Britain's Fattest Man is a television documentary

Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

 broadcast on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 and 4HD on 5 January 2011. It focuses on Paul Mason, who weighed 70 stone

Stone (weight)

The stone is a units of measurement that was used in many North European countries until the advent of metrication. It value, which ranged from 3 kg to 12 kg, varied from city to city and also often from commodity to commodity...

 (444 kg) and was the heaviest man in Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 until a gastric bypass operation saved his life. The documentary follows a year in his life as he undergoes a risky operation to enable him to lose weight.

Ratings

The documentary was watched by 2.63 million viewers on its initial broadcast, giving it an 11.3% audience share in its timeslot. A further 334,000 watched the show on the Channel 4+1 catch-up service. It was the most popular show of the day for the channel.