Review: I Am The Elephant Man, Channel 4

10:10am Monday 4th August 2008

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HIS story has parallels with Joseph Merrick, the Victorian 'Elephant Man'.

Like him, people wanted Huang to join a travelling circus. But, also like Merrick, Huang was offered hope by a leading doctor. It was like it couldn’t be real when we saw this young man Huang describe what it means to be trapped inside a body that he can't control, so afraid of being laughed at that he has lived as a virtual recluse, never leaving his remote village.

Watching ‘I Am The Elephant Man, a Bodyshock special, last night, it was hard, at first, to see the man behind the tumours. And although Channel Four gives these programmes sensational titles, after five minutes of watching all you care about is the person underneath.

As a small child Huang developed a swelling on the side of his face, but now, at the age of 31 the relentless growth of the tumours has destroyed his features and wracked his body: They now make up half his body weight. Surgery could have helped to control Huang's condition, but his parents, could not afford it. But we how as an adult he made the steps, he had waited his entire life to take, to correct his face with surgery. It’s rare a programme can be so thought provoking that it affects your life, but this one did just that.