The Shut Ins

Shut-ins Sharon and Aftab, like thousands hidden across the country, are so overweight they rarely leave their homes. It means the partners who care for them are also imprisoned.

Two years ago, Andrew, Claire and Emily were all too ashamed to face the world. In this revisit episode, we see how they have changed their lives.

Emily is a single mum with two small children. She is 24 years old but already weighs 26 stone. She’s struggled with her weight all her life but since the age of seventeen she has become almost unrecognisable. She has completely lost control of her appetite and binges on large breakfasts, takeaways and snacks. Shame and fear of ridicule keep her largely confined to her house. We catch up with her as she battles against the emotional demons that are driving her to comfort eat. She knows what she is doing to herself but feels powerless to stop. Her relationship is in tatters and her parents are at their wits end. They have tried to help her over the years using both carrots and sticks - but nothing has worked and they’ve watched helplessly as she has continued to pile on the pounds. Emily describes herself as the black sheep of the family – her brothers, sister and father are fitness fanatics. She finds it hard to get up the stairs without panting, has to sit down to fold the washing and is increasingly struggling to keep up with her boisterous sons. As her weight spirals ever higher, she is fearful for her life - convinced that one day she may never wake up. She puts herself in the hands of a top bariatric surgeon – Mr Sherif Awad – who helps to guide her through the gruelling process of preparing for surgery. She also seeks the services of a behavioural psychologist in a bid to understand what is driving her compulsive behaviour. Emily is young enough to turn her life around – and has the support of a loving family. But will she find the inner strength she needs to help herself?

We catch up with Sharon Hill two years on. Although she has shed a massive 14 stone - she is starting to pile on the pounds again.

Two couples have agreed to have cameras follow them for three months to help with their hoarding obsessions.

Claire has been bed bound for the last 6 years. Trapped by her 40 stone body she can only see the world through the window of the room where she spends her life. She has two daughters -Tracey and Jasmine - who need to do nearly everything for her. Tracey has two young children and a home of her own so the burden of care falls mainly on 19 year old Jasmine. She has spent all her teenage years looking after the mother she’s devoted to. We track their journey as Nick Carter – a surgeon at the local hospital – battles to get Clare the help she needs. He sees that it isn’t just Claire who is shut in – but also her daughters – their own emotional distress means they too are gaining an unhealthy amount of weight. Nick wants to put Claire through two surgeries – one to drastically reduce the size of her stomach – the other to remove the rolls of excess flesh that hang from her stomach that will hamper her ability to ever walk properly or be able to exercise. Claire’s vulnerabilities have left her clinging to her daughters. Her daughters seek their freedom but are anxious about letting go. A family therapist is brought in to try to shift the dynamics in the way the family operate. An unexpected diagnosis during the first surgery threatens to put all their plans at risk and could leave Claire more dependent on her daughters than ever.