Hi Dr Christian! What are you up to at the moment?
I’m filming another series of Embarrassing Bodies which seems to be this ongoing juggernaut of a series – we seem to just be doing more and more and more. It’s doing so well, it’s extraordinary!
Have you been surprised by the success of Embarrassing Bodies?
I have to say yes, if I’m honest. I remember making the first series and thinking – who’s going to be interested in looking at verruccas and piles?! For GPs, it’s the sort of things you see all day long that don’t excite you much, really, and I thought people might find it dull. But I got that quite wrong! I try and approach the show with a sense of humour but without ever laughing at the patients or their conditions, which is also part of its success. It’s not preachy: it’s entertaining.
What is the worst thing you’ve ever had to deal with?
Well I don’t recoil very much from things, but I remember seeing the most horrendously advanced case of hidradenitis suppurativa, which is a kind of chronic rotting infection of the sweat glands. His whole armpits were rotting away and I remember him lifting up his armpits and great lumps of skin were dropping off and he had blood pouring down his sides. I mean, that was pretty horrific.
