'Party girls' sent to rural Norfolk convent in new reality TV series

Rose Gamble - The Tablet - Sun, Oct 22nd 2017

'It is a very down-to-earth film and although there were some scary moments, we feel it is an honest portrayal and good for the church'

'Party girls' sent to rural Norfolk convent in new reality TV series

A convent in rural Norfolk will feature in a new reality TV documentary following five 'party girls' who spend two weeks living with the Daughters of Divine Charity in Swaffham.

'Bad Habits, Holy Orders', aired by Channel 5 in four parts, follows the girls - amongst them a lingerie model, nightclub hostess and self-proclaimed party girl - as they swap social media, alcohol and make up for prayers and helping the sisters with community outreach.

The documentary is reported to be the first time in a decade in which programme-makers have been allowed to film inside a Catholic Convent in England and Wales.

Sr Francis Ridler of the Daughters of Divine Charity in Swaffham said the sisters had tried to involve the girls in the life of the convent.

"It is a very down-to-earth film and although there were some scary moments, we feel it is an honest portrayal and good for the church," she said.

"When one of them went out and brought a bottle of vodka back – we told them it not appropriate and after discussing it with us they took the vodka and poured it down the sink. I was as concerned about the waste as about them bringing the vodka back, which surprised the girls,” she added.

Sr Francis said she hoped the series would help people to understand better what the sisters do and "are all about." She added that she believed the nuns had "made a difference" to the girls lives.

In an interview with the Times last week, one of the girls, Sarah, said that following her stay in the convent she was the happiest she had ever been.

"I feel really nunnified," she told the Times.

She added: "Lying there [at the convent] I realised how unhappy I had been. Everyone in this generation is chasing social media and ego boosts, but I felt so serene. I felt so at home."

Coinciding with the release of 'Bad Habits. Holy Orders' on Thursday 19 October at 10pm, the Sisters are to run a free pop-up restaurant in Shoreditch - Nundos - between 18 - 19 October.