| The Supersizers Go... The Supersizers Eat... |
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|---|---|
Title card for "The Supersizers Eat", the additional word (eg. The Eighties) is added for each individual episode. |
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| Format | Reality History documentary |
| Starring | Giles Coren, Sue Perkins, Cooks: Sophie Grigson, Allegra McEvedy, Mark Hix |
| Narrated by | Roy Marsden |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Silver River Productions |
| Running time | 60 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC Two |
| Original airing | 20 May 2008 |
The Supersizers Go... and The Supersizers Eat... are BBC television series about the history of food, mainly in Britain. Both are presented by journalist and restaurant critic Giles Coren and broadcaster and comedian Sue Perkins.
The series originated in a one off edition in April 2007 as part of a season of programmes on the Edwardian period, "Edwardian Supersize Me",[1] a reference to the film Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock.[2] This programme set the format for the subsequent television series in that Coren and Perkins adopted the persona of a couple living in the Edwardian period and for a week ate the food which people from that period would have eaten.[1] In addition they would take part in the interests and activities of them too, even going so far as adopting the dress and mannerisms of the time. Before and after the experience they are subject to medical tests to see how the diet affected them.[1]
As of Monday 2 August 2010 the both series is being broadcast on the UKTV channel Good Food. The episodes shown on Good Food are cut to 47 minute versions of the original, to accommodate commercial breaks.
Contents |
The one off programme "Edwardian Supersize Me" was produced as part of the "The Edwardians — the Birth of Now" season on BBC Four.
| Title | Description | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| Edwardian Supersize Me | Diet of the Edwardian period, with 5 meals a day, heavy in meat and pudding, which, on one day, sum up to 5,000 calories. With chef Sophie Grigson. | 16 April 2007 |
A series of six episodes was commissioned by the BBC under the title The Supersizers Go... which was broadcast from May 2008 and covered different periods.
| Title | Description | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| The Supersizers Go...Wartime | Exploring the diet during World War II when food was subject to rationing. With chef Allegra McEvedy. | 20 May 2008 |
| The Supersizers Go...Restoration | Exploring the diet of the Restoration period in the 17th century. Aided by chef Allegra McEvedy. Hosted at Ham House. | 27 May 2008 |
| The Supersizers Go...Victorian | Diet of the Victorians in the late 19th century. Aided by chef Sophie Grigson. | 3 June 2008 |
| The Supersizers Go...Seventies | Diet of Britons living in the 1970s. | 10 June 2008 |
| The Supersizers Go...Elizabethan | Cooked by Mark Hix, hosted at Sutton House. | 17 June 2008 |
| The Supersizers Go...Regency | Diet of the Britons in the Regency period of 1789 - 1821. With chef Rosemary Shrager. | 24 June 2008 |
The Supersizers Eat sees Coren and Perkins sample the culinary delights of 1950s Britain, Medieval England, 1980s London and the Roaring 20s. Marie-Antoinette's Versailles and Ancient Rome also feature, making this the first time that an entire episode was devoted to historical foreign cuisine.[3][4][5]
Coren has said that he and Perkins are reluctant to make a third series ("Sue and I can't just keep sitting at tables, pulling faces and making smart remarks about the food") but that the duo are likely to do further work with each other on the BBC.[3]
| Title | Description | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| The Supersizers Eat...The Eighties | In the first episode, Giles and Sue investigate the diet of the country in the 1980s. During the show they try Nouvelle cuisine, Microwave meals, Viennetta, Champagne and Pop-Tarts, along with other typical 80s meals. Guest diners include Jeffrey Archer and Ken Livingstone. | 15 June 2009[6][7] |
| The Supersizers Eat...Medieval | Coren and Perkins take the role of a Lord and Lady of the Manor in medieval England. Aided by chef Martin Blunos, hosted at Penshurst Place. Coren thought this period's feast offered the best food of this series, a cockantrice imaginary bird made from the front end of a turkey and the back of a piglet, and the worst, very dry peacock meat.[3] They were joined by guest diner Michael Portillo. | 22 June 2009[8] |
| The Supersizers Eat...The French Revolution | The Supersizers experience the lives of Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI, devour a 5,000-calorie breakfast feast, try the exotic new vegetable craze, the potato, and also observe the advent of the restaurant. | 6 July 2009 |
| The Supersizers Eat...The Twenties | Giles enjoys a breakfast of boiled eggs, toast and potted shrimp, whilst Sue makes do with vitamin pills and laxatives as the fad of dieting begins. They then drink cocktails at The Ritz. | 13 July 2009 |
| The Supersizers Eat...The Fifties | Eating subject to rationing, celebrating the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, American youth culture and a roadside picnic. Guests include Marguerite Patten. | 20 July 2009 |
| The Supersizers Eat...Ancient Rome | Senator Giles Coren and vestal virgin Sue Perkins travel back to 44BC–80AD for a journey through the early days of Ancient Rome | 27 July 2009[9] |