Going on air in August 1990, The Word both revolutionised youth TV and predated reality TV by many years. Deliberately aiming to achieve something new and exciting, The Word pushed at the conventional boundaries of broadcasting to court controversy and outrage the Establishment.

Combining a unique mix of cutting-edge bands like Nirvana , Oasis and Snoop Dogg, irreverent and anarchic interviews of A-lister guests like Whitney Houston, Dave Chappelle, Bill Hicks, John Lydon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Oliver Reed, with stories from the margins of society and the downright bizarre, The Word soon became loved by its target audience and loathed by the press in equal measure.