I got naked for Channel 4 documentary Life Stripped Bare

Channel 4’s one-off documentary Life Stripped Bare aired a few weeks ago. It examined our relationship with our possessions by taking everything away from participants for 21 days, including their clothes.

All their stuff was put into storage, on the first day they were allowed a “naked dash” to collect one item. Each day, they were allowed to request one item to get back.

You might remember the Cardiff house of participants who one writer described as “every group of mismatched house-mates you’ve ever bumped into at a party.” Amongst that group was former Cardiff student turned feral nurse, 23-year-old Georgia Sheppard.

I spoke to her about just what it’s like to take part in a one-off Channel 4 documentary. And appear naked on TV and in newspapers nationwide, all the while claiming she’s “over pants”.

First of all, how did you end up appearing on Life Stripped Bare in the first place? Were you approached or did you apply?

The production company actually rang our landlord initially and asked if any of his houses would be interested in taking part in a show so he passed on Tom’s number and the rest was history! He definitely regretted ever taking that phone call when he saw his beloved house being completely dismantled on the first day on day zero but I like to think he’s secretly proud of us all. He told us he’s watched the show already.

How long did it take to make the documentary?

The initial contact was made back in October last year and we then went through a number of Skype interviews, visits to Cardiff from various people, visits to London by us, background checks, psych assessments, conversations with our employers and a few nervy moments before we finally got the go ahead to take part.

What was your favourite part of the filming process?

At the start it was all a bit of a novelty to be honest, having a camera capturing your every move. The first container run was definitely a highlight believe it or not and I absolutely love the footage of the naked dash! We got to go and collect one of our items from storage, but we had to get there without any clothes on. We picked up stuff from people’s bins and recycling bins to partly cover ourselves. I used a pizza box, Andrew lucked out and found a towel.

On the day it felt like it was over in seconds so to be able to relive it on the screen is just perfect.

And the relief of climbing into that onesie and regaining use of my hands was another highlight. The strange looks and questions from people when we were out and about were always entertaining for us, especially when we couldn’t really explain ourselves.

Overall I’d probably say the first few days as a whole were the best part of the experience. You’d be amazed how much entertainment you can get from a cupboard full of food when that’s all you’re left with. I’ve never laughed so much in my life!”

Speaking of that naked pizza box dash, I hear people asked why your housemate Andrew (who found a towel) didn’t offer to swap with you!

Yeah, I’ve had a few people ask me why Andrew kept the towel he found and left me with the pizza box but I really wouldn’t have had it any other way. Either way, I’d like to thank my neighbours for being pizza fans and dedicated recyclers and making that happen for me.

Did you find the experience of having your things taken away was difficult?

There were a few hard parts over the three weeks. The initial stripping was painfully awkward and the first week where I went shoeless was just painful full stop.

Night one of zero sleep on a cold hard floor was definitely a challenge. Tom and I sang our way through the whole Disney back catalogue to distract ourselves from what we’d signed up for.

My one single lowest point of the whole experience, though, was about four or five nights in when we had clothes and money so Tom and I decided to go out. We had a few drinks and treated ourselves to a taxi into town only to be turned away because I was barefoot and he had nothing on under his dressing gown. Apparently that’s not appropriate, even for Live Lounge.

Getting her last item back

Why did you choose to get your phone back on the second day? Most people waited a lot longer and your housemate Tom didn’t get it back at all throughout the show.

Getting my phone back was an absolute no brainer, not to be able to get on social media or spend hours playing stupid games, but to get in touch with the rest of our friends. The first night I had it we got my mate Avi to bring us round food and drink (the only things we could buy) so we didn’t have to survive off tepid soup any more. We had more people round the following night and ordered takeaway and used it to play music as well after living in silence for a weekend.

I arranged shifts at work the following week and there’s no way we would have been able to organise such a fabulous party without it. Tom will deny it but he got a fair amount of usage out of my phone too, so it’s not surprising he didn’t need to get his own back. I don’t think smartphones are the root of all evil that people make them out to be, it just depends how you use them.

Are you more conscious of the stuff we accumulate and never use after having it all taken away and brought back?

There was a point where I was faced with a room full of boxes to unpack when I was tempted to just ask the removal men to take it all away again, although that was probably more out of my own sheer laziness than anything else. I definitely think we do take for granted the amount of stuff that we have though. Just simple things like having a choice of what to wear, what to cook for dinner or how to spend your evening are a lot more important than I thought they would be. We gave away quite a lot to charity and a few months on I feel like I’m ready for another clear out already!

Has the experience changed you?

I’d like to think the experience has changed me somehow, even though my life hasn’t changed that much as a result. I have more of an appreciation of what really is a necessity to live and what is a luxury. Even when we had everything taken away we still had a roof over our heads, central heating, clean water, food, friends and family, which is a lot more than some people. That definitely made me realise how lucky I am to be living my life and to have such wonderful people around me.”

She even appeared on BBC Breakfast

Have you been recognised as a result of the show? What happened? Is it annoying?

We’ve been spotted a few times. The night the show was aired we had a viewing party with a load of friends and went out afterwards. I wore my onesie, Tom his dressing gown and Andrew dug out the disgusting towel from the naked run (now a health hazard). We got asked for a couple of selfies that night and have had people come up to us on other nights too to ask about the show. It’s not annoying at all actually, everyone has been really positive so it’s lovely to have that feedback and for people to be so interested in what we went through.

Would you do it again?

I would jump at the chance to do it again, and encourage everyone else to as well. There were a few points where I doubted my decision but having come through it and had the most incredible experience I’m so glad I didn’t. The jealousy of watching the show without me on it would have been horrendous! I had the time of my life.

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