''How to Look Good Naked'' is a television program, first aired on British
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in 2006, in which fashion stylist
Gok Wan
Kowkhyn Wan (; born 9 September 1974), known as Gok Wan, is a British Wardrobe stylist, fashion consultant, author, television presenter, actor, DJ, chef and event manager.
Initially training in the performing arts at the Central School of Sp ...
encourages women and men who are insecure with their bodies to strip nude for the camera. The programme is unique among other similar
makeover shows in that it never encourages participants to undergo
cosmetic surgery
Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...
or lose weight. The US format premiered on Lifetime Television in 2008 with Carson Kressley hosting, it was the #1 Unscripted Show on the network at the time.
On 27 June 2019, it was announced that the show would be revived by
Really with Gok Wan returning as host. This would be the channel's first commission since its acquisition by
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
.
Format
The format of the show is based on activities designed to build a woman's
self-esteem
Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...
and
self-confidence
Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...
. These include photographing the woman naked and then displaying a very large picture of the woman's body in a public place, such as projected onto the side of a building or on the side of a van, and asking passers-by what they think of them. Viewers typically respond very positively, which builds the woman's self-esteem. Wan burns the woman's current underwear and then replaces it with more flattering underwear, including "tummy tuck pants". At the end of each episode, Wan asks the woman to walk down the modeling catwalk showing her new nude look to family and friends.
In more recent episodes, Wan has used a variety of very personal tactics designed to encourage women to love their bodies and feel sexy. He has had women pose naked in London shop windows, stopped women on the street and asked if they have ''Lady Lines'', published the image of a semi-naked woman on the front of a fake newspaper titled ''Naked News'', and then handed the newspaper out on a busy London street. At the end of each catwalk show, the woman is encouraged to strip naked on stage to show how far they had come in terms of body confidence.
Catchphrases
Wan's favourite and most famous catchphrases include "bangers", which is slang for breasts, and "gorgeous", often calling the women participating in the show "girlfriend". Many of his other catchphrases are puns on his name, such as "Gok shock" and "fairy Gok mother". In his most recent series, Wan has introduced a new feature aimed at giving style and beauty advice to men, which he calls "Wan for the boys".
Series guide
*Series 1: Eight 30 minute episodesfirst shown from 27 June 2006
*Series 2: Eight 30 minute episodesfirst shown from 1 May 2007
*Series 3: Eight 30 minute episodesfirst shown from 14 November 2007
*Series 4: Seven 30 minute episodes + six 60 minute revisitsfirst shown from 8 April 2008
American Series:
*Series 1 : Eight 30 minute episodes
*Series 2 : Eight 60 minute episodes
Versions in other countries
The
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
version of ''How to Look Good Naked'' airs on
Lifetime, and is hosted by
Carson Kressley
Carson Kressley (born November 11, 1969) is an American television personality, actor, and designer. Beginning in 2003, he appeared in the Bravo series ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. He was also the motivational host of the TV show ''How to ...
. The show was promoted on
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
, in addition to receiving rave reviews from the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
and the
L.A. Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
. Its premiere was the biggest in the network's 24-year history. The US version has aired on
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
in Australia and
E4 in the United Kingdom.
In
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, there is a show called ''Look Good'' or ''Nicely Naked''.
There is also a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
version called ''Snygg Naken'', an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
version called ''Nude e Belle'', an Israeli version called בעירום מלא (Be'erom Mal'e), a French version, ''Belle toute nue'', which began on the M6 channel on 9 December 2008, and Polish version called ''Jak dobrze wyglądać nago'', which will begin on TVN Style channel in March 2009.
In late 2009/early 2010, the Canadian version of ''How to Look Good Naked'' premiered and currently runs on the W Network, on which the UK version once aired. It is hosted by Zain Meghji.
Since 2010 there is also a Czech version called ''Nahá jsi krásná'' (Naked you're beautiful) hosted by Libor Šula.
External links
*
*
''How to Look Good Naked'' on Lifetime Television''How to Look Good Naked Canada'' on W Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:How To Look Good Naked
2006 British television series debuts
2010s British television series
Channel 4 original programming
English-language television shows
Fashion-themed reality television series
Nudity in television
Lifetime (TV network) original programming
Television series by All3Media
Television series by Banijay
British fashion
2000s British reality television series
2010s British reality television series