Stephanie Woodside was so self-conscious about the bump on her nose that she’d get chills when she sensed someone staring at her.

So when the 24-year-old single mom found out she could get a free nose job – and more – if she allowed ABC to broadcast her operation and recovery, she jumped at the offer.

Woodside is one of three people featured in ABC’s “Extreme Makeover,” scheduled at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The hourlong special follows two women and a man who went through personal overhauls that involved plastic surgery, cosmetic dentistry, Lasik eye surgery and liposuction.

Executive producer Howard Schultz said finding the right people for the show took months.

Along with background checks, finalists took psychological tests that were designed to filter out mentally unstable candidates and people who would have reacted negatively to their new look.

“We were looking for strong, confident people who were dealt a bad deck of cards in the looks department,” said Schultz, whose crew interviewed nearly 1,000 people. “We wanted people for whom surgery would change their life and those who couldn’t afford it otherwise.”

ABC casting agents posted an application for the show last summer at www.abc.com and chatted it up on radio stations in several cities where they interviewed makeover hopefuls.

“When I heard about the show on the radio, I thought I was exactly the type of person they were looking for, and I really wanted plastic surgery,” said Woodside, who also had breast augmentation and liposuction.

In addition to Woodside, Stacey Hoffman, a 31-year-old medical aide, underwent several facial surgeries, and Luke Seewoster, a 29-year-old personal trainer, had a nose job and liposuction.