast from our purpose-built
studio in Europe’s largest acute hospital, the show features
unprecedented levels of viewer interactivity.

23. Live Interactivity During
Broadcast

24. The backbone of Live From The Clinic is formed by our live video
consultations. Here viewers Skype in live to the show for on-air
diagnoses with our doctors and experts.

25. Cases are a mix of pre-cast patients and viewers who apply during
the live broadcast itself, processed by our research team.

26. Each week we feature a guest expert who gives their opinion on
the patients who Skype in to the broadcast. They not only appear
on-camera but also lead online web chats after the show.
Guest Experts

27. Dedicated EB Facebook and Twitter
channels generate contextual links
and relevant content during each
broadcast whilst also engaging
viewers in conversation.
Social Media Channels

28. Official hashtags help to collate, curate and steer conversations
around the show. The most interesting and insightful comments are
often referenced during the broadcast.
Curating Online Conversations

29. The data generated from registered app users is fed back into the TV
show in the form of scripted content and on-screen infographics.

30. Meanwhile the EB YouTube channel hosts hundreds of clips from
the show. These help to drive traffic back to the main website.
YouTube

31. Web Resources

32. EB and LFTC Websites
The ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ and ‘Live from the Clinic’ websites
provide a wealth of medical advice, interactive tools and video
clips. These let viewers ‘drill down’ into detailed content related to
the health issues that matter to them.

33. Online Condition Guides
The EB site has extensive online guides for a huge range of
medical conditions, as well as summaries for all of the case
studies featured in the show.

34. All of our condition guides feature a section called ‘What the Men
in White Coats Say’. This pulls in syndicated content directly from
the NHS Choices website using NHS APIs.
Syndicated NHS Content

35. As well as featuring clips from the show, we also created dedicated
web videos. The ‘down the lens’ aesthetic of these proved to be so
effective that it went on to influence the look of the TV show.
Web Video

36. Interactive Case Studies
Skype consultations from the show were re-purposed as interactive
case study videos online. Here contextual links are generated as
the user watches, allowing them to bookmark relevant medical
advice and related EB resources.

37. NHS Direct phone line scripts were adapted to create the UK’s first
interactive video consultation tool. Over 2000 videos were used to
provide advice and support for a wide range of medical conditions.
My Video Doctor

38. On the LFTC site we used official NHS APIs to power a savings
calculator that figured out just how much our ‘My Video Doctor’
app has saved the National Health Service.
NHS Savings Calculator

39. Viewers are invited to upload images to a series of themed medical
galleries which help to demonstrate the range of normal and
abnormal variations in the nation’s bodies.
User-Generated Photo Galleries

40. Analysis and Iteration
Employing a user-driven
approach, we monitor the
comments from our viewers as
well as the data from our sites
and apps to spot patterns of
interest or areas of need. These
then help shape future TV
episodes and multiplatform
developments.

41. Apps

42. Available both on the LFTC website and as an iPhone app, ‘My
Healthchecker’ is a suite of interactive health tools which help
users assess themselves across a range of health conditions.
My Healthchecker

43. Registered users can anonymously compare their results to other
viewers across a range of criteria including age, gender, ethnicity
and location.

44. The ‘My Selfchecker’ iPhone app leads the viewer through a series
medical of self check videos and image galleries before
recommending resources for further action. The mobile-first nature
of the app provides both accuracy and privacy.
My Selfchecker

45. Our online STI risk check tool helps users determine their risk of sexual
infections and then recommends resources for further support. It was
built to be mobile accessible and designed with privacy in mind.
My Riskchecker

46. The ‘My Molechecker’ iPhone app helps users to catalogue and track
potentially problematic moles on their body, providing effective tools
for monitoring changes in size, colour and appearance over time.
My Molechecker

47. Achievements and Statistics

48. Embarrassing Bodies by the numbers…

49. Embarrassing Bodies by the numbers…

50. Not only has the brand become a critical success for its pioneering
multiplatform approach…
“I might faint. But I can’t tear myself away.”
Daily Mail
“Such is the nature of this extraordinary show that you
never know what might pop up, pre-watershed, live on a
Wednesday evening…” Heat
©NS Newsflash

51. …but we also receive constant anecdotal evidence about its impact
on people’s lives.

52. This was nowhere more evident than in 8-year old Charlotte
Wilson’s story, a extraordinary case which took us full circle
back to our documentary roots.

53. There’s no shame, we’re all the same!
And finally,
just remember…

54. Any Questions?
Nick Lockey
Development Producer
Maverick Television
@nicklockey

55. Thank You! #EBTaboo
Nick Lockey
Development Producer, Multiplatform
Maverick Television
www.mavericktv.co.uk
www.channel4.com/bodies
n.lockey@mavericktv.co.uk
@nicklockey
LFTC Showreel: http://is.gd/EBSXSW
Photo and Video Credits:
Pickersgill Reef
Dawood & Tanner
Apple Daily
Brett Jordan
NS Newsflash
Ahisgett
Robert S. Donovan