Staying in
by SARAH SHANNON
PODCAST
Lives Less Ordinary
BBC SOUNDS
BBC World Service’s episode descriptions for Lives Less Ordinary read like movie plots. The Australian who realised his dad was a heroin smuggler and his babysitter was a convicted murderer; the Brazilian football fan who became his club’s president; the French explorer who slid off a cliff in the jungle and was rescued by goats; the Norwegian fisherman who saved a Russian ‘spy’ whale. These stories, from BBC contributors, are proof that truth is often stranger than fiction.
One recent episode told the tale of wannabe Japanese comedian Nasubi, who agreed to take part in an experimental reality show in the 1990s. He was kept in a room, with no clothes or possessions – and could only eat by winning real prizes in magazines. The half-starved man had no idea the show had become a TV hit and his daily struggle was being watched by millions. Nasubi tells the podcast how he tried to come to terms with the experience. A stark reminder of the wild west days of reality TV.
Unforgotten ITV1