Guilt Trip (lost unfinished episodes of cancelled BBC Two travel reality series; 2007-2008)

The programme was produced by Celador for BBC Two.

Status: Lost

Guilt Trip was an unfinished four-part BBC Two travel reality series. Produced in 2007 and 2008, it was hosted by Ashley Hames and featured three individuals tasked to re-evaluate their extensive consumption habits, after embarking on two-week international trips to learn how certain luxury items are made via unethical and unsustainable means. Alas, the programme was cancelled before filming was completed on ethical grounds, with the general belief that the contestants were not properly clued into the show's purpose.

Background

Guilt Trip was first announced in a BBC Press Office statement on 26th June 2007. Originally intended to air in Autumn 2007, Guilt Trip was among several shows produced in the mid-to-late 2000s which aimed to promote ethical consumption. The show was produced by Celador, most well-known for establishing Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, as well as other reality programmes that utilised shock tactics like You Are What You Eat. RDF Television was contracted for the show's international distribution; its website reportedly provided a show synopsis, but it appears to have not been archived outside of a few snippets provided by a Campaign report.

Four episodes were planned for the series. The programme's purpose was to feature "pampered people" who appeared to have unhealthy consumption habits, including for jewellery and designer clothes. In each episode, three "guilt trippers" would meet a panel of environmental and societal activists, headed by Lucy Siegle. Siegle is perhaps best known for her extensive environmental and sustainability journalism, having also provided reports for The One Show and articles for The Guardian. Siegle and the panel, upon documenting each participant's background, subsequently booked an international tour designed to give the guilt trippers a reality check concerning the production of their favourite goods. Host Ashley Hames travelled alongside them, having previously embarked on other travel programmes like Man's Work.

Destinations

The destinations included Indian sweatshops and Ghanaian gold mines. To this day, these workplaces and their practices remain controversial in societal and environmental terms. The Indian sweatshop tours exposed the consequences of the demand for designer clothes. Various luxury fashion brands depend on Indian factories for their global supply chains. Often, the workers in these factories are heavily exploited, where they are typically forced to endure long hours, low pay, virtually no employment protection, and beyond-the-pale working conditions. The sweatshops' output, particularly when it comes to "fast fashion", also has a major detrimental impact on the environment. A trip to Ghana's gold mines challenged the guilt trippers' desire for jewellery. It is estimated that about 85% of Ghana's small-scale gold mines are operating illegally. Many such mines are dependent on child labour, which operate under brutal working conditions. The unregulated mines are also wiping out the African country's forests, while its rivers are being contaminated by dangerous chemicals.

Yet, Guilt Trip also had participants reach out to the workers, who financially benefit from Western consumer habits. The programme would raise a double-edged sword regarding the dependency on exploitative production sites. While their operation may be unethical, a sudden closure of sweatshops would devastate the surrounding communities through sharp rises in unemployment and poverty. A similar case is apparent in Ghanaian gold mines; many who work in the illegal mines do so because there are no other viable work opportunities. Upon the conclusion of the two-week tour, the guilt trippers must weigh the benefits and drawbacks of their luxury obsessions, before deciding whether to commit to more ethical consumption patterns.

Cancellation

The original BBC Press Office statement claimed Guilt Trip would air in Autumn 2007. However, a Campaign article clarified the programme would instead be broadcast sometime in 2008. But in April 2008, it was confirmed that the show was scrapped prior to the completion of filming. A Celador spokesman admitted Guilt Trip failed to meet the BBC or Celador's quality standards. A particular concern, also raised by The Sun, suggested that the guilt trippers were not properly clued into the show's purpose, namely exposing the consequences of their consumer habits. Thus, Celador and the BBC concluded that airing the programme would be unethical by potentially exploiting participants. It is unclear how far filming commenced prior to the show's cancellation.

Availability

Following its scrapping, Guilt Trip has become an obscure cancelled BBC Two programme. Outside of the BBC Press Office statement and Campaign article, only a TV Forum discussion of abandoned British shows briefly mentions it. No footage nor images from the show are known to have publicly surfaced and it remains unclear regarding how many episodes were completed before the programme was pulled.