EXTREME FOOD PHOBICS: DR RANJ TO FRONT NEW UKTV SERIES

UKTV has commissioned Extreme Food Phobics (10x60') for W, with Dr Ranj Singh and his team offering help and support to some of the UK's most severe food phobics.

Dr Ranj said: "Most of us will associate fussy eating with kids. However, there are a significant number of adults with serious food issues that could be damaging their health without even realising. Working on this ground-breaking show has been a real rollercoaster - not just because we get to see the reality of it, but also because the treatment results are potentially life-changing!"

Extreme Food Phobics will see patients with a variety of food related fears and phobias visit Dr Ranj and his team at a bespoke hub, to start the process of overcoming their extreme food issues, in the hope of living a healthier and happier life.

Whether it is someone that is so limited in what they will eat, every meal, including Christmas dinner, is a specific brand of chicken dippers; to a person who feels they will vomit the instant they are in the same room as a piece of broccoli; or a grown woman who only eats babyfood and attributes the break up of her marriage to her bizarre eating habits. These people's lives, careers, families and not to mention their health, are all being severely curtailed and they are at crisis point with their extreme food phobias.

Across each episode, the patient will move through three stages of therapy to help them overcome their fears. From the initial check-in to diagnosis, aversion therapy and support from psychologists and therapists, with the aim of each patient's experience building to an intimate dinner with their nearest and dearest, all of whom are willing them to overcome their food fears. With a wide variety of dietary issues on the agenda, the prospect of this final stage will be hard for some to swallow.

UKTV's Hilary Rosen said: "We're delighted to be working with South Shore on this exciting new format. Many people struggle daily with extreme food fears and this new approach will change lives. Our viewers will be rooting for our food phobics and will be willing them to succeed, every step of the way."