Why are men getting penis fillers?
Inside Health
BBC
4.4 • 575 Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Penis fillers were an unexpected talking point at the recent Winter Olympics after claims that male ski jumpers were having them to improve performance.
So this week we’re digging into the UK’s penis filler industry.
James visits a private clinic in Manchester to hear about about the procedure, which involves hyaluronic acid being injected to temporarily increase penis girth.
He meets Jason, who had his first penis filler five months’ ago, and he explains why he wanted it and how he weighed up the risks versus the benefits.
James also chats to an NHS surgeon who says increasing numbers of men are seeking out the procedure - and he is dealing with the consequences when it goes wrong.
Also this week, why is aspirin in short supply?
Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Gerry Holt Editor: Ilan Goodman Production coordinator: Stuart Laws Sound engineer: Emma Harth
The show was made by the BBC’s Audio Science Unit in collaboration with The Open University.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Hello, I've just nipped in before your BBC podcast starts to tell you all about |
| 0:09.4 | You're Dead to Me. We're the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Also from the BBC |
| 0:13.9 | and presented by me, Greg Jenner. I should have told you that at the beginning. Sorry. |
| 0:17.9 | Anyway, like many other BBC podcasts, such as Desert Island Discs, Evil Genius, or In Our Time, your dead to me is available first on BBC Sounds, |
| 0:26.1 | a whole month earlier than anywhere else, in fact. So if you can't wait another day to hear |
| 0:31.1 | the very latest in history and loads of other good stuff, then listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.8 | Hello there and welcome to the Inside Health podcast. I'm James Gallagher. |
| 0:40.7 | Later on, we'll be finding out why there's a shortage of some types of aspirin. |
| 0:45.5 | But first, we're investigating penis fillers. |
| 0:48.9 | It's a procedure to increase the girth rather than the length of your manhood. |
| 0:53.7 | I'll be honest, a year ago, I did not know |
| 0:56.6 | this was a thing. But then that weird story emerged out of the Winter Olympics. Did you hear it? |
| 1:02.1 | Male ski jumpers allegedly using penis fillers to increase the surface area of their suits |
| 1:08.6 | so they could jump further. Well, the inside health team started |
| 1:13.1 | digging into the whole industry of penis fillers. Today, we're going to meet the men who are |
| 1:18.3 | going for it, the clinics offering it, and surgeons who are dealing with the consequences when |
| 1:24.1 | things go wrong. First, I want you to meet Jason. It's not his real name, |
| 1:29.0 | but he agreed to sit and chat. When did you first think about having penis fillers? |
| 1:34.3 | So, it's something I'm denied about for a while, because obviously, you know, it's part of you. |
| 1:39.9 | So you look, you have a look and you're like, hmm, I just wouldn't mind a little bit, you know, a bit more girth, bit more width to it. |
| 1:47.3 | And then you sort of like, start looking into things a bit. |
... |
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