Dr Pimple Popper, Jay Blades, Sue Perkins. Who is on your screen?

The production of new TV programmes has slowed down since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Some have said there are only so many times you can watch repeats of Homes Under the Hammer or Escape to the Country.

In search of meaningful content, I have started watching Dr Pimple Popper. Originally a YouTube sensation with millions of views, this programme seems to be on TV almost as much as Phillip Schofield. The premise of the programme is that people go to the doctor to get their spots squeezed. The doctor is Sandra Lee, an American dermatologist who practices in California. The ‘pimples’ are generally not classed as life threatening so are not covered by health insurance. People come from all over America to be treated for free in exchange for being filmed.

But it’s about so much more than blackheads and spots. It’s disfiguring cysts removed, and undiagnosed skin conditions resolved, some of which are decades old. It’s all about taking away stigma, building confidence, creating new opportunities and restoring a normal life.

Another programme now in its sixth series is The Repair Shop on BBC One. It is about restoring items of sentimental value. The owner brings in the item, in a state of disrepair, to a barn, for it to be expertly restored by a team of hugely skilled people.

The person then returns to see the big reveal. It doesn’t matter if it’s a conductor’s ticket machine, a boxing trophy or a Victorian piano-playing doll – the result is always the same. A blanket is then pulled away from the object which has been restored, to the delight and astonishment of its owner. It’s emotional.

To me, it is unbelievable how someone is able to repair a speedometer from a vintage car, restore the vibrant colours of an oil painting or make a scrapheap of an ancient penny farthing bicycle road-worthy once again. The host of the show is a guy called Jay. He says that it’s about more than just the items; it’s about how, “if something’s broken, you can put it back together. And sometimes that’s quite a metaphor for us in life – that if we’re broken, we need to know how we can fix ourselves.”

It reminds me of what happens through Upbeat Communities. Even though I am no craftsman and do not have the workbench, tools, skills or patience to rebuild an antique clockwork music box, I can play my part in helping to restore someone’s dignity and normality. We all can send a text. We can all make a phone call. We can ask how the kids are doing in school. We can deliver some bags of groceries.

The construction of the wall between Mexico and America, as well as the American policy of having to apply for asylum from inside Mexico, has made it much more difficult for people to enter the USA. One of the consequences of this is that more people from central America are applying for asylum here in the UK.

For those wishing to find out more about this area of the world, there is a two-part programme available on BBC iPlayer: Sue Perkins: Along the US-Mexico Border. One half of the old Bake Off host duo, Sue Perkins takes a trip to visit both sides of the infamous wall. She visits Americans living in Mexico, dual citizens who regularly travel over the border, as well as families that are separated by the wall, and those fleeing violence.

Watch it to get a greater insight than the media usually gives. Even better: recommend it to a friend to challenge their preconceptions.

“I came here determined to keep an open mind. But after meeting this vulnerable young family in desperate need, it’s hard not to take a view. It seems to me that public consensus is this wall is to keep Mexicans out. But it’s not just Mexicans, is it? It’s … anybody and everybody else that is starving and in need and wants a better life. And there is no wall that can possibly contain that. It’s about something bigger, isn’t it? It’s about utterly reimagining the way we treat people, and opening doors rather than shutting them in people’s faces. Because the more we shut doors, the more we shut doors on our own humanity.” — Sue Perkins

— Elliot, Project Coordinator and Tutor

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What's On Your Screen?