AFTER spending four years in the African sun, Sarah Widd's face had more than a passing resemblance to a dried prune. Even her freckles had freckles.

But to the rescue came Nicky Hambleton-Jones, the speccy fashion queen with a "sith ifrican" accent so annoying her subjects take her advice just to get her to shut her gob.

Last night's 10 Years Younger was a Christmas special - although to be fair it was exactly the same as the summer's bikini special and the dozens of other non "special" shows in the series.

With her team of hairdressers, dentists, plastic surgeons and stylists the alien-like Hambleton-Jones takes a downtrodden, unconfident middle-aged woman, breaks her down and builds her back up Army-style.

By the end it's a wonder their own family recognise them.

What gets me is how the ethical question of whether or not the participants actually want surgery isn't even asked.

They don't get so much as five minutes to ponder whether they really want flesh slicing, implants inserted and nose cartilage restructured in order to look good.

If Hambleton-Jones decides their boobs and saggy and need perking up so be it - she who pays the piper plays the tune.

We're on about the fourth series of the programme by now - by my reckoning it's only a matter of time before there's a botched boob job or someone's right eyebrow ends up two inches higher than the other when a facelift goes wrong -- Wonder if we'll get to see it?