Former Miss Great Britain - Gemma Garrett

In 2008 I had implants because I had asymmetrical breasts - one was a bit bigger than the other and I was very self-conscious about it. However the implants were far too big for my small frame – and even worse they were PIPs (Poly Implant Prothese). I soon became ill and discovered that they had ruptured and had to be removed. I opted not to have them replaced as my faith had been shattered.

The French implants hit the headlines in 2010 after it was revealed that they contained industrial silicone and were more prone to rupture than others. They were banned and the French government recommended that all women with PIP implants have them removed, although the British Government have not gone this far.

I like to keep the implants to show people how “glamorous” they are. It makes me feel emotional looking at them, thinking that they were inside me. Unfortunately the rest of them are still in my body. Who knows what lasting effects they are going to have?

When I was approached to make this programme, (Are My Fake Breasts Safe? - Monday 9pm) I was anxious and excited.  The past year had been so hard for me and I didn't know if I was strong enough to take on the challenge.  I'm now so glad I did!
 
But what about the other 50,000 women in the UK and almost 400,000 worldwide who have been fitted with implants made from industrial grade silicone?  With no-one taking responsibility, they are left desperate. Making this film, I met women affected by the PIP scandal who felt like they had a "ticking time bomb" in their chest.

I’m always quick to complain that women with breast implants are stereotyped but I realised that I’m no different. When I started filming, I fully expected to meet glamour model wannabes and self-obsessed prima donnas.  Instead I travelled the country meeting a whole range of women of different ages who have had implants for many different reasons.

Most shockingly, I spoke to young school girls who are simply undeterred by the PIP scandal. My younger friend, Carly, seemed dead-set on having breast surgery even though she knew about my experience. I’ve told her that there’s nothing wrong with her boobs and that she would be putting herself through a major operation every decade perhaps for the rest of her life.  It has left me wondering if enough information about the risks of plastic surgery is out there.
 
I met mothers who just felt it was the confidence boost they needed after having their children. Other women saw themselves as "deformed" when one breast didn’t grow. One twenty year old I met had implants – not PIPs - because one breast had grown much bigger than the other and the surgery has since caused her major problems.

Many of the women had thought long and hard about surgery and had come to the conclusion that the benefits outweigh the risks. Vicki had PIP implants because she felt totally flat-chested. When she decided to have them taken out, I went with her to the surgery.  The implants were removed just in time - they were starting to rupture. 

The programme sees me tackling the question, “Are my fake breasts safe?"  With more women signing up every year for breast implants, I can’t help but wonder where this pressure to look perfect comes from and if the only safe way of having bigger boobs is to wear a padded bra?

Are My Fake Breasts Safe? is on Monday 21st May at 9pm.

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Well last night’s show saw Free Speech reach new levels of debate, with topics getting the panel fired up, the studio audience fired up, and you guys at home SO fired up that we were a global trending topic on Twitter. High five yourself right now.

We don’t know about you but we feel for the panel sometimes, facing the comments, the questions and the Power Bar of truth. Here’s what last night’s panellist Cherry Healey had to say on it all…

I was utterly terrified before I went on stage and I thought everyone would be able to tell, but as I got in to it I realised it was nothing to worry about.

The discussion flowed, the other panellists were really interesting, and the questions from the audience were great.

But it went so fast! It disappeared in a flash, and I didn’t have a chance to say everything that I wanted to. But that wasn’t the point. Free Speech isn’t here to solve the issues being discussed, it’s here to set the debate and get people thinking, and it's got me thinking.

The audience was brilliant. I would have been disappointed if they hadn’t got fired up - I was expecting that and Bristol well and truly delivered. The one guy who was shouting a lot definitely got some air time, and was passionate to say the least. Although he maybe stopped some other people asking questions that they were waiting patiently to ask, he did seem to unite the audience and made us all laugh a couple of times as well.

I felt that some audience members took a bit too much time to make their points, and occasionally it felt like they were going off track, but then I guess they might say the same about us on the panel!

I would have liked to have engaged with the audience a bit more, maybe with some back and forth like Kojo and Jamal did, but in the heat of the moment everyone is trying to speak so it’s understandable to come off and wish you could do it again.

I was really surprised at how many of the audience and panel were up for re-thinking the drugs policy. I thought there would be way more people opposing the idea of decriminalising drugs, but a lot of people seemed to have a well thought out argument in favour of it. There is a big difference though between legalising and decriminalising, and I wish I’d made more of a point of that now.

As for the Power Bar, I would love to be the kind of person who wouldn’t mind about what it says, but obviously that’s hard to do. I was nervous for the reaction but it was really interesting to see how the audience were responding as the show was happening.

Kojo, Cherry Healey, Jamal Edwards and Michelle De Swarte head home.

The debate continued for the panel as three of us shared a train home, and for anyone following the banter on Twitter you’ll know it was quite an interesting ride!

Free Speech for me was as it should be; exciting, nerve-wracking and thoroughly thought-provoking.

So that’s what Cherry made of it all, but what about you? Free Speech is shaped by your opinions so please do tell us what you thought either in the comments below, or on our Facebook page or Twitter.

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I was gonna clean my room, until I got high. Or so said Afroman. 

But with a recent Guardian survey revealing that more Brits have tried cannabis than they have energy drinks, maybe he was right.

So Free Speech has decided to head to Bristol for a debate on the legalisation of drugs, live tonight at 8pm.  

It’s a topic that has sparked MASSIVE conflict online already, with hundreds of you posting reactions to our drugs video we launched in last week’s blog. If you haven’t yet watched it, check it out below:

But we’re not just talking drugs tonight. No no… we’re also talking about the big issues you’ve been stirring up over the last month on our Facebook and Twitter. One of those issues is unemployment, where a recent Bristol study found that 56% of young black males are out of work. We’ll be asking whether employers need to take some kind of positive action and actively give young black men more opportunities.

We’re also talking private schools, sexism in rap music and a little bit of footie, if we have time. Cos that’s what you’ve been talking to us about, and every Free Speech show is defined by what you’re discussing.

Joining Jake and Michelle is an awesome line up of opinion makers, movers and shakers:

Jamal Edwards: Founder of online youth channel SB.TV, Jamal is one of the most sought after young entrepreneurs of the moment. 

Cherry Healey: The star of many a quirky BBC3 documentary, Cherry is known for asking questions and getting answers on subjects people might otherwise ignore. You can read her own blogs here. 

Kojo: Dubbed 'The Fresh Prince Of Hackney' Kojo is a talented comedian, DJ and Choice FM Breakfast Show presenter. 

Alexandra Swann: Once described as ‘the future face of the UK Independence Party’, Alexandra is a rising star in the world of right wing politics.

But we don’t just want to hear what these four have to say. We want to know what you think about what they have to say, and we measure that using our amazing twitter based opinion tracker: The Power Bar. 

Using the right twitter hash tags you can say whether you agree or disagree with each panellist, and in real time you’ll charge their power bar either up or down. 

If you’re not on Twitter then chill your beans and hop on to Facebook instead. We’ve got hundreds of people posting all the time giving their thoughts on the daily debates, both on and off air. 

And if you’re a social media sloth and aren’t on either, you can leave a comment in the box below. Michelle will be reading as many comments as she can live throughout the show from Twitter, Facebook and the blog – so get commenting. NOW!

Free Speech is on an earlier time slot this week: 8pm, BBC3, Wednesday 16th May.  

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