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Programme 2: London

Two down, two to go. The remaining six contestants have a week in London in which to develop their characters on their own. The three boys will share one flat, the three girls another.

The boys: walking, waxing and shopping

The boys are each given £100 and one day in which to choose and buy a look for themselves. They are already starting to think more like women, discussing which outfits are flattering to their shapes and thinking about what is fashionable.

Although the boys have made tentative steps towards walking like a woman, they now face more intensive instruction in deportment. Karen Rabinowitz is a movement teacher who specialises in training performers to move in character. She is extremely impressed by the boys. She feels they are growing into their characters, and are quick to learn.

The next part of the male-to-female transition is painful: they find out what it feels like to have their body hair waxed away.

The girls: learning to swagger and losing their hair

The three remaining girls must also concentrate on their movements if they are to make convincing men. Simon Shelton, a choreographer and the actor who plays Tinky Winky (as in Teletubbies), is teaching the girls how to lose the wiggle in their walks. 'They need cockiness — it's as basic as that,' he says.

The next part of the transformation is as traumatic for the girls as waxing was for the boys: they must have their hair cut off. One participant refuses, and opts for braids instead. The other two feel that they have had to lose more in the gender transformation than the men. One says: 'The boys are adding bits and bobs, which they find humorous. It is quite emotional for the girls.'

Voice training

This proves to be one of the most difficult tasks in the Boy Meets Girl experiment. Changing your voice convincingly is all about not going to extremes. The girls cannot pitch their voices too low for fear of sounding monotonous and humourless. The boys need to avoid sounding too camp. But what you say is as important as how you say it. Men tend to be more direct, while women are often apologetic about what they say. Tackling the different ways in which men and women speak illustrates how difficult gender transition is. One of the boys comments: 'It made me realise how much we're dealing with. We have to think of about 400 things at once.'

The first outing

Boys and girls are now ready for their first foray into the outside world: to a pool hall. It shatters the confidence of each participant. One does not dare to talk to anyone; another does not show up at all. All six realise that they must go back to the drawing board before they can spend a day in the shoes of the opposite sex.

Rebecca Hall, one of the judges, gives each participant a task to complete in an attempt to deal with their individual insecurities. One must get a job at a builder's yard; another must collect money on the street (and be confronted by a relative); another has to go shopping; a fourth has a blind date.

Judgement 2

The contestants are subjected to a thorough interrogation by the three judges to determine which characters are strongest and most believable. Two more participants go home disappointed.

The concept | Programme 1 | Programme 2 | Programme 3