People Divided Over Children's TV Show Where Adults Are Naked To 'Promote Body Positivity'

A TV show which sees adults appearing naked in front of school children has left viewers divided.

Award-winning series Ultra Strips Down aims to educate children aged 11 to 13 on a broad variety of body types, as a means of promoting body positivity and counteracting body-shaming.

The format sees five adults remove their clothes in front of the children before a question and answer session in which the youngsters ask about anything from hair to body parts.

Ultra Strips Down)

Broadcast on Danish channel DR Ultra, questions asked by the children included: "At what age did you grow hair on the lower part of your body?"

As well as: "Do you consider removing your tattoos?"

The show, which scooped the award for Best Children's Programme at the Danish TV Festival, seeks to dismantle taboos about nudity and body image.

But after a clip of the show went viral on social media, some viewers took to social media to criticise the programme.

Ultra Strips Down)

One Twitter user wrote: "The Danish 'children's' show, 'Ultra Strips Down', claims it teaches kids about body types by having ADULTS STRIP NAKED right before their eyes! The assault on children is real, it's global and it's intentional. ProtectChildren."

Peter Skaarup, a member of the right-wing Danish People's Party, joined in the debate, telling Danish tabloid BT: "It is far too early for children' to learn about male and female genitalia as they already have many things running around in their heads.

He added: "They have to learn it at the right time... so that it is not delivered in this vulgar way, as the children's channel does."

Jannick Schow, who presents the show, has defending the programme against the backlash, explaining that it offers an alternative to the "ninety percent perfect" bodies presented on social media.

Speaking to The New York Times, Jannick said: "Perhaps some people are like, 'Oh, my God, they are combining nakedness and kids'.

"But this has nothing to do with sex, it's about seeing the body as natural, the way kids do."

He went on: "Ninety percent of the bodies you see on social media are perfect, but that is not how 90 percent of the world looks."

Ultra Strips Down)

Jannick explained that safety protocol is a top priority. Children do not have to partake if they do not feel comfortable, and can instead sit elsewhere in the studio.

He added that: "We have had over 250 children in our audience and this has never happened."

Topics: Children, TV and Film, TV News, TV Entertainment

Mary-Jane Wiltsher

Mary-Jane Wiltsher is a freelance lifestyle and culture journalist. Elsewhere she writes for Stylist, Euronews, PHOENIX and What We Seee.