Embarrassing bodies

Recently I have become addicted to Channel 4's Embarrassing Bodies. This is a medical show where three doctors take their "roadshow medical clinic" around the country and each week set up a tent in a different town. People with embarrassing medical problems then come to the clinic to explain their problems (usually accompanied by tears and an explanation of how the problem is ruining their life).  The problem is then examined (involving extreme close ups of the affected body part) and diagnosed.  Finally, it is usually fixed.  All of this in front of a film crew. 

This week's episode included a middle-aged man who began his clinic visit by telling the doctor "basically, I have a problem with my bum".  The problem was hemorrhoids and viewers were treated to a close-up of the area which, if I hadn't known better, I would have thought was a close up of a dead foetus coming out of an animal's hairy birth canal.  It turned out this gentleman had been living with what looked to be extremely painful hemorrhoids for about a year.  When asked why he hadn't been to the doctor previously, his response was that he found it too embarrassing talking to a doctor about his "bum".  He also explained that he didn't have the confidence to go out with women, because he didn't want them to see the area.

The fact that this show actually works never ceases to amaze me; without fail, every patient explains that they haven't previously seen a doctor about their problem due to their embarrassment.  And yet they're willing to show the same problem (in horrifying close-ups) to the entire nation.  

I am not sure whether the success of the program is a sad indictment on the lack of faith we have in the NHS or is instead a reflection of our bizarre celebrity culture.