Are we ageist? Actress goes undercover as a 90-year-old
Are we ageist? Actress goes undercover as a 90-year-old
Actress Roxanne Pallett goes undercover to find out if society is really ageist.
Is our society ageist? After a ComRes survey for 5 live found 27% of 55-64 year-olds experienced ageism*, we sent former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett out into a shopping area disguised as 90-year-old 'Doris'.
In just over three hours, she was transformed using prosthetics and was shocked by her new look…
Roxanne / Doris' day: In pictures
At 8am, Roxanne arrived for her makeover – to become 90-year-old 'Doris'.
The 33-year-old is an Age UK ambassador who was raised by her grandmother (pictured, below). Because of her upbringing, Roxanne says she has "a lot of respect for the older generation".
She wanted to find out how people would react to her "90-year-old" appearance because she felt older people were generally "overlooked and ignored and forgotten about" by society.
I feel like Mrs Doubtfire!"Roxanne after having the prosthetic mask fitted
First, Roxanne's hair was pinned up in order to put the wig on. Then the prosthetic mask – which had been made using a cast a few weeks before – was applied by a specialist make-up team.
This is so weird... I'm quite emotional"Roxanne at seeing her new appearance for the first time
After just over three hours in the make-up chair, Roxanne was confronted with her new appearance.
At lunchtime 'Doris' was ready to go. She took a cab from Salford Quays to a shopping area in the region.
During her first hour, Roxanne visited a supermarket and a market.
I feel like crying. I feel irrelevant and ignored and overlooked."Roxanne after one hour of being 'Doris'
She said nobody assisted her, and people had little patience when she was struggling to get money from her purse.
"No one asked if I need a hand," she said, adding: "It was heavy sighs, eye rolling."
For her second stop, "Doris" visited a newsagent and a cafe. She struggled to reach a card on the top shelf for five minutes before a woman came to help her.
The woman serving me talked down to me. I felt like a little kid"Roxanne after "Doris" visited a cafe
At the cafe, "Doris" took a while to order. Roxanne said the woman serving responded by being "condescending".
After taking the mask off, Roxanne gave her final verdict to the 5 live team. Had being "Doris" changed her perspective?
What was Roxanne's verdict?
To find out, you can watch the video here or at the top of the page, and you can hear Roxanne's full story throughout the day by tuning into Radio 5 live, Monday 11 April.
*ComRes interviewed 1,001 British adults by telephone between 11th – 13th March 2016.
