Retail manager who ‘lost herself’ and carpenter who felt ‘old’ get makeovers on 10 Years Younger
A retail manager and a carpenter were left speechless after undergoing makeovers on Channel 5‘s 10 Years Younger in 10 Days – but viewers said they were unimpressed.
Lynn, 49, who travelled to London to meet presenter Cherry Healey on last night’s show, admitted she had ‘lost herself’ caring for her late mother, who had died earlier that year following a battle with a rare form of Parkinson’s Disease.
Meanwhile, at 60, Martyn wanted to reconnect with his younger, confident and fun-loving self after slumping into a rut during the pandemic’s lockdown.
Time had taken its toll on the pair, who both wanted to improve their appearance for the sake of their respective other halves: Lynn’s husband Julian, who had to relocate in Australia, and Martyn’s girlfriend Sophia, who wanted to get her old partner back.
After 10 days of treatments and guidance from the makeover show’s experts, both looked completely unrecognised and blew away their loved ones with their transformations.
However many of those watching were left unsure by the makeovers, with one writing: ‘Starting to think this new series is a spoof! Book look like Quality Streets.’
Lynn, 49, travelled to London to meet presenter Cherry Healey, admitted she’s ‘lost herself’ caring for her late mother, and people thought she looked 10 years older than her actual age left. After her transformation, right, she felt ready to take on the world
Meanwhile another commented: ‘That fashion advisor is dreadful. She’s got the knack of making people look like a sack of potatoes in garish colours.
‘She couldn’t dress someone to look classy if she tried. THey all look like they’ve been in Primark buying the seconds! Pfft.’
Appearing on the programme last night, former retail manager Lynn said she had had to give up her job to care for her mother.
‘For the past eight years it’s been quite a hard job looking after Mum,’ she admitted. ‘The life of a carer is very isolating and lonely.’
At 60, Martyn wanted to reconnect with his younger, confident and fun-loving self after slumping into a rut during the pandemic’s lockdown, left. The show shaved off seven years off his face, right
She explained that after putting all her energy into helping her mother, she had lost herself.
And the eventual death of her mother meant that Lyn was also dealing with grief.
‘It’s been really difficult, dealing with the loss of Mum,’ she said, tearing up. ‘You lose someone you really love.’
Lynn has also been coping with her pain alone, after her husband had to move 10,000 miles away to Australia 16 months ago because of his job.
‘My husband’s job moved to Australia, but unfortunately, due to the pandemic, I haven’t been able to join him,’ she explained.
Speaking via a video link on the show, Julian admitted it has bene ‘really hard for them to be apart, saying: ‘It was never envisaged that we’d be apart for this long.’
‘I was offered to this amazing opportunity to be a finance director for my company and we both decided I had to take this opportunity of a lifetime,’ he explained.
Many of those watching slammed the makeovers and said they would be ‘fuming’ if they had been their own transformations on the show
‘Ordinarily your significant other would be there for you through the grieving process, but we’ve had an enforced estrangement,’ Lynn said. ‘It just feels doubly cruel.’
She said that Julian loves her for who she is, but admitted: ‘If I saw him tomorrow, I would be ashamed of how I look.’
‘I do feel like I’ve pretty much lost my forties and I’d really to feel better for my 50s,’ Lynn said.
‘I think my mum would be disappointed that I’ve let myself go and I think it’s time now to feel better about myself and make my mum proud of myself again,’ she said, fighting back tears.
Meanwhile, partly due to her greying locks and unfussed appearance, members of the public thought Lyn much older than she actually was, putting her age at 59 instead of 49.
Former retail manager Lynn, pictured before, had to give up her job to care for her mother and spent the past eight years looking after her
This news was a shock to the former retail manager, who said: ‘I’m quite shocked. I feel disappointed in myself, I knew I’d let myself go but I don’t think I’d fully appreciate just how much.’
She said: ‘I think I’ve definitely forgotten myself, how I appear, how I dress, and I’d really like if when I rejoin my husband I’d like to be the best possible version of myself.
‘This has really filled me with determination to turn a corner, take some years off and make a difference.
Her first appointment was with celebrity stylist Gemma Sheppard, who taught her how to bring back some fun into her wardrobe.
Lynn tried layering more revealing tops with tasteful kimono jackets and jeans for a daytime look.
Lynn told John Vial she wanted to keep her grey locks and he styled in a slick bob with silver and purple highlights
The appointment helped her to reconnect with the old wardrobe she liked to wear when she was still working.
‘I did use to wear tailored clothes and I will definitely be going out and looking for more structure in my clothes,’ she said.
Her next appointment was with cosmetic dentist Uchenna Okoye, who took a look at Lynn’s decaying and stained teeth.
The 49-year-old admitted she was self-conscious of her smile, saying: ‘I’m actually quite a bubbly vivacious person, but I’m conscious that I’m trying not to smile and laugh as much as I used to.
‘I haven’t seen my husband in the past seven months and to greet him with a nice white smile would just be incredible,’ she added.
She was delighted with the look, which she said was ‘contemporary, glamourous, and powerful’
Dr Uchenna fitted her with veneers to conceal the damage of time on her teeth, and Lynn was delighted with the results.
‘It’s been so long since I’ve had teeth like that,’ she said. I think I underestimated just how much being conscious of my discoloured teeth affected me emotionally and mentally.
‘I’ll definitely be smiling more with my new teeth,’ she said.
On top of an infrared skin treatment from cosmetic expert Nilam Holmes, Lynn’s last appointment was with celebrity hair stylist John Vial.
One thing she was not willing to negotiate on was keeping her grey locks.
‘I’m really passionate about embracing the grey and finding a contemporary, glamourous look,’ she said.
Lynn said her husband Julian would love the new look, and said she felt ready to invest more in herself
John loved the idea of keeping the grey, but advised Lynn on using highlights so that the colour didn’t age her too much.
‘What we need to do is to make sure that we give a modern haircut. The shape and the haircut is everything,’ he told her.
At the end of the 10 days, it was time for Lyn and her loved ones to discover her new appearance.
She was left speechless by how different she looked.
Gemma dressed her in a form-fitting red velvet dress with a plunging neckline, with animal print heels completely the look.
She was delighted with the look, which she said was ‘contemporary, glamourous, and powerful.’
She joked she didn’t think Julian would recognise her, before saying ‘he’s gonna love it.’
While people previously thought Lynn looked ten years older, thanks to her new makeover, a new poll revealed she looked 49, which is her actual age.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve felt good about myself and I just cannot believe that beautiful, glamourous reflection is me,’ she said.
The transformation left Lynn speechless, and brought tears to her eyes as she discovered how different she looked
‘Now that I have taken this step and I can see the results that have been achieved, I am gonna sure I make the time to invest in myself more often,’ she added.
Meanwhile, carpenter Martyn was eager to reconnect with his fun-loving former self, saying: ‘I used to love my social life, I was up for partying as regularly as I could.
‘I used to love playing football, going to the gym, running, taking holidays, keeping myself fit.
But the pandemic, and the isolation of lockdown, had taken a toll on him.
‘I’m not as confident as I used to be about myself,’ he said. ‘I feel as though I’ve lost my way entirely.
‘When I look in the mirror now I do see a scruffy old man, which I don’t like looking at.
His girlfriend Sophia agreed that Martyn was in a ‘rut’, adding: ‘When we first met he was full of life. He’s always want to go out and do social things, all that’s gone.’
‘I want the old Martyn back. At the moment, he is hiding behind a load of facial hair, ear hair.
‘I’m just looking forward to seeing the nice handsome man I know he is,’ she said.
Martyn agreed he needed some extra help to get back on his feet.
Meanwhile, Martyn said he felt he had lost himself completely during lockdown, and that it had affected him emotionally
‘It would be the kickstart that I need to get my life back on track,’ he said. ‘To make Sophia proud would be the icing on the cake.’
His scruffy beard and strong wrinkles made Martyn look older than he was, and people put his age at 66, six years older than his actual age.
He confessed: ‘In the last few months, and probably longer than that I’ve let myself go a little bit.
‘I think lockdown made it even worse, being in my flat 11 weeks without work.
‘I couldn’t motivate myself to do anything,’ he explained. ‘I’m still on the wheel and I want it to stop and get off.
Cherry started Martyn’s transformation by bringing him to a barres class, which is a type of workout inspired by ballet, which is great for the posture,
The makeover helped Martyn recover with his old self and he said it gave him ‘the kick to get his life back on track’
He admitted to Cherry he could feel himself being more ‘hunched.’ as the years went by.
While his job as a carpenter kept him in great shape, he agreed with Cherry that he needed to add a little joy to his workouts.
Cherry said Martyn needed to learn ‘to be happy with a bit less,’ when it came to physical activity.
His second appointment was with Gemma, who was tasked with bringing some life back into his wardrobe.
Martyn explained he used to be a smart dresser who prided himself on his outfits and said he thought his ‘fashion had deteriorated’ over the years.
The stylist reconnected him with his love of fashion, making him try a very smart colour blocked camel look, and a more casual tailored look for the every day life.
‘It’s given me the oomph back I needed to take some pride into my appearance,’ he said.
‘You’ve got me back!’ The carpenter was delighted with the results of his makeover and said it pushed him to take more pride into his appearance
Martyn also met with Dr Tapan Patel, who injected the lines around his eyes and the frowning lines on his forehead with Botox.
Martyn said he could already see the results of the treatment, and was happy with the consultation.
His last appointment was with hairstylist John Vial, who sent him to a barber to have his ear and nose hair waxed.
Martyn asked to keep his beard, but agreed to have it trimmed to shave some more years off his face.
And after his new look was revealed, he was blown away, saying: ‘This will give me the kick that I need.’
After his transformation, people put Martyn’s new age at 53, seven years younger than his actual age, and 13 years younger than people previously thought.
Sophia was also delighted with the results of Martyn’s transformation, saying: ‘Flipping heck. I have got a brand new hot sexy man.’
‘The eyes and the smile, just brought out all his features,’ she gushed.
10 Years Younger in 10 Days airs at 8pm on Thursday on Channel 5.
