- Ten Years Younger Gets Younger
- March 2009
At the end of last year it was reported that 37 year old Nicky Hambleton-Jones had left the program 10 Years Younger “to pursue other interests." Shortly after the announcement, we learned from Nicky herself that she had actually been dismissed in favour of Myleene Klass. Myleene is 7 years her junior and lacks Nicky's wealth of experience of the beauty and fashion industries.
These facts might explain why Nicky stated that her dismissal had felt like a “slap in the face”.
She continued "I haven't watched the new 10 Years Younger show presented by Myleene. I can't bring myself to watch it. I feel I've moved on".
"The viewers liked the fact I was their age and someone they could relate to. I think that was really important"
Concluding “It does seem to me like a classic case of replacing any woman over 35, regardless of how suitable she is for the role, with a younger face".
In stark contrast Myleene decisively denied the possibility that age could have been a factor "I don't see the argument where someone was dropped because of age, if I'm completely honest."
As the media debate grew, Newsbeat reported that Trinny & Susanna “were shocked bosses had picked a younger woman to front the show.”
Unlike Channel 4, Trinny & Susannah seem to have grasped that the whole ethos of the show is to enable willing individuals to be ‘made over’ in order to look 10 years younger. To achieve this, the program utilizes the skills of a stylist, a cosmetic dentist, hairdresser, make-up artist and when required a surgeon. Replacing Nicky with a younger presenter clearly contradicts the whole philosophy of the show.
Taking about the shows underlying philosophy, I can’t help questioning the basic principles on which 10 Years Younger is based. Is it healthy to want to look 10 years younger?
The pursuit of youth, is a chase that the pursuing party is destined to lose. For those who decide that the chase is worth it, if only to put off the day of reckoning, then one has to question Channel 4’s choice of presenter. Is an attractive young looking 30 year old, someone with whom the women who take part in the show will feel empathy?
If Channel 4 wanted to revamp 10 Years Younger, what better way to illustrate their conviction to the the shows message, than to 'make over' the presenter; using the same procedures used on the willing participants.
By taking to decision to appoint Myleene Klass; Channel’s 4’s has left many women wondering if they actually believe in the basic premise of the program. Or is it simply a classic case of ‘do what I say and not what I do’?