Preview DVDs have been a little thin on the ground for this one, so it's unclear exactly how this much-hyped two-parter will pan out. What we do know is that, unlikely as it sounds, a divorced royal - Sarah, Duchess of York (pictured, right) - fetches up on a Hull council estate and attempts to feed a family of six on £80 for the week. At the same time Fergie, a woman who has had weight issues herself, tries to persuade the family - the Sargesons - to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
This is not as easy as it sounds, especially when it becomes clear that the Sargesons have never even heard of the Duchess of York, and are unlikely to immediately quit their chain-smoking, slovenly lifestyle. Obviously there's a lot of work to do, on both sides....
The following preview is courtesy of ITV:
Sarah, Duchess of York spends time with a family on one of the poorest council estates in the country for the new ITV1 two-part series, The Duchess in Hull.
Having been a spokesperson for Weight Watchers for ten years, the Duchess returns to the UK to tackle what she sees as an impending obesity problem in this country. The cameras follow the Duchess as she leaves her New York base and moves into a bed and breakfast next to a Hull council estate, becomes acquainted with life there and gets to know the Sargerson family to whom she offers an insight to her experiences and motivations.
Used to her busy diary of business and charity commitments, her lifestyle is clearly poles apart from her Hull hosts, but the Duchess has gone through - and recovered from - issues that affect many families. She now plans to use the experience of eating disorders, low self-esteem, family conflict, financial crisis, divorce and bereavement, to help the family improve their lifestyle on a long term basis.
She will see at first hand the difficulties low income families have making ends meet whilst attempting to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Through her time with the family, she'll learn to appreciate the hardships they face and what pressures they live with on a daily basis. And she will advise what facilities the family can use to improve their lives and what help there is for them.
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