Sessions House to feature in new Channel 5 series 'The House of Extraordinary People'

Beverley based hair and beauty spa, Sessions House, will feature in a new Channel 5 reality series called ‘The House of Extraordinary People’, which starts on Monday 18th March, 10pm. This life-affirming series will air for 3 nights and follows 9 extraordinary people from around the world with unusual appearances, who want to show what it’s really like to stand out because they’re different.

The residents of the House of Extraordinary People include a woman covered head-to-toe in benign tumours, a man with only an upper body, a man with Vitiligo and a 6’10” woman. They all lived together for 10 days in a Yorkshire house to help confront the public’s prejudices and their own fears, such as going swimming and speed dating.

The producers of the show selected Sessions House as a filming location, as they identified it as the leading day spa in the area. They were impressed with the luxurious building and treatments on offer.

All 9 extraordinary people visited Sessions House, and enjoyed a variety of treatments including massages, professional makeup, manicures, pedicures, waxing and blow dries. Whilst this was understandably a daunting experience for many members of the group, several said they had “never felt so special”, which is one of the reasons Sessions House wanted to take part in the series.

Georgina Parkinson, Owner of Sessions House, comments: 

“We were thrilled to take part in filming for The House of Extraordinary People. We pride ourselves on making all people feel welcome at Sessions House, so this was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate our understanding of the many needs and challenges our clients experience.

“For example, we’re currently in training for a new range of medically safe pre/post cancer treatment services. With such a high percentage of the nation now affected in some way by cancer, this has become a high priority for our future treatment list. 

“We want to do anything we can to help make people feel good about themselves, and we hope our involvement in the show empowers more people who feel self-conscious not to worry when visiting a spa or salon.”

As well as visiting Sessions House, residents from The House of Extraordinary People filmed at several other locations in Beverley including The Westwood Restaurant and Beverley Leisure Centre. The scenes filmed at Sessions House are set to air in episode 3, on Wednesday 20th March, 10pm.

The salon and treatment rooms at Sessions House are built within the fabric of a restored 18th century court house located in Beverley’s New Walk. It’s owned by award-winning hairstylist Jimi Parkinson and his wife, Georgina Parkinson, who’ve both run salons for over 30 years. 

The 11,500 square foot hair and beauty spa features a 28 seat salon, eleven treatment rooms, a steam room and two calming relaxation rooms. Sessions House offers a variety of spa packages and has ample free parking for clients.