Glaswegians wanted for 'morbid' TV show

CHANNEL 4 is appealing for Glaswegians to take part in a reality show which will tell them when they are going to die.

The producers of How Long Have You Got? want smokers, heavy drinkers and those with a poor diet for the six-part series.

Scheduled to be screened next year, the participants' health will be assessed by experts and their life expectancy measured.

"The premise is we tell them when they are going to die and try to reverse it," said a spokeswoman for Celador, the London production company making the series, a sequel to C4's You Are What You Eat.

Glasgow City Council reacted angrily yesterday, condemning the concept as "morbid", while NHS Health Scotland offered a cautious vote of confidence if the series could "skilfully and tastefully" highlight Scotland's health problems.

Mary Allison, NHS Health Scotland's head of healthy topics, said: "Anything that engages and provokes in a constructive way, to recognise the serious issues we have in Glasgow, and in Scotland generally, might not be a bad thing."

However, Frank McAveety, the Labour MSP for Shettleston, an area of Glasgow which has some of Britain's worst health problems, said: "If middle-class television programme-makers can miraculously eradicate poverty and reverse the affects of de-industrialisation, then I'm certain the series will be of great help.

"However, I have the feeling that its emphasis will be more on so-called good television than on improving health."

Celador said the series would take a serious look at health issues, including the effects of diet and life-threatening habits, and denied the series would be in poor taste.

Glasgow City Council was unconvinced, claiming it would sensationalise the city's problems. A spokesman said: "This idea is particularly morbid and tasteless. I hope Glaswegians ignore requests to take part."