Meet the Experts

As one of their most outspoken and forthright public critics, Kelvin MacKenzie strikes fear into the heart of the Chawners. He wrote a stinging critique of the Chawners in The Sun, branding them "lardbuckets" and "all that is wrong with Britain" and going as far as to say,

"Why, in these difficult times, are we funding these disgusting people? It's a national disgrace. Presumably, if we cut off their income support, they would starve, which would be good for them and us." This greatly upset the Chawners.

He will be holding them to account for their lack of contribution to society and demanding they make some significant progress. Will Kelvin be pleasantly surprised when he pays them a second visit, or will they yet again feel his full wrath? This is the Chawners chance to prove their critics wrong.

Now a media executive, Kelvin MacKenzie is best known for being the editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, a period which saw the paper become established as the best selling in the country but also immersed in controversy for notorious headlines such the ‘Gotcha’ headline following the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands war and their coverage of the Hillsborough disaster described by the Press Council and the Government Enquiry as ‘entirely inaccurate’.

MacKenzie is a right wing Conservative and Thatcherite and The Sun strongly supported The Conservative Party and policies throughout his time as editor whilst lampooning The Labour Party and its leaders. He is a frequent critic of state welfare under the Labour party that the Chawners are reliant upon for their income.

More recently he has been involved in various other media organisation including Talksport and Five Live and he is still a columnist for The Sun.
 

Phillip will be giving the Chawners a taste of how they could improve their mental wellbeing and potentially help to achieve the goals they have set for themselves in this series. Could therapy be the Chawners route to happiness?

Phillip will help Audrey and Philip to explore their relationship to try and rekindle their love life, whilst Emma and Sam will discuss the anger they feel towards their mother and each other.

Phillip is not actually giving the Chawners therapy or counselling (this would require confidentiality and a longer time frame) but exploring some of the areas that challenge them to see if the family think that therapy or counselling could be beneficial.

Click here to read Phillip's advice on how to think yourself thin.

To find out more about Phillip you can visit his website here.
 

As part of Emma’s ongoing quest to become a professional singer, she will be having two sessions with two of the countries leading vocal coaches, Carrie and David Grant. They have worked with some of the UK’s biggest stars including Take That and Charlotte Church, so what will they make of Emma’s dulcet tones? Can they make any improvement?

Carrie and David Grant are probably the best known pop vocal coaches in the UK. With a client list that includes Take That, Melanie C., Lemar, Will Young and numerous others their credentials are second to none.

It was their involvement with Fame Academy which brought them to the attention of the nation. Subsequently they were seen as vocal coaches on the three series of “Comic Relief Does Fame Academy”, where they helped develop the vocal abilities of the celebrities as well as championing their cause with the judges. They were the vocal coaches and judges on “Fame Academy 2” having also appeared as vocal coaches in “Pop Idol”, with Carrie having been featured in the original “Fame Academy”. However both of their careers cover a far wider area.

In the first series, Dr Murray looked after the Chawner’s overall medical welfare, but now focuses on Audrey, trying to shed light on her inability to stay awake and her embarrassing illness.

Dr Murray, also known as “Dr Barbara”, is a full time GP partner in a very busy practice in Stockport. You may recognise her from BBC’s popular show, Street Doctors.

Dr Murray studied medicine as a mature student, after obtaining a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry. She graduated in the top 10 of her year from Liverpool Medical School, and then trained in General Practice in Macclesfield, before moving to her current practice in Stockport.

Sadly Dr Murray’s husband, who had supported her through her medical training, died in 2003. She says that it was the care she received from her colleagues, family and patients, as well as keeping very busy, that has helped her to carry on without him.

Dr Murray joined Street Doctors in 2005, which attracted up to 4 million viewers and was nominated for a Royal Society of Television Award. She says that it has led to her involvement in various charity work, invitations to be a keynote speaker and lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons and she’s often requested to speak on various topics on Radio 5 alive and Radio Manchester. Dr Murray is also very active in Health promotion for Stockport Primary Care Trust.

When she’s not working Dr Murray sings in The St Anne’s Hospice festival choir, which raises a lot of money on behalf of the Hospice. She has also appeared in a professional stage production at the Library Theatre with the Lip Service theatre company in a production “Desperate to be Doris”.
 

It’s Elise’s job to get the Chawners moving, devising a tailored fitness regime for each member of the family.

Elise Lindsay is an exuberant and enthusiastic presenter, choreographer, personal trainer, fitness expert and qualified life coach. As personal trainer to Colleen Rooney, she was the main contributor to Colleen’s successful 2006 fitness video.

Elise has a professional dance background with over twenty years experience. She won the prestigious title of Pure Energy Presenter 2002 and was runner up in the FITS awards in 2004 as Best British Newcomer. She has appeared on This Morning and GMTV, has written a book and regularly writes for national newspapers and magazines.

Elise runs fitness masterclasses on tour and at exclusive fitness events and conventions and she has released home video training packages for Action UK, Kangoo Jumps and Urban Funk.

Based in Sheffield, Elise shares her fitness knowledge as a personal trainer and runs two successful rehabilitation clinics in her local area. She also works to educate and develop other instructors as a United Kingdom Flexi-Bar Master Trainer.

Elliott will be harnessing the power of the Chawners minds by using hypnotherapy to try and stop Emma smoking and break the family’s bad food habits.

Elliott is a leading expert in the fields of Hypnosis, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and modern psychology. His therapies often target problems such as weight, smoking, phobias, anxiety and panic attacks.

Elliott has worked extensively with Paul McKenna and is a regular in the media with numerous national press and magazine appearances and TV including ‘This Morning’ and BBC2’s ‘Alternative Therapies’. His Hypnosis and hypnotherapy practice is base in Luton and he has been a member of the board of the Hypnotherapy Association since 2001.