Freaky Eaters (2007) s03e02 Episode Script
Addicted to Cheese
'32-year-old, Vicki Zukiewicz | seems to have it all.
Married to her | high school sweetheart, she lives in a beautiful home | in Swindon, and juggles raising | their two-year-old daughter with running her own business - selling healthy food supplements.
But behind closed doors, | she's hiding a guilty secret.
Vicki is addicted to cheese.
' My love of cheese is just something | I've had since I was a child.
'After 28 years of bad eating, Vicki can now only eat | cheddar-cheese sandwiches or cheese and tomato pizzas.
' Having a plate of vegetables | put in front of me, it's like having | dog poo on a plate.
'Her addiction is so severe that woe betide anyone who stands | in the way of her cheesy fix.
' (STOMPS) Pizza.
'Helping Vicki combat her addiction will be psychological | coach Felix Economakis and nutritionist Charlotte Watts.
They've got four weeks to reverse | over 28 years of bad eating.
' Too much too soon? | Mm.
I need to get some cheese.
'It's an extreme case' | Feel like an alcoholic.
'.
.
that requires | extreme intervention.
' You're gonna be up there | where that lady is.
'Will Vicki be up | to the challenge?' That's what I want you to do.
THEME MUSIC Whoooo | (LAUGHS) '32-year-old Vicki Zukiewicz | has two loves in her life.
The first is her family - | two-year-old daughter Ella, and her partner of five years, | Damian.
The second .
.
is cheddar cheese.
I get through a packet of cheese | every single day.
Well, ithas always been | my life, really.
'For over 28 years Vicki | has lived on a cheese-based diet, refusing to even try | vegetables, fish, or meat.
' Vicki, when pushed, | her barriers go up straight away.
And Vicki tends to push | in the opposite direction.
Out of sheer bloody-mindedness, | more than anything else.
'Digging her heels in also extends | to the couple's social life.
Vicki refuses to eat anywhere | other than in her own home.
And even a takeaway is a problem, | unless it's round with cheese on.
' Smells oily.
| OK.
Right.
So, what do you think of this? | This is the special fried rice.
Um.
Don't like this sort of stuff.
| Don't like it.
It's got veg in.
That looks like | it's come out of the bin.
(LAUGHS) It just looks absolutely | disgusting.
It looks horrible.
Just try a bean sprout.
| No! No-no-no.
Pea? | No.
Damian, no.
It's all this stuff.
If it was a pea on its own, | without No.
'For husband, Damian - | it's a case of opposites attract.
' .
.
sauces.
| I'll give you 10p if you eat one.
My relationship with food is | completely different to Vicki's.
I truly, truly, enjoy to eat.
And eat well.
I think, it's one of life's | little pleasures.
'With Vicki failing to share | Damian's love of food, family life is now | seriously under threat.
' How can you eat them? | Because they taste good.
Pork chops taste good.
| Bacon taste good.
Errr 'Married last year, | Vicki refused to go on honeymoon.
And despite five years of trying, Damian still can't get | Vicki to eat out.
' For our anniversary, | we wouldn't go out for a meal.
I don't know what we will do.
Probably get Domino's Pizza in.
| (LAUGHS) 'But with three-year-old daughter | Ella eating more than Mum, there's a real need for a change.
' I miss out on so many things, and I don't want | my daughter to notice and start picking up | bad habits from me.
I have to do something about it.
'It's Day 1 of a month-long | dietary makeover for Vicki.
She's in London to meet the experts who will be helping her | confront her food fears.
' Hi.
I'm Felix.
Nice to meet you.
| Mwah.
Mwah.
So, Vicki, how are you feeling | about being here? I'm really nervous today, actually.
OK.
So we'll start by taking you | in here and showing you something.
Are you ready? | Yep.
OK.
Let's go.
'To kick things off, | Charlotte and Felix have arranged a wake-up call from | Vicki's family and friends.
' Right, Vicki.
The next four weeks | are gonna be really tough.
But you're gonna have our help | and support along the way.
But what we really need | you to be able to do when we're not there to help you, | is dig deep.
So we want to show you | something today just to keep with you | as a source of inspiration.
OK.
| Good luck, Vicki.
See you soon.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hi, Vicki.
After putting me through all this, | I hope at the program's end, that we'll be able to sit down and have a good cooked meal | together.
Hi, Vicki.
| I just wanted to say I am slightly concerned that Ella | does look to you as a role model and so she might be picking up on | the kind of food that you're eating, which could have a negative effect | on her in the long-term.
Hi, Vicki.
I just wanted to say, | well done for taking this step.
You're definitely | making the right choice.
How nice it would be for us | to be able to be a family unit and do the other things families | need to do, and do together, without the planning | that goes into it or the limitations | that we have in place.
SoI love you.
| Dig deep, and stick with it.
And I'd like to see you | when you come from the other side.
Right, Vicki, hello.
| Hello.
So, how was that for you, | watching it? It's everything that I know.
But obviously, | when it's put in front of you, it reiterates the problem.
And that everyone knows | it's a problem for me.
So, do all the comments | about Ella and her health, and seeing you as a role model, is that something that | you feel really motivating? Absolutely.
You know, I'm not in | a position to just play around now.
It's always like the do-or-die card | is being dealt to me.
If I don't try now, | I will never change.
Well, we've got a lot of work | ahead of us now, Vicki.
So, are you ready for it? | Yep.
Let's begin.
| Let's go.
'Felix and Charlotte have organised | a surprise for Vicki.
One that they hope | will shock her into action.
' (LAUGHS) | Come this way.
Look at this.
| What a waste of pizzas! (ALL LAUGH) We've taken a look at your diet, | done a few calculations.
In total, | you eat 550 pizzas a year.
(LAUGHS) | Which, quite frankly Is a lot of pizza.
| And makes me feel slightly nauseous.
It does look absolutely terrible.
And smells really bad.
And one of the things | that's predominant about this is the amount of cheese on top.
But this is not the only cheese | that you're eating in your diet.
I mean, Vicki, you eat | a 12th of this every month.
A 12th is a huge chunk of this.
And the idea of having to | sort of wade through that seems like an ordeal to me.
Is this a year, then? | Yeah.
This is a year.
| Oh, my God.
How does that make you feel? | It's very solid, isn't it? It makes me feel sick to smell.
| Good.
(LAUGHS) | You can smell, it's horrible.
It smells like fat, doesn't it? | It does, actually.
You're right.
| It does smell like fat.
We need to just, maybe, | further illustrate that point.
How? | We lead you over here What is that? | What do you think this is? Euw.
EUW! | Ohhhh That's disgusting.
It's like pus.
| It is like pus.
Well, this is pure animal fat.
And we worked out that | this is the amount of animal fat in your diet over a year, which is twice as much as a healthy | person should be consuming.
That looks putrid.
Ohhhh So we've got a lot | to be working with, here.
And I need you to remember | all of this.
You wait till my husband sees this.
| I'm never gonna live it down now.
I think, today's exercise | really shocked Vicki.
She only shops for pizzas daily to avoid seeing how much | she actually really eats.
And the accumulation | of what she eats is truly appalling | to see in its entirety.
To have that kind of diet | for some 28 years suggests a very | strong-willed person.
And I haven't seen that yet, but I expect some resistance | and controlling behaviour.
So I still think we've got | a lot of work ahead of us.
'24 hours later, | and Vicki is still coming to terms with the truth | about her appalling diet.
' I went to bed and was just | mulling over this information.
And I just couldn't stop thinking about the lard, the cheese, | the pizzas And I was nearly physically sick | quite a few times last night.
I just couldn't sleep.
It made me feel so poorly, | that I think it actually did more It affected me more | than I actually realised.
I really want Vicki | to succeed at this.
It's crucially important | that she does, for all our sakes.
I mean, for her, | more so than anybody.
But also for Ella, | and for me as well, I guess.
'Vicki was born into an | affectionate, loving, family in Ebervale, South Wales.
A middle child, | she was a real Daddy's girl.
But at the age of three, she began to show the first signs | of an eating problem.
' She was very stubborn.
She always | wanted her way or no way at all.
So that was a little | bit of a difficulty, that she would never | sort of toe the line.
'Vicki's father | worked away from home, so it was left to her mum Eleanor | to try and get her to eat.
' 'They had the same personalities, which means they continually | disagreed about everything.
' VICKI,010 just remember | lots of arguments.
I was just being fussy.
I was just, | you know, being a little madam.
And everyone was all | so frustrated with me.
'At age nine, Vicki began | retreating from family meal times choosing to eat in her room | by herself.
' When we had family meals, her meals were always | very separate from ours.
When she became a teenager, that's when she | became more stubborn and would decide on | what she wants to eat.
'When Vicki left home, her | relationship with her mum improved.
But her eating deteriorated.
Sadly, Vicki's mum | died three years ago, and never got to see | her daughter eat a full meal.
In less than a month, Vicki | will face her final challenge - her first meal out, in years.
Charlotte wants to kick-start | her dietary makeover, so has sent her some homework | in the form of a healthy hamper.
' "We need you to wean you off | your favourite food - cheese.
Start by clearing all the blocks | of cheese from your fridge.
" (GASPS) Now, in here is Mummy's cheese.
| Mummy's not allowed cheese any more.
This one? | And that one.
Well done.
A bit gutted.
It smelt really nice | when I threw it away.
But it's got to be done, so I've got | rid of all the cheese in the house.
So it better be a good replacement.
| (LAUGHS) What is this? | I don't know.
(LAUGHS) 'To replace her cheese-free fridge, Charlotte's provided a hamper | of fresh vegetables to eat over the next week.
And has even suggested the first | recipe of carrot and swede mash.
' Mummy's got to put some carrots, look, and some swede, | and make mash.
What do you think | that's gonna taste like? Is it gonna be yummy? | Yeah.
I've never ever cooked | any of anything in here in my life.
'Faced with the prospect | of a dramatic change, it's not long before Vicki's | stubborn side reveals itself.
' The thing is, I wouldn't eat this | in a million years.
I'm just gonna taste it like that.
| I don't like it anyway, so Whoa.
It's not gonna mash.
| It's too hard.
I don't find that very appetising.
Is it ready? | Yeah.
Do you mash it? Why don't you taste some? | Tell Mummy what you think.
Is it nice? Go on, taste it.
Mmm It's nice.
I'm gonna mash.
I'm gonna mash it up.
| Do you like it? Yeah, it's lovely.
This is going to back | to my childhood.
This is exactly what | I used to do at the dinner table.
I think, they They keeping | saying, "Try, have a few mouthfuls.
" And then I just end up | squishing it all down, and sort of moving it round my plate | so it looked like I have ate loads.
Something like that.
(LAUGHS) And then, yeah, | it'll be put in the bin.
'Halfway through the first week, and Vicki is showings signs | of falling at the first hurdle.
Charlotte calls her to London for her first | one-on-one nutrition session.
' It's really important, | from this exercise, that I really gauge | where Vicki's boundaries lie and where we need to move her to | and how we're going to do that.
It's also really important that | Vicki sees those issues as well.
'With Vicki reluctant | to eat vegetables in the confines of her own home, Charlotte is keen to see how she'll | cope with a bit of encouragement.
' Come in.
Hello.
Mmm (GASPS) Is that your first reaction | when you see this array of foods? Only because I see salmon.
| And I remember My first memory of food, | going off of food, was salmon.
That's the first thing | I've got the memory of.
The reason that these foods | are here, particularly, is because I wanted to find foods that really plugged holes | in your current diet.
And also, tries to make amends | for some of the ills in your diet.
I want to try you | with a cucumber first.
(BOTH LAUGH) | Let's just get in there.
OK.
That's one of my worst, | as probably you know.
That's why you've given it to me.
Ooh.
Brilliant.
OK.
Diving in there.
| I'm just not gonna smell it.
What's your feeling about cucumber? Even if somebody's got this on | their breath, it makes me feel sick.
When was the last time you ate this? I've never, actually, eaten it.
| Oh.
OK.
So it might not, actually, taste | the way you believe it tastes? No.
| OK.
Then, you should taste it | to find out.
OK.
(WHIMPERS) Do I have to? On a scale of one to ten, how much | would you say you dislike that? I'd say about five.
| Oh! That's all right.
That's kind of hedging | your bets either way, really.
Let's try you on red pepper.
'After over two decades of claiming | she can't eat vegetables' Actually, it's quite nice.
'.
.
Vicki's positive reaction | to the foods' Did you eat the whole thing? | Yeah.
'.
.
is surprising, | to say the least.
' That's nice.
Oh, God, nervous a bit.
| That's a real mouthful.
'Having come so far, Charlotte decides to test the | true extent of Vicki's boundaries.
' Right.
What's your thoughts | when you see this? (SIGHS) I hate fish.
And I won't even let | my husband cook it in the house.
Can you cut a piece off? 'Salmon is one of the dishes | that completely put Vicki off food.
This is the first time | she's come this close to eating it in three decades.
' I don't think I'm gonna like this.
But you don't know.
That's really nice.
| (BOTH LAUGH) It almost seems | like she's two people.
There's the one who | has really boxed herself in into this tiny, | constricted, bland diet.
Then, there seems to be someone | who's quite curious about things and quite open-minded | when she does try things.
So I'm gonna very interested to see | where those two people meet.
And where they meet is where | we're gonna meet the resistance.
'Vicki's proved that | she can eat vegetables and fish with Charlotte watching over her.
The biggest test | will be coping on her own.
' Charlotte's homework for Vicki | is to eat two new veg a day.
But it's not long before | she demonstrates that the next few weeks | won't be easy.
I'm going against the wishes | of Charlotte this evening, and I'm going to have cheese on | my jacket potato this evening.
I need to get some cheese | this evening.
Why? | I'm having it on my jacket potato.
I feel like an alcoholic.
| (CHUCKLES) It's like a secret mission, | off to get the cheese.
I have to do it | under the cover of darkness.
'Demonstrating that her problem is less about a phobia | and more about mindset, the next day Vicki has her first | session with psychologist Felix.
He wants to delve into her past and find out where her eating | problems first began.
' So, Vicki, | can you tell me a little bit about how your diet is a problem | for you in your life.
Well, the main problem | I have with it is the fact that I can't go out for a meal.
I don't have dinner with my family.
I can't go abroad, | cos I won't like the food.
Every time there's | any family get-togethers, then, I've got to be | sort of segregated off to get other things that I like.
That sounds really constraining, | doesn't it? Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
But it is for everybody who'll be | around me, to be perfectly honest.
So it's tough on you, | and tough on others as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it makes sense, then, just avoid | it if it's a negative experience.
Yeah, absolutely.
| I have been told that When my parents | went away on holiday, I was staying with my nan, | and I wouldn't eat at all.
And then, apparently, | when they come back, my dad asked me | if I wanted some food, and then I would | just start eating.
And if he was away, apparently, I'd just lie on the sofa and cry, | wouldn't do anything, until I could speak | to him on the phone.
But I've pretty much gotta have | my own way about nearly everything.
What would happen | if you didn't get your own way? I'd be so angry.
Because? | What would it mean to you? Because I wouldn't like | It wouldn't be my decision.
It's not even about that.
| It's that I like what I like.
And if somebody changes that, it would be something | that would just forever annoy me.
When her father was absent, Vicki revealed she would | actually go on hunger strikes.
That's exactly the time | when she started trying to really control her food.
I think, | unless Vicki's really willing to look at some of those | underlying childhood issues, she's unlikely to ever embrace | eating new foods.
'It's the end of the first week, | and without Charlotte next to her, the stubborn Vicki | is refusing to embrace any kind of changes to her diet.
' I want pizza.
Do you, now? | Yeah.
I really do want pizza.
(CHUCKLES) All right.
Well, how about you | save that pizza for another day? (STOMPS) I want pizza.
Why don't you have some - | Damian, stop trying - Corn on the cob? | And pizza? (LAUGHS) Let's have a stir-fry.
Some butter chicken? No? Hm? Hm? No, I don't | OK.
Just try and think | outside the pizza box.
I have.
| I'm just not in the mood to I'm hungry.
I just wanna eat some | stodgy food and get nice and full.
Don't order a large one, | for a start.
(GROWLS) You gonna get arsey now? Yeah.
I'm gonna get | really pissed off in a minute.
Well, I've voiced my concerns.
Ah! I love you.
I am gonna order a pizza.
I don't feel guilty.
| (KEEPS REPEATING) Can I order a large cheese | and tomato pizza, please? When I'm at that point | that I'm hungry, and I've made my decision | that this is what I want, there is no way I'm gonna be sold | a different food.
When I want a pizza, and I'm REALLY hungry, | I will have one.
No stopping me, really.
'It's the start of Week 2.
Charlotte is concerned that | Vicki is losing the commitment needed to conquer her cheese habit, so she's bought her to London for | an appointment on Harley Street.
' Today, we're meeting Dr Pixie.
And I really hope that | what we're going to discuss is going to shock Vicki into understanding the long-term | health implications of her diet.
'Dr Pixie McKenna is a GP with a special interest | in eating problems.
She's performed an analysis | of Vicki's blood, and has some serious news for her.
' I'm very surprised | you're looking so well, actually.
Now, we've worked out that you're | taking twice the amount of salt that you should be in your diet.
That's a well-known medical fact that that will push up | your blood pressure.
'A cheese-based diet is high | in salt and saturated fat.
And adults should not consume | more than six grams of salt a day.
Vicki consumes nearly twice this.
This high salt intake puts Vicki at greater risk | of high blood pressure.
Dr Pixie wants to shock Vicki | into action.
So she gives her some double-vision | goggles and makes her dizzy, to simulate the symptoms | of high blood pressure.
' (INDISTINCT) | Whoa.
Now, do you want to step up? | No.
(LAUGHS) Just try.
We'llcatch you.
| Whoa.
How are you feeling now? | Dizzy.
You could also have nausea, | headache, giddiness, sickness, buzzing in your ears And you feel really, | really, really unwell.
Would you be able to cut a piece | of cheese and eat it? No.
(LAUGHS) | No? Do you feel like you could do much? | No.
I think I need to lie down.
That's exactly how you would feel if you had really | high blood pressure.
'While cheese does have | some health benefits, in vast quantities | it can be a killer.
A diet high in saturated fat can | create build-up of arterial plaque in the veins, | leading to circulatory problems, and eventually | even stroke or heart disease.
We researched and we actually found, | especially for you, a picture of a heart | of a man in his 40s who had a diet | very similar to yours.
Now, can you see that? | Is that all just fat? Bloody hell.
So is that, actually, a layer of | fat completely around the heart? That is | It's almost strangling it.
.
.
insulating it, | but strangulating it, yeah.
Not very nice.
It's not very nice, is it? Vicki was very frightened | by the fatty heart.
Is it enough to get her | to change her diet? She's so happy-go-lucky | and easygoing, I'm not sure.
'24 hours later, and the session | with Dr Pixie still has Vicki upset.
But not about the fatty heart.
' I wasn't particularly happy | about how it went.
I felt that the way | that I was being spoken to was as if I had complete | control of the situation and that I could have eaten | a healthy diet off my own back, quite easily, | and I was just choosing not to.
I'm well-aware of my problem, | and this just For some reason, | I've been unable to go and eat vegetables and meats | and everything else.
So I sort of felt that she didn't | take that into consideration.
I felt like | I was just a bit more lazy.
That's how it come across to me.
'Over halfway into the process and Vicki is still failing | to let go of her old habits.
Concerned that they have | less than two weeks to inspire any kind of change, Charlotte and Felix | meet up in London to compare notes.
' She's not doing the homework | particularly well.
I mean, she will eat lots of | different foods when she's with me, but when it comes to being | on her own and doing her homework, there's such a resistance | to change there.
She's still got | this childhood mentality.
Yeah.
And we need to really move her | from childhood to adulthood.
Absolutely.
And I don't think | she realised, fully, how difficult this was gonna be, and how much effort | she was gonna have to put in.
We are really going to have to push | her outside her comfort zone.
There's a danger that we could push | her so far that she shuts down.
'Charlotte and Felix believe that | Vicki's relationship with food is trapped in childhood.
For her second | healthy-hamper challenge, Charlotte wants to | bring out the parent in Vicki.
' Bloody hell.
I bet it's recipes.
'She's not only got to | prepare meals for herself, but for daughter Ella | and husband Damian as well.
' Right.
"You have been provided | with eight recipes.
Your aim for this week | is to cook a meal for Ella each day with the selection | of recipes provided.
" 'Cooking a family meal | will be a first for Vicki, having always relied on husband | Damian to do all the cooking.
' Salmon and prawns? No way.
I don't think I'd eat any of those.
Everything in here, personally | I know it's for Ella.
Everything's very chunky, | which I don't like.
These are all completely | different things now.
So the control aspect, sort of, | comes in and I just I feel like | I don't want to try it.
I don't want to try them.
Especially, if I'm cooking.
Cos I'm rubbish at cooking.
This is the first time | she's ever cooked.
It is a massively significant moment because from this point on | muggins isn't doing all the cooking.
(GASPS) | I think, in fact Can you just turn off | Damian-thoughts? This is for me.
I think, you'll be right.
| You'll be right, there.
Do you want to make it for me? No.
I want you to make it for me.
Bloody hell.
'For her first meal, | she plumps for a vegetable chilli.
' My major problem | in the battle with vegetables is always been it's been lumpy - | not taste, texture.
That is justhorrible.
You've got the hump | because you don't want to do it.
That's bottom line.
I hate food.
| No, you don't.
But that's why we're here, | Vicki, eh? That was Vicki's typical reaction | that she normally has to food.
I've been surprised | it's been quite held in for so long.
She's managed to .
.
stop herself from doing it, | I guess, up until now.
But you can see, as soon as | she was set the challenge today, for the week, | that she was determined almost to set herself to a failure | because of her mindset.
Have bread.
I'm not eating that.
Trust me.
| I just At this moment in time, I just | don't want to do any more cooking.
I'd rather not do it, to be honest, | at this moment in time.
Cos You know It's all right if things got | a bit worse as you went along.
But they You know, | I just think that that is just It's gonna set me right back.
'Felix believes | Vicki's problems with food are rooted in her childhood, | so wants to find out more.
' Hi, Paul.
I'm Felix.
'He heads to Swindon to meet up | with her father, Paul.
' This particular photo - the teacher, or whoever | was taking the photograph, told her to pose like that | cos it was quite nice.
I said, "Well, Vicki, | that's not your pose.
" Very angelic.
| That's right, yeah.
That wasn't Vicki.
| This is when she's in her teens.
You've got a finger up there | as though, you know, "Why are you taking | a photograph of me?" (BOTH LAUGH) 'As Vicki's mother Eleanor | passed away three years ago it's left to Paul | to fill in the missing pieces.
' Well, I suppose, | when Vicki was born, being the second child, I was rather hoping it | would be a boy.
So for a millisecond, may I add, | I was a little disappointed.
However, Vicki didn't disappoint me, | to a certain extent.
Because she was into cars, little cars, garages, | and things like that.
And she would be fighting boys.
To a certain extent, | she had the traits, I thought, of a boy.
I spenta little | more attention to her.
We've got a very glamorous | photo here.
Yes.
Vicki suddenly decided | that she wanted to do modelling.
I think, she throws herself Whatever project she's in, | whatever she wants to do, she throws herself 100% into it.
Can you tell me, | what were your earliest memories of Vicki suddenly starting to have | slightly unusual eating patterns? Yes.
I suppose, I can remember I have to say, vaguely, | because I was at work.
I had, sort of, a long working day.
My job also meant that | I was away for periods of time.
However, I can recollect that there | was a concern about her eating, whether she was eating sufficiently | enough to sustain herself.
Cos there was some mention | that Vicki would go on these, kind of, | hunger strikes when you're away.
Yes.
Yes.
I understood, whenever my phone call | came in to the home, there was Vicki, who had been | lying on the settee all day - wouldn't move.
Then, suddenly, | when that phone call came through and it was me, she became animated | and grabbed the phone.
And there she was, talking away.
As soon as | the conversation was finished, she would just go back | and lie down on the settee.
Bit of a hard situation.
| I have a little girl too.
Part of me would be | secretly delighted if my daughter were kicking up | a fuss cos I'm not there.
It felt good, you know, | that somebody so small would be missing you, | would understand that.
A lot of Vicki's problems | do stem from her childhood.
And especially, around the times | Paul was away on work.
I think, | what Vicki seems to have done is started to control her eating | as a way of getting attention to make up for | the loss of her father.
And now that she has her own family, that's really getting in the way | from what she really wants to do.
'With Vicki failing to embrace the | challenge of cooking for her family Charlotte has arranged to meet her | at soup kitchen in Reading.
She wants to inspire her by getting | her to cook for the homeless.
' I'm really hoping that, today, | Vicki starts to understand how nurturing cooking can be.
And that when she starts | to cook for herself, understand the process of making | food and giving it to other people, that she connects that with nourishing and enjoyment | and pleasure.
'Charlotte sets her to work' Whoa.
'.
.
on making a nourishing | minestrone soup she can serve to | the homeless for lunch.
' Do you think this is something | Ella would like? Yeah.
Yeah, she would.
| She'd be open to trying this? Oh, yeah.
Will she enjoy making it with you? | Yeah.
I suspect that | if you made this with Ella, then you would get enjoyment | out of this process as well.
And that it would help you.
| She could help you move forward.
I am gonna start setting time aside | at the weekend, cos we need a bit more family time.
So it will be something | that I can start doing as part of a Sunday dinner, | you know, a soup or something.
And my | While Damian can cook the roast.
I've always, sort of, looked at food | as a real negative experience.
But today, | it was quite an honour, I suppose, | to be able to cook for people, and to know what I was doing was a real positive impact | on somebody else's life.
'Back at home, and with | a renewed sense of enthusiasm' Mmmmmwah! I love you, Mummy.
| I love you too.
'Vicki attempts to make | her family a stir-fry.
' (BLEEP) | CAN CLATTERS 'And completely fails.
' That's horrible.
The noodles are OK.
It smells like It does smell like a bin.
Look, mine is bigger.
Look, Mummy.
| Ah! That is disgusting.
What do you think of it? I like stir-fries.
See, I can do it! (ELLA MUMBLES) Excuse me.
That's horrible.
| And it's gone cold.
Uh.
I don't think I like stir-fry.
'With her final challenge | looming in less than a week, Felix believes the only way | to cure Vicki is to tackle her control issues | head-on.
He feels the best way to do this is to strap her | to the wings of this plane and launch her | 500ft into the air.
' She's gonna be in a situation of | high stress, she'll have no control.
But I'm hoping, at the end of it, she'll realise it can be a positive | experience for her.
OK.
Vicki, so | Oh, my God.
This is your next challenge.
And this is what I want you to do.
How do you feel about that? | Freaking, what? You're gonna be up there | where that lady is.
(LAUGHS) Oh, God.
| A once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Are you up for it? | (RELUCTANT) Yeah.
Well done, Vicki.
| I know you can do this.
I have faith in you.
| So let's get you kitted up.
Oh, no.
You're gonna have | an amazing experience.
You'll learn something | really positive from it.
I've just been to the toilet, | so it should be OK.
(LAUGHS) That's always useful.
OK.
'For me to do this today | is absolutely massive.
' Right.
Let's get you strapped in.
| OK.
Right foot, and then step up.
Uh! I got so many layers on, | I can't get my leg up.
Bloody hell.
OK.
So one arm hooks around here, | one arm around the wire.
'By doing this, I think, what it'll | achieve is being able to put my the control is given | to somebody else.
' Are you excited? | I'm (BLEEP) myself.
(BOTH LAUGH) I'm gonna be holding on | for dear life.
'If I can do this, I'll be able | to do pretty much anything.
' Woohoo-hoo! | Whoa-hey! I think, something of this magnitude | is a breakthrough moment.
Cos if Vicki's willing to do this, and just to trust in the process | and just see what happens, then that really is | something of a landmark.
Whoooooo! Hey-eeeey! UPLIFTING ROCK'N'ROLL MUSIC She's actually given the signal | to do slightly more dangerous stuff, so the plane's tilting | and it's dipping.
She's really going for it.
See, therapy can | also be a lot of fun.
Oh, wow.
Look at this.
| Look at this.
Hey-eeeey! Oh, my gosh.
What's a lump of food, in comparison | to something like this? Whoooooo! Way-hey! | Thank you very much.
(LAUGHING) Yeah.
| You're amazing.
(LAUGHS) You're amazing.
Well done.
| That was really brilliant.
So, Vicki, after braving the sky | on this plane, how do you feel about | braving lumpy food? I think, I can go for it now, | completely.
Yeah.
It was absolutely amazing.
One of those experiences | that you think, "If I can do this, | I can pretty much do ANYTHING.
" So Amazing, amazing day.
'The following morning, | Vicki receives her next healthy-hamper challenge | from Charlotte.
' Whoo-hoo! (LAUGHS) "For the next seven days, | I want you to surrender control of your life | to someone else.
From now on, | Damian will be in charge.
He will decide what you eat | on a daily basis, and also any activities | he would like you to do.
" Come on! | (BLEEP) "What I want you to learn | from this exercise is that it's OK to not always be | in control of everything around you.
Good luck.
" Well, you can eat what I eat now.
| No.
No-no-no.
It doesn't mean I have to eat, | like, steak.
I do believe it says, "From now on, | Damian will be in charge.
" Full stop.
We all know that men | aren't FULLY in charge.
We're just giving you | a little bit of the rein.
Shall I read that again? "From now | on, Damian will be in charge.
" Your first task is to shush.
| (GIGGLES) I'm chuffed to bits, really.
| That's a really good It's gonna be a good week for me.
I don't like cooking, so But it's not just about the cooking.
| It's about letting go.
I'm am letting go.
| I'm letting you cook.
You have to do what I say | for the next seven days.
Good result.
| Oh! (LAUGHS) Can you pass me the remote, please? | (LAUGHS) Tonight, I thought Vicki | would be introduced to curry.
Uh! What's wrong with that? | Smells like vinegar.
Bloomin' heck.
| There is a big Do you know I don't like lumps? I, sort of, feel that might | be a bit of a lump.
'Next up, is homemade | Stilton and mushroom tart.
' Right.
Babe, what's in there? Stiltonand mushroom.
Oh, no.
Shall we put some salad on? | No.
Just a little bit.
| No-no! The meal that Damian | cooked for me today was It was really nice, actually.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've found it quite negative | and hard work and stressful.
But today it showed me that | I could have a meal, a new meal, of things I've never had before, | and to enjoy it.
'Vicki continues to build on | the success of Damian's choices.
' Well, I forgot the filming | of the preparation of the food.
But I've had a roast dinner.
This is Damian, | who cooked the roast dinner.
And that's his plate.
| (CHUCKLES) Andhere's mine.
And as you can see, I have eaten | pretty much everything on there.
I can't believe | what a fantastic result that is.
She's done incredibly well on that.
| I'm starting You know, it's like | an inspirational moment for me.
If I can conquer that, | and I like it, I think it will be all | leaps and bounds from here.
'Vicki's finally embracing | a more varied diet.
But Felix wants to address | the root of her problems with food.
Vicki has repressed the emotions | she felt as a child, and Felix feels THIS | is holding her back.
Felix has asked Vicki's | dad to choose the place to come and talk about the past.
The Silent Valley is a cemetery | near where Vicki's mother grew up, and where her immediate | family members are buried.
' Vicki's never actually | spoken to her father about her problems with eating.
And I know that a lot of | Vicki's anxiety around eating was because her father was absent, | working away a lot.
And so, today, I'm hoping | that by bringing her here to this special, neutral place, they can feel comfortable | and safe enough talking about their feelings about | their relationships in the past, when Vicki's problems | started surfacing.
After that, I'm hoping they'll | get some closure on what happened and be able to move forward.
OK.
So, Paul and Vicki, we're in a place of | special significance to you both.
We want to get some closure | for what went on at the time.
Even though it's happened | in the past, it's never too late to get | some new clarity on it.
During that time | that Vicki developed this problematic relationship with | food, you were working away a lot.
What is it you needed, at age four, | to hear from Dad, that if you heard this, you wouldn't have needed to dig | your heels in and react that way? I think, having stress at four | was very difficult to to handle, I suppose.
And I was quite an aggressive kid, | wasn't I? And I think that's probably where | a lot of it stemmed from.
If I had my time over again, I would have been more sensitive | to the issues of the family.
If I could have looked forward | and seen that, we would have been very positive | and done something about it, would have spent more energy | and made it more of a priority.
So, yes, if I had time back again, I certainly would have spent | a lot more time dealing with what was fussy eating, | and taken a more serious view of it.
So there is a concession | from Paul that, "I had to work, but I do apologise | for not being around.
" And what your dad is saying now is, | "In hindsight, I'd have more of an input in that.
" What would that feel like, | differently? I think, it would just | be an elevating feeling, I suppose.
Ah? My life wouldn't be so I do control things | because I wouldn't like to think that I'd have a negative experience | at the hands of somebody else.
So I think, you know, | it would just be It would make life | a lot easier for me.
Just to complete that process today, just have a hug and let that | forgiveness just be expressed.
'Vicki is trying to lay | her problems to rest.
So her father is also inspired to take a step | at embracing the future.
' Coming back here, there was | always something I wanted to do, but never got round to it.
And it's been three years | since Eleanor died, and this is where she came from.
And I wanted to scatter | some of her ashes here to return her to her home.
It does feel better.
It feel Does feel liberating, definitely.
I feel that - I don't know - the past has gone to bed, | I suppose, in a way.
So I think, the penny may have | finally dropped for Vicki.
It's never been the food itself | that's caused the problem.
It's the circumstances | in which those anxieties rose that's always been the problem.
'After four weeks, Vicki is at | the end of her dietary makeover.
Felix and Charlotte invite Vicki | and her husband Damian to London, where they have | one final challenge for her.
' Oh, they're holding hands.
| Oh, good.
Hello.
| Hello.
Vicki! | Good to see you.
WOMEN: Hello.
| Hi, Damian.
Nice to meet you.
Now, I know it's your | wedding anniversary today.
It is, yeah.
I also know that you've never | been abroad together or had a real romantic | meal together.
That's true.
| (LAUGHS) So your final challenge is | that you're going to Paris, and Damian is going to choose | a restaurant for you to eat in.
Nice.
Damian is also going to choose | the meal that you have.
Excellent.
| No cheese or pizza.
That's important.
| It's good.
And you're going | to enjoy it together.
Wonderful.
| Excellent.
I wonder what she's going to eat.
| I know.
How far will he push her? | Mmm? Oh, c'est la vie.
'This will be the first time Vicki and Damian have ever | travelled abroad together.
Or even simply been out | for a romantic meal.
Arriving in Paris - first stop | for Vicki is not the sights, but determining | what food they serve.
' Have they got vegetarian? | You're in France, Vicki.
So I can't eat | everything vegetarian? You can.
But The French, they think | vegetarianism's a bit wishy-washy.
What am I supposed to eat, then? | Well, this is the point, isn't it? Which one looks | the worst for you on there? Ah? The snails.
| The snails.
Or the oysters.
| Or the oysters.
So, what about the sea urchins? | I'm not eating anything from there.
OK.
Well, have some langoustine.
| It's just prawns.
No.
No.
No-no-no.
Shrimp.
| I don't like fish! It's not fish.
It's seafood.
It's the same.
| That isn't a fish, is it? I don't like anything like that.
| Please? 'After two hours, Damian finally decides on a | restaurant Vicki approves of - serving Asian | and Mediterranean cuisine.
Unfortunately, all in French.
' I don't understand a lot of it.
| (SPEAKS FRENCH) (WAITER SPEAKS FRENCH) | Yeah.
Just (FRENCH WORDS) | Oui.
So | And then a bowl of vegetables.
Just a bowl of veg.
Vegetables.
Right.
So you won't go for sausage or beef.
| You're not gonna go for fish.
So I think, that Well, it just whittles it down | to chicken, doesn't it? Mm.
| Yeah? You wanna try that? | Let's go for that, then.
(ORDERS IN FRENCH) Qui.
| (CONTINUES IN FRENCH) I think, you'll be all right.
| You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Look, I've got faith in you.
| You'll be able to do it.
As long as you just | set your mindset.
Salut.
'For the first time | in over two decades, Vicki has ordered a meal that | doesn't involve cheese or pizza.
Having initially resisted changing, will Charlotte and Felix's makeover | be the beginning of a new dietary dawn?' Chicken? | Yep.
OK.
| Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you very much.
Oh, it is.
| There you go, look.
Yeah.
Nice.
Looks good.
There's apples in here.
| You've got apples.
You've got rice.
I think, that's pineapple | or something like that.
What do you think? Um It's OK.
Mm-hm.
| How can I explain it? This doesn't really do it for me.
| Although, I could eat it.
It's about being able | to enjoy other foods.
It's not a question | of just dismissing it as, "No, it's not as good as pizza.
" "Is it nice in its own right?" | is what I'm trying to say.
Ah? Yeah, it's OK.
It's OK.
| OK.
It's not Would you like to try | some black lentils? No, thanks.
| No, I don't want to try any.
I'm really dizzy, | so I don't want to be forced food.
Have some water? | I'm not eating any more.
So you just wanna try that bit? | No, I don't! Don't keep asking me, babe.
| You're not having any more curry.
Will you try it? | No! Damian, why are you pushing me? If I don't want it, | why have we gotta keep going - Cos I want you to try | something else on the menu.
No.
That was why I chose this one, | cos I thought you'd try the lentil.
Sorry.
(SNIFFS) I'm a little bit annoyed that she | backed out of trying the lentils.
Butas soon as I started to push, | that was it.
There was no way | she was gonna change her mind.
(BLEEP) From today, I've taken out that I don't want to go out | for a meal again.
(SIGHS) All it is, I suppose, | is that if you don't like something, oryou know Like, ah? | You try it, you don't like it.
And it's a continuous thing, | I suppose, it's more It's frustrating.
| It's every time.
It's like a waste of time, really.
Mine was lovely.
'Despite Vicki's despondency, the fact that the couple | are eating out at all on their wedding anniversary, | in Paris, is success enough for Damian.
' I just want to say, | well done for getting this far.
I know your final challenge was one | of the hardest that you had to do.
Don't beat yourself up about it.
| It's baby steps.
We achieved what we wanted to do.
| We went out for a meal together.
And we've gone to a foreign country | together, as well.
OK? 'Do you know what? Sometimes I look back | and I think I've come really far.
' (LAUGHS) Cheers.
| Cheers.
Happy anniversary.
| And you.
And then, other days, | I don't think I've moved at all.
And where I want to be is a million | miles away from where I am now.
And it's gonna take me a long time | to get where I wanna be.
'It's two weeks | after her final challenge.
Has Vicki strayed off the path | to healthy eating forever?' The week after, I've got to admit, | that it just went to pot, and I went back | to pizzas and cheese.
'But despite Vicki slipping back | into some of her old eating habits, she has introduced | some new foods into her diet.
' I havesome leafy salad.
I have some carrots.
AndI havesome jacket potatoes.
Still having the cheese, but with a more balanced diet.
'Vicki is now introducing | fresh vegetables into all of her daily meals - something she hasn't done | for over 28 years.
' And some beans for me? I think, it's wonderful | that Vicki's come this far.
It'll make a massive difference | to the family,.
Cos we can now concentrate on | enjoying what we're doing, instead of having to worry about | Vicki's eating.
From where I was at the beginning | to where I am now, I'm having vegetables on my plate, I'm eating as I never ate before.
So it'syou know, | it's been an amazing thing, really.
Closed Captions Provided By CSI
Married to her | high school sweetheart, she lives in a beautiful home | in Swindon, and juggles raising | their two-year-old daughter with running her own business - selling healthy food supplements.
But behind closed doors, | she's hiding a guilty secret.
Vicki is addicted to cheese.
' My love of cheese is just something | I've had since I was a child.
'After 28 years of bad eating, Vicki can now only eat | cheddar-cheese sandwiches or cheese and tomato pizzas.
' Having a plate of vegetables | put in front of me, it's like having | dog poo on a plate.
'Her addiction is so severe that woe betide anyone who stands | in the way of her cheesy fix.
' (STOMPS) Pizza.
'Helping Vicki combat her addiction will be psychological | coach Felix Economakis and nutritionist Charlotte Watts.
They've got four weeks to reverse | over 28 years of bad eating.
' Too much too soon? | Mm.
I need to get some cheese.
'It's an extreme case' | Feel like an alcoholic.
'.
.
that requires | extreme intervention.
' You're gonna be up there | where that lady is.
'Will Vicki be up | to the challenge?' That's what I want you to do.
THEME MUSIC Whoooo | (LAUGHS) '32-year-old Vicki Zukiewicz | has two loves in her life.
The first is her family - | two-year-old daughter Ella, and her partner of five years, | Damian.
The second .
.
is cheddar cheese.
I get through a packet of cheese | every single day.
Well, ithas always been | my life, really.
'For over 28 years Vicki | has lived on a cheese-based diet, refusing to even try | vegetables, fish, or meat.
' Vicki, when pushed, | her barriers go up straight away.
And Vicki tends to push | in the opposite direction.
Out of sheer bloody-mindedness, | more than anything else.
'Digging her heels in also extends | to the couple's social life.
Vicki refuses to eat anywhere | other than in her own home.
And even a takeaway is a problem, | unless it's round with cheese on.
' Smells oily.
| OK.
Right.
So, what do you think of this? | This is the special fried rice.
Um.
Don't like this sort of stuff.
| Don't like it.
It's got veg in.
That looks like | it's come out of the bin.
(LAUGHS) It just looks absolutely | disgusting.
It looks horrible.
Just try a bean sprout.
| No! No-no-no.
Pea? | No.
Damian, no.
It's all this stuff.
If it was a pea on its own, | without No.
'For husband, Damian - | it's a case of opposites attract.
' .
.
sauces.
| I'll give you 10p if you eat one.
My relationship with food is | completely different to Vicki's.
I truly, truly, enjoy to eat.
And eat well.
I think, it's one of life's | little pleasures.
'With Vicki failing to share | Damian's love of food, family life is now | seriously under threat.
' How can you eat them? | Because they taste good.
Pork chops taste good.
| Bacon taste good.
Errr 'Married last year, | Vicki refused to go on honeymoon.
And despite five years of trying, Damian still can't get | Vicki to eat out.
' For our anniversary, | we wouldn't go out for a meal.
I don't know what we will do.
Probably get Domino's Pizza in.
| (LAUGHS) 'But with three-year-old daughter | Ella eating more than Mum, there's a real need for a change.
' I miss out on so many things, and I don't want | my daughter to notice and start picking up | bad habits from me.
I have to do something about it.
'It's Day 1 of a month-long | dietary makeover for Vicki.
She's in London to meet the experts who will be helping her | confront her food fears.
' Hi.
I'm Felix.
Nice to meet you.
| Mwah.
Mwah.
So, Vicki, how are you feeling | about being here? I'm really nervous today, actually.
OK.
So we'll start by taking you | in here and showing you something.
Are you ready? | Yep.
OK.
Let's go.
'To kick things off, | Charlotte and Felix have arranged a wake-up call from | Vicki's family and friends.
' Right, Vicki.
The next four weeks | are gonna be really tough.
But you're gonna have our help | and support along the way.
But what we really need | you to be able to do when we're not there to help you, | is dig deep.
So we want to show you | something today just to keep with you | as a source of inspiration.
OK.
| Good luck, Vicki.
See you soon.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hi, Vicki.
After putting me through all this, | I hope at the program's end, that we'll be able to sit down and have a good cooked meal | together.
Hi, Vicki.
| I just wanted to say I am slightly concerned that Ella | does look to you as a role model and so she might be picking up on | the kind of food that you're eating, which could have a negative effect | on her in the long-term.
Hi, Vicki.
I just wanted to say, | well done for taking this step.
You're definitely | making the right choice.
How nice it would be for us | to be able to be a family unit and do the other things families | need to do, and do together, without the planning | that goes into it or the limitations | that we have in place.
SoI love you.
| Dig deep, and stick with it.
And I'd like to see you | when you come from the other side.
Right, Vicki, hello.
| Hello.
So, how was that for you, | watching it? It's everything that I know.
But obviously, | when it's put in front of you, it reiterates the problem.
And that everyone knows | it's a problem for me.
So, do all the comments | about Ella and her health, and seeing you as a role model, is that something that | you feel really motivating? Absolutely.
You know, I'm not in | a position to just play around now.
It's always like the do-or-die card | is being dealt to me.
If I don't try now, | I will never change.
Well, we've got a lot of work | ahead of us now, Vicki.
So, are you ready for it? | Yep.
Let's begin.
| Let's go.
'Felix and Charlotte have organised | a surprise for Vicki.
One that they hope | will shock her into action.
' (LAUGHS) | Come this way.
Look at this.
| What a waste of pizzas! (ALL LAUGH) We've taken a look at your diet, | done a few calculations.
In total, | you eat 550 pizzas a year.
(LAUGHS) | Which, quite frankly Is a lot of pizza.
| And makes me feel slightly nauseous.
It does look absolutely terrible.
And smells really bad.
And one of the things | that's predominant about this is the amount of cheese on top.
But this is not the only cheese | that you're eating in your diet.
I mean, Vicki, you eat | a 12th of this every month.
A 12th is a huge chunk of this.
And the idea of having to | sort of wade through that seems like an ordeal to me.
Is this a year, then? | Yeah.
This is a year.
| Oh, my God.
How does that make you feel? | It's very solid, isn't it? It makes me feel sick to smell.
| Good.
(LAUGHS) | You can smell, it's horrible.
It smells like fat, doesn't it? | It does, actually.
You're right.
| It does smell like fat.
We need to just, maybe, | further illustrate that point.
How? | We lead you over here What is that? | What do you think this is? Euw.
EUW! | Ohhhh That's disgusting.
It's like pus.
| It is like pus.
Well, this is pure animal fat.
And we worked out that | this is the amount of animal fat in your diet over a year, which is twice as much as a healthy | person should be consuming.
That looks putrid.
Ohhhh So we've got a lot | to be working with, here.
And I need you to remember | all of this.
You wait till my husband sees this.
| I'm never gonna live it down now.
I think, today's exercise | really shocked Vicki.
She only shops for pizzas daily to avoid seeing how much | she actually really eats.
And the accumulation | of what she eats is truly appalling | to see in its entirety.
To have that kind of diet | for some 28 years suggests a very | strong-willed person.
And I haven't seen that yet, but I expect some resistance | and controlling behaviour.
So I still think we've got | a lot of work ahead of us.
'24 hours later, | and Vicki is still coming to terms with the truth | about her appalling diet.
' I went to bed and was just | mulling over this information.
And I just couldn't stop thinking about the lard, the cheese, | the pizzas And I was nearly physically sick | quite a few times last night.
I just couldn't sleep.
It made me feel so poorly, | that I think it actually did more It affected me more | than I actually realised.
I really want Vicki | to succeed at this.
It's crucially important | that she does, for all our sakes.
I mean, for her, | more so than anybody.
But also for Ella, | and for me as well, I guess.
'Vicki was born into an | affectionate, loving, family in Ebervale, South Wales.
A middle child, | she was a real Daddy's girl.
But at the age of three, she began to show the first signs | of an eating problem.
' She was very stubborn.
She always | wanted her way or no way at all.
So that was a little | bit of a difficulty, that she would never | sort of toe the line.
'Vicki's father | worked away from home, so it was left to her mum Eleanor | to try and get her to eat.
' 'They had the same personalities, which means they continually | disagreed about everything.
' VICKI,010 just remember | lots of arguments.
I was just being fussy.
I was just, | you know, being a little madam.
And everyone was all | so frustrated with me.
'At age nine, Vicki began | retreating from family meal times choosing to eat in her room | by herself.
' When we had family meals, her meals were always | very separate from ours.
When she became a teenager, that's when she | became more stubborn and would decide on | what she wants to eat.
'When Vicki left home, her | relationship with her mum improved.
But her eating deteriorated.
Sadly, Vicki's mum | died three years ago, and never got to see | her daughter eat a full meal.
In less than a month, Vicki | will face her final challenge - her first meal out, in years.
Charlotte wants to kick-start | her dietary makeover, so has sent her some homework | in the form of a healthy hamper.
' "We need you to wean you off | your favourite food - cheese.
Start by clearing all the blocks | of cheese from your fridge.
" (GASPS) Now, in here is Mummy's cheese.
| Mummy's not allowed cheese any more.
This one? | And that one.
Well done.
A bit gutted.
It smelt really nice | when I threw it away.
But it's got to be done, so I've got | rid of all the cheese in the house.
So it better be a good replacement.
| (LAUGHS) What is this? | I don't know.
(LAUGHS) 'To replace her cheese-free fridge, Charlotte's provided a hamper | of fresh vegetables to eat over the next week.
And has even suggested the first | recipe of carrot and swede mash.
' Mummy's got to put some carrots, look, and some swede, | and make mash.
What do you think | that's gonna taste like? Is it gonna be yummy? | Yeah.
I've never ever cooked | any of anything in here in my life.
'Faced with the prospect | of a dramatic change, it's not long before Vicki's | stubborn side reveals itself.
' The thing is, I wouldn't eat this | in a million years.
I'm just gonna taste it like that.
| I don't like it anyway, so Whoa.
It's not gonna mash.
| It's too hard.
I don't find that very appetising.
Is it ready? | Yeah.
Do you mash it? Why don't you taste some? | Tell Mummy what you think.
Is it nice? Go on, taste it.
Mmm It's nice.
I'm gonna mash.
I'm gonna mash it up.
| Do you like it? Yeah, it's lovely.
This is going to back | to my childhood.
This is exactly what | I used to do at the dinner table.
I think, they They keeping | saying, "Try, have a few mouthfuls.
" And then I just end up | squishing it all down, and sort of moving it round my plate | so it looked like I have ate loads.
Something like that.
(LAUGHS) And then, yeah, | it'll be put in the bin.
'Halfway through the first week, and Vicki is showings signs | of falling at the first hurdle.
Charlotte calls her to London for her first | one-on-one nutrition session.
' It's really important, | from this exercise, that I really gauge | where Vicki's boundaries lie and where we need to move her to | and how we're going to do that.
It's also really important that | Vicki sees those issues as well.
'With Vicki reluctant | to eat vegetables in the confines of her own home, Charlotte is keen to see how she'll | cope with a bit of encouragement.
' Come in.
Hello.
Mmm (GASPS) Is that your first reaction | when you see this array of foods? Only because I see salmon.
| And I remember My first memory of food, | going off of food, was salmon.
That's the first thing | I've got the memory of.
The reason that these foods | are here, particularly, is because I wanted to find foods that really plugged holes | in your current diet.
And also, tries to make amends | for some of the ills in your diet.
I want to try you | with a cucumber first.
(BOTH LAUGH) | Let's just get in there.
OK.
That's one of my worst, | as probably you know.
That's why you've given it to me.
Ooh.
Brilliant.
OK.
Diving in there.
| I'm just not gonna smell it.
What's your feeling about cucumber? Even if somebody's got this on | their breath, it makes me feel sick.
When was the last time you ate this? I've never, actually, eaten it.
| Oh.
OK.
So it might not, actually, taste | the way you believe it tastes? No.
| OK.
Then, you should taste it | to find out.
OK.
(WHIMPERS) Do I have to? On a scale of one to ten, how much | would you say you dislike that? I'd say about five.
| Oh! That's all right.
That's kind of hedging | your bets either way, really.
Let's try you on red pepper.
'After over two decades of claiming | she can't eat vegetables' Actually, it's quite nice.
'.
.
Vicki's positive reaction | to the foods' Did you eat the whole thing? | Yeah.
'.
.
is surprising, | to say the least.
' That's nice.
Oh, God, nervous a bit.
| That's a real mouthful.
'Having come so far, Charlotte decides to test the | true extent of Vicki's boundaries.
' Right.
What's your thoughts | when you see this? (SIGHS) I hate fish.
And I won't even let | my husband cook it in the house.
Can you cut a piece off? 'Salmon is one of the dishes | that completely put Vicki off food.
This is the first time | she's come this close to eating it in three decades.
' I don't think I'm gonna like this.
But you don't know.
That's really nice.
| (BOTH LAUGH) It almost seems | like she's two people.
There's the one who | has really boxed herself in into this tiny, | constricted, bland diet.
Then, there seems to be someone | who's quite curious about things and quite open-minded | when she does try things.
So I'm gonna very interested to see | where those two people meet.
And where they meet is where | we're gonna meet the resistance.
'Vicki's proved that | she can eat vegetables and fish with Charlotte watching over her.
The biggest test | will be coping on her own.
' Charlotte's homework for Vicki | is to eat two new veg a day.
But it's not long before | she demonstrates that the next few weeks | won't be easy.
I'm going against the wishes | of Charlotte this evening, and I'm going to have cheese on | my jacket potato this evening.
I need to get some cheese | this evening.
Why? | I'm having it on my jacket potato.
I feel like an alcoholic.
| (CHUCKLES) It's like a secret mission, | off to get the cheese.
I have to do it | under the cover of darkness.
'Demonstrating that her problem is less about a phobia | and more about mindset, the next day Vicki has her first | session with psychologist Felix.
He wants to delve into her past and find out where her eating | problems first began.
' So, Vicki, | can you tell me a little bit about how your diet is a problem | for you in your life.
Well, the main problem | I have with it is the fact that I can't go out for a meal.
I don't have dinner with my family.
I can't go abroad, | cos I won't like the food.
Every time there's | any family get-togethers, then, I've got to be | sort of segregated off to get other things that I like.
That sounds really constraining, | doesn't it? Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
But it is for everybody who'll be | around me, to be perfectly honest.
So it's tough on you, | and tough on others as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it makes sense, then, just avoid | it if it's a negative experience.
Yeah, absolutely.
| I have been told that When my parents | went away on holiday, I was staying with my nan, | and I wouldn't eat at all.
And then, apparently, | when they come back, my dad asked me | if I wanted some food, and then I would | just start eating.
And if he was away, apparently, I'd just lie on the sofa and cry, | wouldn't do anything, until I could speak | to him on the phone.
But I've pretty much gotta have | my own way about nearly everything.
What would happen | if you didn't get your own way? I'd be so angry.
Because? | What would it mean to you? Because I wouldn't like | It wouldn't be my decision.
It's not even about that.
| It's that I like what I like.
And if somebody changes that, it would be something | that would just forever annoy me.
When her father was absent, Vicki revealed she would | actually go on hunger strikes.
That's exactly the time | when she started trying to really control her food.
I think, | unless Vicki's really willing to look at some of those | underlying childhood issues, she's unlikely to ever embrace | eating new foods.
'It's the end of the first week, | and without Charlotte next to her, the stubborn Vicki | is refusing to embrace any kind of changes to her diet.
' I want pizza.
Do you, now? | Yeah.
I really do want pizza.
(CHUCKLES) All right.
Well, how about you | save that pizza for another day? (STOMPS) I want pizza.
Why don't you have some - | Damian, stop trying - Corn on the cob? | And pizza? (LAUGHS) Let's have a stir-fry.
Some butter chicken? No? Hm? Hm? No, I don't | OK.
Just try and think | outside the pizza box.
I have.
| I'm just not in the mood to I'm hungry.
I just wanna eat some | stodgy food and get nice and full.
Don't order a large one, | for a start.
(GROWLS) You gonna get arsey now? Yeah.
I'm gonna get | really pissed off in a minute.
Well, I've voiced my concerns.
Ah! I love you.
I am gonna order a pizza.
I don't feel guilty.
| (KEEPS REPEATING) Can I order a large cheese | and tomato pizza, please? When I'm at that point | that I'm hungry, and I've made my decision | that this is what I want, there is no way I'm gonna be sold | a different food.
When I want a pizza, and I'm REALLY hungry, | I will have one.
No stopping me, really.
'It's the start of Week 2.
Charlotte is concerned that | Vicki is losing the commitment needed to conquer her cheese habit, so she's bought her to London for | an appointment on Harley Street.
' Today, we're meeting Dr Pixie.
And I really hope that | what we're going to discuss is going to shock Vicki into understanding the long-term | health implications of her diet.
'Dr Pixie McKenna is a GP with a special interest | in eating problems.
She's performed an analysis | of Vicki's blood, and has some serious news for her.
' I'm very surprised | you're looking so well, actually.
Now, we've worked out that you're | taking twice the amount of salt that you should be in your diet.
That's a well-known medical fact that that will push up | your blood pressure.
'A cheese-based diet is high | in salt and saturated fat.
And adults should not consume | more than six grams of salt a day.
Vicki consumes nearly twice this.
This high salt intake puts Vicki at greater risk | of high blood pressure.
Dr Pixie wants to shock Vicki | into action.
So she gives her some double-vision | goggles and makes her dizzy, to simulate the symptoms | of high blood pressure.
' (INDISTINCT) | Whoa.
Now, do you want to step up? | No.
(LAUGHS) Just try.
We'llcatch you.
| Whoa.
How are you feeling now? | Dizzy.
You could also have nausea, | headache, giddiness, sickness, buzzing in your ears And you feel really, | really, really unwell.
Would you be able to cut a piece | of cheese and eat it? No.
(LAUGHS) | No? Do you feel like you could do much? | No.
I think I need to lie down.
That's exactly how you would feel if you had really | high blood pressure.
'While cheese does have | some health benefits, in vast quantities | it can be a killer.
A diet high in saturated fat can | create build-up of arterial plaque in the veins, | leading to circulatory problems, and eventually | even stroke or heart disease.
We researched and we actually found, | especially for you, a picture of a heart | of a man in his 40s who had a diet | very similar to yours.
Now, can you see that? | Is that all just fat? Bloody hell.
So is that, actually, a layer of | fat completely around the heart? That is | It's almost strangling it.
.
.
insulating it, | but strangulating it, yeah.
Not very nice.
It's not very nice, is it? Vicki was very frightened | by the fatty heart.
Is it enough to get her | to change her diet? She's so happy-go-lucky | and easygoing, I'm not sure.
'24 hours later, and the session | with Dr Pixie still has Vicki upset.
But not about the fatty heart.
' I wasn't particularly happy | about how it went.
I felt that the way | that I was being spoken to was as if I had complete | control of the situation and that I could have eaten | a healthy diet off my own back, quite easily, | and I was just choosing not to.
I'm well-aware of my problem, | and this just For some reason, | I've been unable to go and eat vegetables and meats | and everything else.
So I sort of felt that she didn't | take that into consideration.
I felt like | I was just a bit more lazy.
That's how it come across to me.
'Over halfway into the process and Vicki is still failing | to let go of her old habits.
Concerned that they have | less than two weeks to inspire any kind of change, Charlotte and Felix | meet up in London to compare notes.
' She's not doing the homework | particularly well.
I mean, she will eat lots of | different foods when she's with me, but when it comes to being | on her own and doing her homework, there's such a resistance | to change there.
She's still got | this childhood mentality.
Yeah.
And we need to really move her | from childhood to adulthood.
Absolutely.
And I don't think | she realised, fully, how difficult this was gonna be, and how much effort | she was gonna have to put in.
We are really going to have to push | her outside her comfort zone.
There's a danger that we could push | her so far that she shuts down.
'Charlotte and Felix believe that | Vicki's relationship with food is trapped in childhood.
For her second | healthy-hamper challenge, Charlotte wants to | bring out the parent in Vicki.
' Bloody hell.
I bet it's recipes.
'She's not only got to | prepare meals for herself, but for daughter Ella | and husband Damian as well.
' Right.
"You have been provided | with eight recipes.
Your aim for this week | is to cook a meal for Ella each day with the selection | of recipes provided.
" 'Cooking a family meal | will be a first for Vicki, having always relied on husband | Damian to do all the cooking.
' Salmon and prawns? No way.
I don't think I'd eat any of those.
Everything in here, personally | I know it's for Ella.
Everything's very chunky, | which I don't like.
These are all completely | different things now.
So the control aspect, sort of, | comes in and I just I feel like | I don't want to try it.
I don't want to try them.
Especially, if I'm cooking.
Cos I'm rubbish at cooking.
This is the first time | she's ever cooked.
It is a massively significant moment because from this point on | muggins isn't doing all the cooking.
(GASPS) | I think, in fact Can you just turn off | Damian-thoughts? This is for me.
I think, you'll be right.
| You'll be right, there.
Do you want to make it for me? No.
I want you to make it for me.
Bloody hell.
'For her first meal, | she plumps for a vegetable chilli.
' My major problem | in the battle with vegetables is always been it's been lumpy - | not taste, texture.
That is justhorrible.
You've got the hump | because you don't want to do it.
That's bottom line.
I hate food.
| No, you don't.
But that's why we're here, | Vicki, eh? That was Vicki's typical reaction | that she normally has to food.
I've been surprised | it's been quite held in for so long.
She's managed to .
.
stop herself from doing it, | I guess, up until now.
But you can see, as soon as | she was set the challenge today, for the week, | that she was determined almost to set herself to a failure | because of her mindset.
Have bread.
I'm not eating that.
Trust me.
| I just At this moment in time, I just | don't want to do any more cooking.
I'd rather not do it, to be honest, | at this moment in time.
Cos You know It's all right if things got | a bit worse as you went along.
But they You know, | I just think that that is just It's gonna set me right back.
'Felix believes | Vicki's problems with food are rooted in her childhood, | so wants to find out more.
' Hi, Paul.
I'm Felix.
'He heads to Swindon to meet up | with her father, Paul.
' This particular photo - the teacher, or whoever | was taking the photograph, told her to pose like that | cos it was quite nice.
I said, "Well, Vicki, | that's not your pose.
" Very angelic.
| That's right, yeah.
That wasn't Vicki.
| This is when she's in her teens.
You've got a finger up there | as though, you know, "Why are you taking | a photograph of me?" (BOTH LAUGH) 'As Vicki's mother Eleanor | passed away three years ago it's left to Paul | to fill in the missing pieces.
' Well, I suppose, | when Vicki was born, being the second child, I was rather hoping it | would be a boy.
So for a millisecond, may I add, | I was a little disappointed.
However, Vicki didn't disappoint me, | to a certain extent.
Because she was into cars, little cars, garages, | and things like that.
And she would be fighting boys.
To a certain extent, | she had the traits, I thought, of a boy.
I spenta little | more attention to her.
We've got a very glamorous | photo here.
Yes.
Vicki suddenly decided | that she wanted to do modelling.
I think, she throws herself Whatever project she's in, | whatever she wants to do, she throws herself 100% into it.
Can you tell me, | what were your earliest memories of Vicki suddenly starting to have | slightly unusual eating patterns? Yes.
I suppose, I can remember I have to say, vaguely, | because I was at work.
I had, sort of, a long working day.
My job also meant that | I was away for periods of time.
However, I can recollect that there | was a concern about her eating, whether she was eating sufficiently | enough to sustain herself.
Cos there was some mention | that Vicki would go on these, kind of, | hunger strikes when you're away.
Yes.
Yes.
I understood, whenever my phone call | came in to the home, there was Vicki, who had been | lying on the settee all day - wouldn't move.
Then, suddenly, | when that phone call came through and it was me, she became animated | and grabbed the phone.
And there she was, talking away.
As soon as | the conversation was finished, she would just go back | and lie down on the settee.
Bit of a hard situation.
| I have a little girl too.
Part of me would be | secretly delighted if my daughter were kicking up | a fuss cos I'm not there.
It felt good, you know, | that somebody so small would be missing you, | would understand that.
A lot of Vicki's problems | do stem from her childhood.
And especially, around the times | Paul was away on work.
I think, | what Vicki seems to have done is started to control her eating | as a way of getting attention to make up for | the loss of her father.
And now that she has her own family, that's really getting in the way | from what she really wants to do.
'With Vicki failing to embrace the | challenge of cooking for her family Charlotte has arranged to meet her | at soup kitchen in Reading.
She wants to inspire her by getting | her to cook for the homeless.
' I'm really hoping that, today, | Vicki starts to understand how nurturing cooking can be.
And that when she starts | to cook for herself, understand the process of making | food and giving it to other people, that she connects that with nourishing and enjoyment | and pleasure.
'Charlotte sets her to work' Whoa.
'.
.
on making a nourishing | minestrone soup she can serve to | the homeless for lunch.
' Do you think this is something | Ella would like? Yeah.
Yeah, she would.
| She'd be open to trying this? Oh, yeah.
Will she enjoy making it with you? | Yeah.
I suspect that | if you made this with Ella, then you would get enjoyment | out of this process as well.
And that it would help you.
| She could help you move forward.
I am gonna start setting time aside | at the weekend, cos we need a bit more family time.
So it will be something | that I can start doing as part of a Sunday dinner, | you know, a soup or something.
And my | While Damian can cook the roast.
I've always, sort of, looked at food | as a real negative experience.
But today, | it was quite an honour, I suppose, | to be able to cook for people, and to know what I was doing was a real positive impact | on somebody else's life.
'Back at home, and with | a renewed sense of enthusiasm' Mmmmmwah! I love you, Mummy.
| I love you too.
'Vicki attempts to make | her family a stir-fry.
' (BLEEP) | CAN CLATTERS 'And completely fails.
' That's horrible.
The noodles are OK.
It smells like It does smell like a bin.
Look, mine is bigger.
Look, Mummy.
| Ah! That is disgusting.
What do you think of it? I like stir-fries.
See, I can do it! (ELLA MUMBLES) Excuse me.
That's horrible.
| And it's gone cold.
Uh.
I don't think I like stir-fry.
'With her final challenge | looming in less than a week, Felix believes the only way | to cure Vicki is to tackle her control issues | head-on.
He feels the best way to do this is to strap her | to the wings of this plane and launch her | 500ft into the air.
' She's gonna be in a situation of | high stress, she'll have no control.
But I'm hoping, at the end of it, she'll realise it can be a positive | experience for her.
OK.
Vicki, so | Oh, my God.
This is your next challenge.
And this is what I want you to do.
How do you feel about that? | Freaking, what? You're gonna be up there | where that lady is.
(LAUGHS) Oh, God.
| A once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Are you up for it? | (RELUCTANT) Yeah.
Well done, Vicki.
| I know you can do this.
I have faith in you.
| So let's get you kitted up.
Oh, no.
You're gonna have | an amazing experience.
You'll learn something | really positive from it.
I've just been to the toilet, | so it should be OK.
(LAUGHS) That's always useful.
OK.
'For me to do this today | is absolutely massive.
' Right.
Let's get you strapped in.
| OK.
Right foot, and then step up.
Uh! I got so many layers on, | I can't get my leg up.
Bloody hell.
OK.
So one arm hooks around here, | one arm around the wire.
'By doing this, I think, what it'll | achieve is being able to put my the control is given | to somebody else.
' Are you excited? | I'm (BLEEP) myself.
(BOTH LAUGH) I'm gonna be holding on | for dear life.
'If I can do this, I'll be able | to do pretty much anything.
' Woohoo-hoo! | Whoa-hey! I think, something of this magnitude | is a breakthrough moment.
Cos if Vicki's willing to do this, and just to trust in the process | and just see what happens, then that really is | something of a landmark.
Whoooooo! Hey-eeeey! UPLIFTING ROCK'N'ROLL MUSIC She's actually given the signal | to do slightly more dangerous stuff, so the plane's tilting | and it's dipping.
She's really going for it.
See, therapy can | also be a lot of fun.
Oh, wow.
Look at this.
| Look at this.
Hey-eeeey! Oh, my gosh.
What's a lump of food, in comparison | to something like this? Whoooooo! Way-hey! | Thank you very much.
(LAUGHING) Yeah.
| You're amazing.
(LAUGHS) You're amazing.
Well done.
| That was really brilliant.
So, Vicki, after braving the sky | on this plane, how do you feel about | braving lumpy food? I think, I can go for it now, | completely.
Yeah.
It was absolutely amazing.
One of those experiences | that you think, "If I can do this, | I can pretty much do ANYTHING.
" So Amazing, amazing day.
'The following morning, | Vicki receives her next healthy-hamper challenge | from Charlotte.
' Whoo-hoo! (LAUGHS) "For the next seven days, | I want you to surrender control of your life | to someone else.
From now on, | Damian will be in charge.
He will decide what you eat | on a daily basis, and also any activities | he would like you to do.
" Come on! | (BLEEP) "What I want you to learn | from this exercise is that it's OK to not always be | in control of everything around you.
Good luck.
" Well, you can eat what I eat now.
| No.
No-no-no.
It doesn't mean I have to eat, | like, steak.
I do believe it says, "From now on, | Damian will be in charge.
" Full stop.
We all know that men | aren't FULLY in charge.
We're just giving you | a little bit of the rein.
Shall I read that again? "From now | on, Damian will be in charge.
" Your first task is to shush.
| (GIGGLES) I'm chuffed to bits, really.
| That's a really good It's gonna be a good week for me.
I don't like cooking, so But it's not just about the cooking.
| It's about letting go.
I'm am letting go.
| I'm letting you cook.
You have to do what I say | for the next seven days.
Good result.
| Oh! (LAUGHS) Can you pass me the remote, please? | (LAUGHS) Tonight, I thought Vicki | would be introduced to curry.
Uh! What's wrong with that? | Smells like vinegar.
Bloomin' heck.
| There is a big Do you know I don't like lumps? I, sort of, feel that might | be a bit of a lump.
'Next up, is homemade | Stilton and mushroom tart.
' Right.
Babe, what's in there? Stiltonand mushroom.
Oh, no.
Shall we put some salad on? | No.
Just a little bit.
| No-no! The meal that Damian | cooked for me today was It was really nice, actually.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've found it quite negative | and hard work and stressful.
But today it showed me that | I could have a meal, a new meal, of things I've never had before, | and to enjoy it.
'Vicki continues to build on | the success of Damian's choices.
' Well, I forgot the filming | of the preparation of the food.
But I've had a roast dinner.
This is Damian, | who cooked the roast dinner.
And that's his plate.
| (CHUCKLES) Andhere's mine.
And as you can see, I have eaten | pretty much everything on there.
I can't believe | what a fantastic result that is.
She's done incredibly well on that.
| I'm starting You know, it's like | an inspirational moment for me.
If I can conquer that, | and I like it, I think it will be all | leaps and bounds from here.
'Vicki's finally embracing | a more varied diet.
But Felix wants to address | the root of her problems with food.
Vicki has repressed the emotions | she felt as a child, and Felix feels THIS | is holding her back.
Felix has asked Vicki's | dad to choose the place to come and talk about the past.
The Silent Valley is a cemetery | near where Vicki's mother grew up, and where her immediate | family members are buried.
' Vicki's never actually | spoken to her father about her problems with eating.
And I know that a lot of | Vicki's anxiety around eating was because her father was absent, | working away a lot.
And so, today, I'm hoping | that by bringing her here to this special, neutral place, they can feel comfortable | and safe enough talking about their feelings about | their relationships in the past, when Vicki's problems | started surfacing.
After that, I'm hoping they'll | get some closure on what happened and be able to move forward.
OK.
So, Paul and Vicki, we're in a place of | special significance to you both.
We want to get some closure | for what went on at the time.
Even though it's happened | in the past, it's never too late to get | some new clarity on it.
During that time | that Vicki developed this problematic relationship with | food, you were working away a lot.
What is it you needed, at age four, | to hear from Dad, that if you heard this, you wouldn't have needed to dig | your heels in and react that way? I think, having stress at four | was very difficult to to handle, I suppose.
And I was quite an aggressive kid, | wasn't I? And I think that's probably where | a lot of it stemmed from.
If I had my time over again, I would have been more sensitive | to the issues of the family.
If I could have looked forward | and seen that, we would have been very positive | and done something about it, would have spent more energy | and made it more of a priority.
So, yes, if I had time back again, I certainly would have spent | a lot more time dealing with what was fussy eating, | and taken a more serious view of it.
So there is a concession | from Paul that, "I had to work, but I do apologise | for not being around.
" And what your dad is saying now is, | "In hindsight, I'd have more of an input in that.
" What would that feel like, | differently? I think, it would just | be an elevating feeling, I suppose.
Ah? My life wouldn't be so I do control things | because I wouldn't like to think that I'd have a negative experience | at the hands of somebody else.
So I think, you know, | it would just be It would make life | a lot easier for me.
Just to complete that process today, just have a hug and let that | forgiveness just be expressed.
'Vicki is trying to lay | her problems to rest.
So her father is also inspired to take a step | at embracing the future.
' Coming back here, there was | always something I wanted to do, but never got round to it.
And it's been three years | since Eleanor died, and this is where she came from.
And I wanted to scatter | some of her ashes here to return her to her home.
It does feel better.
It feel Does feel liberating, definitely.
I feel that - I don't know - the past has gone to bed, | I suppose, in a way.
So I think, the penny may have | finally dropped for Vicki.
It's never been the food itself | that's caused the problem.
It's the circumstances | in which those anxieties rose that's always been the problem.
'After four weeks, Vicki is at | the end of her dietary makeover.
Felix and Charlotte invite Vicki | and her husband Damian to London, where they have | one final challenge for her.
' Oh, they're holding hands.
| Oh, good.
Hello.
| Hello.
Vicki! | Good to see you.
WOMEN: Hello.
| Hi, Damian.
Nice to meet you.
Now, I know it's your | wedding anniversary today.
It is, yeah.
I also know that you've never | been abroad together or had a real romantic | meal together.
That's true.
| (LAUGHS) So your final challenge is | that you're going to Paris, and Damian is going to choose | a restaurant for you to eat in.
Nice.
Damian is also going to choose | the meal that you have.
Excellent.
| No cheese or pizza.
That's important.
| It's good.
And you're going | to enjoy it together.
Wonderful.
| Excellent.
I wonder what she's going to eat.
| I know.
How far will he push her? | Mmm? Oh, c'est la vie.
'This will be the first time Vicki and Damian have ever | travelled abroad together.
Or even simply been out | for a romantic meal.
Arriving in Paris - first stop | for Vicki is not the sights, but determining | what food they serve.
' Have they got vegetarian? | You're in France, Vicki.
So I can't eat | everything vegetarian? You can.
But The French, they think | vegetarianism's a bit wishy-washy.
What am I supposed to eat, then? | Well, this is the point, isn't it? Which one looks | the worst for you on there? Ah? The snails.
| The snails.
Or the oysters.
| Or the oysters.
So, what about the sea urchins? | I'm not eating anything from there.
OK.
Well, have some langoustine.
| It's just prawns.
No.
No.
No-no-no.
Shrimp.
| I don't like fish! It's not fish.
It's seafood.
It's the same.
| That isn't a fish, is it? I don't like anything like that.
| Please? 'After two hours, Damian finally decides on a | restaurant Vicki approves of - serving Asian | and Mediterranean cuisine.
Unfortunately, all in French.
' I don't understand a lot of it.
| (SPEAKS FRENCH) (WAITER SPEAKS FRENCH) | Yeah.
Just (FRENCH WORDS) | Oui.
So | And then a bowl of vegetables.
Just a bowl of veg.
Vegetables.
Right.
So you won't go for sausage or beef.
| You're not gonna go for fish.
So I think, that Well, it just whittles it down | to chicken, doesn't it? Mm.
| Yeah? You wanna try that? | Let's go for that, then.
(ORDERS IN FRENCH) Qui.
| (CONTINUES IN FRENCH) I think, you'll be all right.
| You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Look, I've got faith in you.
| You'll be able to do it.
As long as you just | set your mindset.
Salut.
'For the first time | in over two decades, Vicki has ordered a meal that | doesn't involve cheese or pizza.
Having initially resisted changing, will Charlotte and Felix's makeover | be the beginning of a new dietary dawn?' Chicken? | Yep.
OK.
| Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you very much.
Oh, it is.
| There you go, look.
Yeah.
Nice.
Looks good.
There's apples in here.
| You've got apples.
You've got rice.
I think, that's pineapple | or something like that.
What do you think? Um It's OK.
Mm-hm.
| How can I explain it? This doesn't really do it for me.
| Although, I could eat it.
It's about being able | to enjoy other foods.
It's not a question | of just dismissing it as, "No, it's not as good as pizza.
" "Is it nice in its own right?" | is what I'm trying to say.
Ah? Yeah, it's OK.
It's OK.
| OK.
It's not Would you like to try | some black lentils? No, thanks.
| No, I don't want to try any.
I'm really dizzy, | so I don't want to be forced food.
Have some water? | I'm not eating any more.
So you just wanna try that bit? | No, I don't! Don't keep asking me, babe.
| You're not having any more curry.
Will you try it? | No! Damian, why are you pushing me? If I don't want it, | why have we gotta keep going - Cos I want you to try | something else on the menu.
No.
That was why I chose this one, | cos I thought you'd try the lentil.
Sorry.
(SNIFFS) I'm a little bit annoyed that she | backed out of trying the lentils.
Butas soon as I started to push, | that was it.
There was no way | she was gonna change her mind.
(BLEEP) From today, I've taken out that I don't want to go out | for a meal again.
(SIGHS) All it is, I suppose, | is that if you don't like something, oryou know Like, ah? | You try it, you don't like it.
And it's a continuous thing, | I suppose, it's more It's frustrating.
| It's every time.
It's like a waste of time, really.
Mine was lovely.
'Despite Vicki's despondency, the fact that the couple | are eating out at all on their wedding anniversary, | in Paris, is success enough for Damian.
' I just want to say, | well done for getting this far.
I know your final challenge was one | of the hardest that you had to do.
Don't beat yourself up about it.
| It's baby steps.
We achieved what we wanted to do.
| We went out for a meal together.
And we've gone to a foreign country | together, as well.
OK? 'Do you know what? Sometimes I look back | and I think I've come really far.
' (LAUGHS) Cheers.
| Cheers.
Happy anniversary.
| And you.
And then, other days, | I don't think I've moved at all.
And where I want to be is a million | miles away from where I am now.
And it's gonna take me a long time | to get where I wanna be.
'It's two weeks | after her final challenge.
Has Vicki strayed off the path | to healthy eating forever?' The week after, I've got to admit, | that it just went to pot, and I went back | to pizzas and cheese.
'But despite Vicki slipping back | into some of her old eating habits, she has introduced | some new foods into her diet.
' I havesome leafy salad.
I have some carrots.
AndI havesome jacket potatoes.
Still having the cheese, but with a more balanced diet.
'Vicki is now introducing | fresh vegetables into all of her daily meals - something she hasn't done | for over 28 years.
' And some beans for me? I think, it's wonderful | that Vicki's come this far.
It'll make a massive difference | to the family,.
Cos we can now concentrate on | enjoying what we're doing, instead of having to worry about | Vicki's eating.
From where I was at the beginning | to where I am now, I'm having vegetables on my plate, I'm eating as I never ate before.
So it'syou know, | it's been an amazing thing, really.
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