Vivienne Parry

A BBC quest to discover what’s normal

How much exercise do we need? Is eight hours the right amount of sleep? What is the 'average' libido? When does 'normal weight' become 'overweight' or 'obese'? And how do doctors decide if what's going on inside someone's head is normal? 
 
When it comes to our health, what constitutes 'normal'? Who decides, and where do they draw the line? Is 'normal' the same for everyone? And if you don't tick the box marked 'normal', do you need treatment or are you simply different? In these 34 episodes, science writer and broadcaster Vivienne Parry attempts to answer these questions, and work out what 'normal' means with regard to our bodies and minds. 
 
Talking to doctors, patients and a wealth of medical and scientific experts, she considers issues ranging from mental health and physical wellbeing to fitness, child development, parenting and sex. 
 
Over the course of eight series, Vivienne explores topics including cancer, blood pressure, giving birth, dyslexia, drinking, depression, ageing and autism. As she tries to build up a picture of what normality looks like, she discovers that in defining 'normal', we create 'abnormal' - and that in reality, 'normal' is anything but. 
 
'Fascinating stuff' - The Guardian 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Vivienne Parry 
Produced by Anna Buckley, Fiona Roberts, Katy Hickman, Erika Wright, Deborah Cohen, Fiona Hill, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Alison Hughes, Julian Siddle and Pamela Rutherford 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 22 August-12 September 2006 (Series 1), 14 November-12 December 2006 (Series 2), 31 July-21 August 2007 (Series 3), 18 September 2007 (The Sex Lives of Us: Sex), 4-25 March 2008 (Series 4), 30 September-21 October 2008 (Series 5), 24 February-17 March 2009 (Series 6), 2-23 March 2010 (Series 7), 19 July-10 August 2011 (Series 8) 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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