Documentary on the Knockers.
A new strand of contemporary documentaries opens with Ian Taylor's moving film about Stephen Pegg and his fight against Motor Neurone Disease. The crippling, degenerative illness, which struck out of the blue in 1987, has robbed the former teacher and football referee of the use of his limbs and voice, but his small daughter provided the inspiration for the writing - with a pointer attached to his forehead, which has now become a central point of Stephen's life.
To become a Para, one of the army's elite, you must pass a ferocious selection test - a frightening three weeks in P Company - stretched to the limit and beyond, both physically and psychologically. Thirty-nine potential recruits volunteer, only a handful survive to pass.
This programme followed England football manager Graham Taylor through the 18 months before his team's failed attempt to win through to the World Cup Finals. It reveals a man dealing with extreme pressures. It includes the controversial Kosman incident in the deciding match in Holland, the England dressing room, Taylor telling David Platt he is no longer the England captain, an FA Council meeting where Taylor defends Gascoigne's behaviour, and the press conference before the Holland match.
When members of Britain's Armed Forces break military law, they are sent to a military detention centre, nicknamed 'The Glasshouse'. Today, the only Glasshouse is outside Colchester, housing under guard 300 men and women who have fallen of the military disciplinary system. T he maximum sentence is 2 years; most serve just a few months. The regime is said to be the toughest and strictest of any corrective training establishment. Most who go never return there. They face a relentless daily routine of military drill and kit inspections. But the system rewards those who co-operate as much as punish those who buck it.
Documentary following a year in the life of Paul Gascoigne; after he returned to England after spending three years in Italy.
This Cutting Edge documentary views the end of the 1979 - 1997 Conservative era through the opinions of a group of Home Counties dinner party guests
A look behind the scenes at The Sport newspaper, which is ten years old this year.
Cutting Edge documentary about the ups and downs of two plasterers.
Behind-the-scenes at Britain's only academy for flirts, where former corporate trainer and assistant editor of men's magazine `Forum' Peta Heskell puts the students through their paces.
A documentary constructing a case for freeing Reggie Kray from prison.
Looking for Ricky' is an investigation into the disappearance of Ricky D'Cotta, a London boy who left east London for the Tenerife 80's club scene and never returned. It begins with interviews of people who knew Ricky as a boy, and then moves out to the island to try and trace Ricky's last moves in Tenerife. The story develops into an expose of the islands drug-fueled criminal underworld, in which everyone, from the editor of the local paper to the police, seems somehow implicated. In the course of the film it is discovered that 5 unidentified bodies exist, which may be Ricky's remains. Although DNA tests using samples from Ricky's family prove inconclusive, the final statement from Ricky's best friend reveals that Ricky was almost certainly murdered, following a botched robbery of a local drugs baron.
Former advertising journalist Brian Davis is homeless and penniless. A published author he now lives on the streets in London, an alcoholic and suffering from mental illness. But, he says, he's determined to turn his life around.
In any society a mother's love for her child is thought to be sacred. Late in 2003 in an American court that most universal of instincts was being called into question. A jury had to decide if Terri Milbrandt had violated the trust of her daughter and perpetrated a sadistic fraud, deceived a caring community
Documentary about a hostel for homeless alcoholics in East London, so-called 'wet houses' because they allow drinking on the premises.
In this documentary a group of boys is "isolated" for five days in a fully equipped house, with food, games, beds, toys etc. They are closely followed by a camera crew. We can observe how the boys react without any supervision and behave towards eachother. The result is mind boggling. After five days all the food is spilled mostly on the floor, most games and toys are broken, and the house is wrecked. The parents, who have been watching their sons for the past five days, are stunned when the boys leave the house.
Filmmaker Liviu Tipurita investigates the pan-European trafficking of children for sex.
A 'social experiment' fly-on-the-wall documentary following 10 12-year girls left alone to fend for themselves in a house without adult supervision.
15-year old Heather is on a journey into the spirit world. Guided by her mother, she's meeting a talking to dead people. 8-year old Oliver sees dead people. They just appear randomly and then vanish. Both Oliver and Heather's mothers believe their children are at a critical point in their spiritual development. This film follows them over three months on their extraordinary journeys.
Alex is a boy who suffers from a severe form of Cystic fibrosis. He is also a gifted composer and musician. While suffering from the disease he undertakes the tough challenge of conducting Bach's Magnificat at Eton.
A look at people who claim insurance either illegally by scamming or legally, and the companies which are responsible for paying out.
Looking at the life and downfall of the tenth Earl of Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, who went missing in 2004. A millionaire philanthropist, he gradually fell into a lifestyle that included drugs and womanizing, and ended up on the French Riviera spending his time and money in hostess bars.
Follows the stories of three young children who preach the word of the Lord.
One street. 116 households. What goes on behind closed doors? Happy stories. Sad stories. Hopeful stories. Remarkable stories. It could be any street but this is My Street.
Two ten-year-old (female) best friends find themselves being kidnapped outside of their local school by a notorious pedophile. This film tells of their ordeal, their eventual rescue and the outcome of the events that took place.
A look at the people who work in call centers and are frequently (and often unfairly) on the receiving end of the customer's anger.
A look at four young girls and how the they deal with their unplanned pregnancies in a Liverpool hospital ward.
Ian Hamilton is a macho, muscle-bound Paratrooper, who has served for decades in numerous war zones – all the time secretly battling with the inner turmoil of feeling like a woman living in a man's body. Film-maker Jane Preston's Cutting Edge documentary paints an intimate and raw portrait of the remarkable year in which Ian undertakes the transgender journey to become Jan.
A look at nine months in the lives of two half-sibling couples, whose incestuous relationships began after reuniting as adults.
A look at Alain Robert, dubbed the Human Spider, who scales some of the world's tallest buildings without the aid of ropes or safety equipment, despite suffering with epilepsy.
Exploring the effect overprotection can have on children.
British tourist Meredith Kercher was murdered whilst in Italy. This documentary gives an insight into the events that took place up to her death.
An insight into the competitive world of child Thai boxing.
Britain's oddest forgers.
Documentary looking at three large families who between have over thirty children but, they still intend on having more.
A look at UK traffic jams and how they affect the drivers involved
The story of Tania Head, who lied about surviving the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and claimed she lost her fiancé and made a miraculous escape.
An look at America's purity movement. The purity movement involves girls pledging to remain a virgin until their wedding day.
Dana is an 8-year-old anorexic. This film looks at her time at a clinic to treat her disorder and how it affects people around her.
A group of Narcolepsy sufferers from the UK head to America to attend a Narcolepsy conference to gain an insight into their condition.
Two teams of builders (one from England, the other from Poland) compete to see who can build a housing extension most efficiently.
A moving portrait of Kate, a mother who supports and loves her 20-year-old heroin-addicted daughter, Hannah despite her addiction
Tells the story of some of the other men born on the same day as their most illustrious contemporary.
Documentary on the impact of the wealth gap in the UK on a couple of teenagers
Documentary about disabilities in family pets.
A documentary following members of the Jackson Five as they search for a new home in the Devon fishing village of Appledore.
An insight into the lives of public safety inspectors.
Sensitive account of the terrible affect of a serial killer on the previously quiet town of Ipswich, with heartfelt interviews with relatives and residents.
Stuart Robinson is a man who travels around the world to chase storms. This documentary follows follows his quest to get into the eye of the storm in America and the impact it has on his wife.
A look at a collection of births, marriages and deaths that all take place on one day.
A look at the growing dispute between UK residents and bin men.
Looking at serial surrogates. Questioning women who give birth to other people's children are addicted to the process and the effects it can have on their health.
A look at parents who are determined to go to any lengths to ensure their children are successful within a chosen sport.
Showing the heroic acts of courage members of public have performed to save a person's life.
An investigation into a case of double-murder, suicide and arson in a Shropshire mansion
Follow up to the 1999 film, Fifteen. 10 years later the film follows the progress of Kimberley, a mum of two children; after having one child taken off her by social services she is determined not to have the other taken away. The film also explores her life with her new boyfriend and tries to find out what makes a good mother.
A look at UK citizens who live in different areas called Wall Street and are suffering because of the recent recession.
Two years after the disappearance of Madeline McCann, what was life like for the parents involved? This documentary tries to piece together the evidence to find out what really happened.
Follows life and death stories of ill children undergoing emergency surgery in the womb.
The story of Jaycee Lee Dugard, a girl who was kidnapped outside a school bus stop and found alive eighteen years later.
Red Lion is the most common pub name in England. Director, Sue Bourne explores the people which inhabit the Red Lion pubs.
Emily Horne is 30 and has been married to five different men but she never got divorced. The documentary looks behind the headlines to reveal the truth about her life.
Following Michael Perham, a 14-year-old schoolboy from Potters Bar as he tries to break the record for the youngest person ever to sail around the world.
A look at the day in the life of a traffic warden, as seen through the eyes of recently recruited non-British traffic wardens.
Revealing the life of three-year-old Jess. Her condition has baffled experts which led her to be dubbed Britain's Youngest Sleepwalker.
Follows young upper-class women as they prepare for the Queen Charlotte Ball.
What do you do if you really want to have a girl and you just keep on having boys? Keep trying, like the Bowens have, for 21 years? Forty three year old Wendy Bowen has eight boys and is still desperate for her dream girl, and her biological clock ticking has turned it into an obsession. She's not alone though, across Britain there are women like Wendy who suffer from a psychological condition called 'Gender Disappointment'. Michelle Priestley, from Bedford, loves all things girly and feminine. She never imagined herself as a mum of four boys. She loves her children dearly but at 37, is getting desperate for a daughter. Michelle has persuaded husband Jason to give it one last try for a girl. There is a growing online community of parents using the internet to research ways of swaying the sex of their baby. Michelle is a regular visitor to an American website and has followed some fairly unusual natural gender swaying methods from it, such as dietary supplements, herbal extracts, and timing sex for a particular day. During the build up to the day of her scan for her fifth child, tensions are running high. Michelle's anxiety is getting to her and her family. The cameras are with her when she finds out if she's finally going to have that longed for daughter. In Plymouth, 40 year old Nicola Trathen, decided six years ago that enough was enough after her fourth boy was born. She had heard of a way of choosing the sex of a child through a method called PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis), similar to IVF but the sex of the fertilised egg is determined and selected to implant into the mother accordingly. Gender selection, as Nicola was to find out, is not available in the UK for 'family balancing'. Legislators state that the social reasons are not strong enough. There are also concerns that without this ban, designer babies could become a huge market, and internationally it could exacerbate pre-existing social tendencies to favour sons. Nicola does not agree an
Cutting Edge follows four eight-year-old girls as they adjust to a new life away from their parents and their home. Each of their parents has decided that their child will be better off boarding in a private school, in this instance Highfield, one of the best boarding schools in the UK. But how do they cope being separated from their families at such a young age? And how in particular do the mothers deal with the difficult decision of sending their offspring away to be educated?
ncient traditions meet modern fashions in an ostentatious culture clash in the world of 21st-century gypsy and traveller weddings. Gaining rare access to this fascinating and often misunderstood community, Cutting Edge uses the prism of the weddings to reveal a culture where brides compete to have the biggest dress but having children out of wedlock is still taboo and divorce is unheard of. Considered 'on the shelf' at 20, many girls in Gypsy and Traveller communities get married soon after their 16th birthday with the support of their family. The weddings are visual spectacles: girls parade into church in enormous dresses that sometimes weigh more than the bride herself. Although the women look sexually provocative there is a tradition of premarital chastity that is increasingly unusual in Britain today. This is a community that lives alongside but detached from mainstream society. It is a community of contrasts, living by centuries-old religious and cultural traditions but at the same time embracing the gaudier extremes of the celebrity- and fashion-obsessed times in which we live.
Cutting Edge enters the world of No Win, No Fee. Can you really get thousands of Pounds if you cut yourself shaving? And is a primary school liable if a child stubs his toe in the playground?
Cutting Edge meets writers for True Life magazines, and those who've confessed all, entering a world of jailed cannibals and bum implants
Cutting Edge follows three boys shortlisted for the Peter Beckwith Scholarship, which could pay for them to attend Harrow School, on the day that two boys are chosen for the scholarship.
Cutting Edge follows the new editor of The Lady, as she tries to turn around the fortunes of Britain's longest-standing women's weekly magazine.
Cutting Edge gains access to the missions undertaken by medical staff and pilots in the RAF's Critical Care in the Air Support Team, flying from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. As they bring injured servicemen and women back from Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, the C-17 Globemaster, one of the world's largest military aircraft, is transformed into a hospital with everything needed to bring wounded personnel home in less than 36 hours.
Cutting Edge follows the story of two families whose children died abroad, and their quest to uncover the truth behind their deaths.
A profile of veteran entertainer Bruce Forsyth and his wife, Wilnelia Merced.
How have gay millionaires Tony and Barrie Drewitt-Barlow's determination to have more children affected them and their kids?
Cutting Edge follows one of Britain's most prolific base jumpers and his right-hand man as they jump from the top of some of the country's most famous landmarks and escape death by pulling their parachute just seconds from impact. 'Base' is a secretive, underground community that likes to play while the city sleeps, and the 'bandit jumpers', as Dan and Ian are known, cruise the streets, searching for buildings to sneak into, climb up and jump from. Dan and Ian have leapt from some of Britain's iconic structures, such as Nelson's Column, The Millenium Dome, Wembley Stadium and Blackpool Tower. Dan and Ian explain that a successful jump gives an unbeatable high, but the lows are often fatal. One wrong turn or gust of wind can result in a very serious accident. Since base jumping was invented there have been 144 deaths, meaning one in six people who take up the sport are killed. Dan is a natural athlete who has escaped serious injury in over 800 jumps, but the risks he's taking are spiralling to more dangerous extremes in search of thrills. Now, he even goes out on his own during the night on a 'base crawl', leaving his girlfriend to worry whether he will return. Ian has earned a reputation among his jump buddies as being accident-prone. In 2009, he was almost killed when he smashed into the side of a building after his parachute opened incorrectly. Film makers Rob Davis and Alastair Cook question the drive to keep going back to a sport that jeopardises their lives and also their relationships with their families and partners. Can they really marry the two or will they be forced to make a choice to decide their future? Every jump relies on an element of luck and these men know they are playing russian roulette, yet they cannot kick the habit. With stunning and exhilarating images throughout, the documentary follows the spectacular jumping exploits and near-death experiences of Dan and Ian over the course of a year, seeking to gain psychological insight i
Since it started in 1994, the National Lottery has created over two and a half thousand new millionaires. This Cutting Edge film tells the story of a number of lottery winners and the moment their lives were suddenly turned upside down, revealing their extraordinary experiences and capturing their lifestyle today. Jackpots and Jinxes: Lottery Stories also enters the mysterious halls of Camelot to discover the inner workings of the organisation behind the lottery. The film makers gain insight into how Camelot manage the lucky ticket holders and their friends and family by filming with new winners before they decide to make their identities known. And they meet the staff - from the weights and measures man who calibrates the balls, to those taking the potential winners' calls, to the person who helps them to decide whether to keep their win a secret or go public with the news. Some of Britain's luckiest people open up about what it's really like when your fortune changes overnight; some revel in their newfound celebrity, whereas others find their win has caused surprising challenges and difficulties in their lives. As well as seeking to answer the questions all of us have when we imagine winning the lottery - what will you buy first, who would you give money to, would a lottery win really change your life? - this humorous and touching film also delves deeper into some of the best winners' stories to explore just how profoundly their lives have been altered. Mark Gardiner, who was one of the first lottery winners 16 years ago, is fully aware of the highs and lows of winning the jackpot and during the film, advises a winner who is struggling to come to terms with their sudden wealth. Five years ago, Tony won £2.2 million but soon after discovered the true cost of love when he divorced his wife and had to pay her almost half the money. Ray and Barbara Wragg won £7.6 million and have given nearly £6 million away to family, friends and charities - their win has
This Cutting Edge film explores one of the longest-running, most emotionally charged battles in British medical history. In one corner, a pioneering doctor who dared to accuse mothers of abusing their own children. In the other corner are the mothers who counter-claim that the doctor was the abuser - using his power so that he could research on the children to test his own medical theories. With unprecedented access to both sides of the story, this authored documentary by Bafta award-winning film-maker Leo Regan explores the controversy surrounding paediatrician Dr David Southall and the group of mothers he accused of abusing their children. Filmed over two years, Regan gets to the heart of this war between doctors and mothers and tries to find out who's telling the truth.
The expansion of the EU and open borders in the UK have led to a surge in foreign criminals heading for Britain. The number of requests for wanted fugitives has risen ten-fold over the past five years and now totals more than 4300 a year. Over the course of three months Cutting Edge has unique access to New Scotland Yard's Extradition Unit as they track down murderers, suspected rapists and armed robbers from abroad. A record 1500 foreign fugitives are now arrested each year and with more and more coming to these shores it's a job that is stretching the unit and its officers to the limit. Some of these criminals go to extraordinary lengths to evade capture, changing their name and ID, so it's a painstaking and often frustrating experience tracking them down. The film-makers are there as officers follow up on leads tracing potentially dangerous criminals, and capture high-tension arrests as the unit's hard work finally pays off. The cameras are also with the unit when it deals with some of its biggest ever high profile cases, including the arrest of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, wanted in Sweden for alleged sex crimes, and the arrest of Shrien Dewani, wanted in South Africa in connection with the death of his wife, Anni, on their honeymoon. Other cases include the hunt for Hungary's most wanted fugitive, a Turkish man who conducted an honour killing, a suspected Croatian war criminal and an alleged serial rapist who's escaped the French authorities and who they must close in on before it's too late
Colin Blanchard, Vanessa George, Angela Allen, Tracy Lyons and Tracey Dawber provoked widespread revulsion and made international headlines after their sexual offences against children came to light in 2009. With unique access to the police investigation, Cutting Edge is the first film to take an in-depth forensic look at this criminal web, detailing how it operated, and what motivated the five people within it. This carefully crafted, sensitive and revealing documentary uses police interviews with the offenders, and first-hand testimonies from family members of the offenders and the parents of a possible victim. Chilling unseen police evidence from a multi-force inquiry is pieced together in an attempt to understand how Colin Blanchard persuaded four women - all mothers - to abuse children. The film also reveals the painstaking police investigations in Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Plymouth and Portsmouth that led to five arrests and subsequent successful convictions. To understand the emotional and psychological fallout for those most intimately affected by the ring, the film-makers hear from the parents of a child who attended the Little Ted's Nursery in Plymouth, where Vanessa George worked. Unaware of the secret lives of their loved ones, the perpetrators' relatives also talk candidly about how the legacy of abuse continues to affect them. The husband of one of the offenders gives detailed insight into the trauma of betrayal. And in another powerful interview, a close relative of one of the female abusers - a young woman who has been forced into hiding - describes how she was driven from her home after the news was made public.
Alan Turing is the genius British mathematician who was instrumental in breaking the German naval Enigma Code during World War II, arguably saving millions of lives. He was also the visionary scientist who gave birth to the computer age, pioneered artificial intelligence and was the first to investigate the mathematical underpinnings of the living world. Turing is one of the great original thinkers of the 20th century, who foresaw the digital world in which we now live. In the eyes of many scientists today Turing sits alongside Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin at the table of scientific greats. Turing's achievements went unrecognised during his lifetime. Instead he ended up being treated as a common criminal, for being homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were a crime. In 1952, he was convicted of 'gross indecency' with another man and was forced to undergo so-called 'organo-therapy' - chemical castration. Two years later, he killed himself with cyanide, aged just 41. Alan Turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation he'd done so much to save. In the last 18 months of his short life, Turing visited a psychiatrist, Dr Franz Greenbaum, who tried to help him. This film brings Turing's ideas to life by dramatising this relationship and these sessions, based on historical records, Turing's writings, and accounts of those who knew him. The film includes the testimony of people who knew and remember Turing. Plus, contemporary experts from the world of technology and high science, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, bring Turing's exciting impact up to the present day, explaining why, in many ways, modern technology has only just begun to explore the potential of Turing's ideas.
With exclusive access to Mark Kennedy, Britain's most controversial undercover police officer, this gripping and revelatory documentary tells the definitive, inside story of Mark Stone/Kennedy. Directed by BAFTA Award-winner Brian Hill and narrated by Kennedy, the Cutting Edge film also features interviews with the police to reconstruct the story of how Mark Kennedy went from being a regular south London police officer, with a wife and two children, to becoming Mark Stone. This was Mark the environmental campaigner, militant activist and undercover cop who broke into power stations, learned how to make bombs, infiltrated groups hell-bent on attacking major corporations and stood arm-in-arm with anti-capitalist anarchists. He also had a relationship with a female activist for four years and was even beaten up by fellow police officers who were unaware he was undercover. All the time he was feeding intelligence back to his handlers. Now, with his cover blown, he lives in fear for his life. He is separated from his wife and family. The woman he fell deeply in love with as Mark Stone never wants to see him again. For the first time, Kennedy is returning to face up to himself, his actions and to the people who claim he betrayed them.
Cash-strapped Britain is in the grip of a bargain-hunting boom. Every week a staggering 40 million of us use money-off deals and voucher sites to buy anything from holidays to clothes, car insurance and even dental care. Cutting Edge takes an entertaining and revealing look at the lives of some of the country's thriftiest people, from frugal families obsessed by discount vouchers and competitions to a penny-pinching bride who's determined that her wedding day will cost less than the price of the average wedding dress. The Ultimate Guide to Penny Pinching offers a warm insight into the lives of people who take watching the pennies to new extremes. Thirty-eight-year-old Judith is a voucher-loving midwife who can slash her supermarket bill from £50 to less than five pounds. By the age of 15, Judith had opened 170 bank and building society accounts to get the free gifts they were offering to children. Her family also live by Judith's cost-effective ways, using solar panels to heat their hot water and missing showers when the weather is bad, or eating the same meals for weeks because it was bought on offer. For Judith getting a discount or using coupons is a way of life. Betrothed bargain hunters Rebekah and Steven believe you don't have to spend thousands to have your dream wedding, but neither does it have to look cheap. Rebekah is having her dress made by her mum, she'll arrive at the ceremony in a minicab, and the flowers are from the local supermarket. Together with their finger buffet and alcohol-free reception, the couple's overall wedding spend is less than the average cost of a photographer. Cost-cutting carnivore Jonathan reckons he saves £1500 a year by replacing meat from the butcher with freshly collected roadkill. When friends come over for dinner, their barbeque could be anything from squirrel to pheasant, and it can often be a guessing game around the table. IT worker Jalaj uses the latest technology to ensure he pays rock-bottom
The British hospitality industry is under attack. Businesses are being assaulted by ever-more nit-picking and abusive reviews. It's bad for their livelihoods and their sanity. But it's not the professional critics who are reviewing their hosts; a nation of virtual AA Gills and Michael Winners are using the Trip Advisor website to get their own back on hotels and restaurants. With more than 40 million users a month, Trip Advisor is the largest and most powerful travel guide in the world. But is it a force for good that gives the customer a voice, or an abuse of power that undermines businesses and ruins lives? How long can Britain's small businesses cope with relentless criticism before they pack it all in? This Cutting Edge film reveals Britain's most meticulous Trip Advisors and meets some of the hoteliers and restaurateurs at war with the site.
In a pretty English village in the Surrey stockbroker belt lives the infamous Mr Wallace, whose hoarding habits have spread across a million pounds-worth of property that used to belong to his parents. His detached bungalow, four-bedroom semi-detached house and separate double garage are all stuffed from floor to ceiling with newspapers and other household items. Cutting Edge is given unique access into his intriguing home, where no one else has ever ventured. Mr Wallace is arguably the UK's most extreme hoarder and his house has become a death trap. It is so packed that he has to crawl over mountains of papers and magazines simply to move from room to room; it takes 40 minutes to get to his front door from the chair he eats and sleeps in. The garden also acts as a dumping ground for tonnes of refuse so old that it is overgrown by foliage and trees.
Cutting Edge explores the world of extreme Christmas decorating, meeting people who adorn their houses in festive regalia every year, and finding out why they do it
Every year in Britain, more than 600 people commit murder. The majority of these killers will eventually be sent to Gartree Prison in Leicestershire.
Ian Brady, psychopath, sadist and child murderer, has been in captivity for nearly 50 years, but he is still a powerful and disturbing presence in the nation's consciousness. This Cutting Edge film, which has unprecedented access to those closest to Brady, charts his ongoing attempts to influence and control those around him. When acclaimed director Paddy Wivell set out to make a film about Ian Brady's legal bid to be transferred from a psychiatric facility to a prison, he had no idea that he would find himself witnessing one of Brady's notorious power plays. At the outset of filming, Wivell met the solicitors and psychiatrists who've been closely involved in his cases over the last decades, many of whom would be speaking publicly for the first time. But a meeting with Brady's mental health advocate for the last 15 years changed the course of the film. His mental health advocate is also one of the executors of Brady's will and recently applied for power of attorney for his health and welfare. Following Brady's seizure and the subsequent indefinite postponement of his mental health tribunal, she discloses, on camera, some startling information that appears to present further important evidence of Brady's ongoing attempts to assert power over the victims' families. This film presents the inside story of the Moors Murderer since his crimes were discovered and charts his continued determination for power and control.
In Britain, chicken used to be a luxury. We used to eat the equivalent of just one a year. Now we slaughter over three and half million a day - and eat more of it than any other meat. How and where we eat chicken has changed and our high streets are changing with it. There are now over 2100 chicken shops in the UK in a fast-food market worth over £4 billion per year. Roosters Spot is an up and coming franchise in the increasingly competitive market of fried chicken. Exploring the phenomenal rise in public affection for everything fried chicken through a single shop in south London, this Cutting Edge documentary offers a unique and intriguing insight into contemporary London life. A 'mini-rig' of fixed cameras provides unprecedented access to Roosters Spot's flagship store on south London's party-strip, Clapham High Street. Flooded with regulars in the week and revellers on the weekend, it's a space that feels unpredictable at times and life-affirming at others. No two days or nights are the same, and at the weekend the staff serve up to a thousand customers a night and stay open until 6am.The Roosters team, working on both the front line and breadline of Britain, reveal their personal experiences of what it's like to serve the great British public. The Chicken Shop is a place anyone can come, anything can happen and where, most of the time, anything goes.
With 675,000 burglaries reported each year and a house broken into every 47 seconds, Britain is the most burgled country in the EU. With exclusive access to the police force tackling the problem in Britain's most burgled neighbourhoods, in Leeds, Cutting Edge takes viewers onto the frontline of the battle against Britain's burglars.
This Cutting Edge documentary explores the art of ageing with six extraordinary women who have an average age of 80, and who are determined to look fabulous, have fun and redefine old age.
In this Cutting Edge documentary, multi-award-winning filmmaker Penny Woolcock is reunited with former gang member Dylan Duffus to explore the criminal subculture of the dog fighting world, as they examine our conflicted relationship with animals. Demonised by the media, certain breeds of dog are seen as status symbols, and some are also trained to fight. Dog fighting has been identified by the police and RSPCA as a growing problem in inner-city areas. In this challenging film Penny engages with those involved in dog fighting and meets academics and historians to question attitudes to blood sports and our treatment of animals as commodities.
This Cutting Edge documentary explores the surreal world of Ann Barnes, Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent. In 2012, elections to appoint 41 Police and Crime Commissioners were described as the biggest shake-up to policing for 50 years and cost £75 million, but resulted in the lowest voter turn-out since World War II. The low turnout meant that some obscure and 'eccentric' candidates were voted in. Initially, Ann railed against the introduction of PCCs, describing the policy as 'naïve and disastrous' and 'a wilful waste of money', before deciding to stand as one herself. She had a rocky first year in office, best known for a Twitter-based scandal, her official presidential-style camper van 'Ann Force 1' and her distinctive anti-politics style of connecting with people. But do the public see her as an independent breath of fresh air, who will roll her sleeves up to get things done, or a gaffe-prone amateur who stands no chance in the face of a massive cuts to police funding?
This Cutting Edge documentary follows four patients involved in trials for some of the most advanced new cancer treatments in the world, and the doctors at London's University College Hospital who are leading the way.
Three true stories of teacher-pupil relationships in the age of social media.
This Cutting Edge film explores the jet-set world of the young and super rich, who share their luxury lifestyle and the lavish trappings on Instagram, from Kazakhstan to California.
This Cutting Edge documentary explores the wealth gap in Britain through two charismatic but estranged brothers. Multi-millionaire Tory businessman Ivan Massow lives in a luxurious five-storey home in central London and goes hunting in his spare time. His younger brother David ekes out a living as an odd-job man and lives in a white van on a lay-by, with no running water. The brothers' incredibly different lives tell the story of an increasingly divided Britain, where more people than ever before are fast-tracking it to millionaire status, sometimes leaving behind family members who've had less good fortune. So what happens to a family when one sibling suddenly becomes rich, and the other one doesn't?
To understand how and why guns are so central to American life, this Cutting Edge documentary goes behind the scenes at a small gun shop in Michigan. Who are their many, varied customers?
A major new documentary revealing the brutal reality of life inside British prisons, featuring numerous videos shot illegally by prisoners on smuggled-in mobile phones.
Comedian David Baddiel has a problem: his 82-year-old dad Colin has a rare form of dementia, which makes him prone to extreme outbursts of swearing, aggression and sexual-inappropriateness. Colin suffers from one of the most extraordinary forms of dementia, called Pick's disease, which has stripped Colin of all his inhibitions, and is stripping him of his memories. Filmed over the course of a year, this extraordinarily intimate Cutting Edge documentary charts David and his brothers' attempts to care for their dad in the aftermath of their mum's death. With the help of his older brother Ivor, David is trying to hold on to what is left of Colin, while at the same time attempting to have a more emotional connection with his dad - the man who he says gave him his sense of humour - before it's too late. By turns deeply moving and funny, The Trouble with Dad is a touching portrait of a family dealing with a situation that many of us may find ourselves in.
Every day a child in England and Wales loses a family member through murder or manslaughter. This powerful Cutting Edge film meets eight such families as they attend the UK's only residential weekend for children bereaved by murder or manslaughter. A Killing in My Family tells the stories of children and families whose lives have changed overnight, and the extraordinary team of grief professionals from the charity Winston's Wish who are helping to rebuild them.
On a cold dark December day in 2015, a tall grey haired man entered a London train station, bought a return ticket to Manchester and never came back. The following day his body was found on Saddleworth Moor, near Oldham. He was poorly dressed for the weather and carried few clues to identify him - no phone, no wallet, no passport or driving licence. For 12 months his identity remained a mystery. With exclusive access to the year long investigation by detectives from Greater Manchester Police, Mystery of the Man on the Moor tells the remarkable story of their painstaking work to identify him and to understand his lonely death. The film features previously unseen footage of the key moments of discovery as well as moving interviews with the man's family and former girlfriend who, despite extensive media coverage, both at home and abroad, had no idea he was missing.
Whether our children are behaving worse than ever before or our schools have got keener to weed out the ones that are being naughty, in 2017 record numbers of children are being permanently excluded from primary schools. Filmed over two terms at The Rosebery - a short stay school in Norfolk - this Cutting Edge documentary follows six excluded primary children who make up its youngest class. Young, funny and riotous, the children sulk, rage, delight, make friends, try to be good and, above all, hope to find new primary schools that will give them another chance. Intimately filmed from the point of view of the children, the programme reveals what it feels like to be excluded at seven.
documentary telling the story of 22-year-old father Taylor Britton, who broke his neck in a car accident, as he fights for his life in intensive care. Damage to his spinal cord suggests he may be paralysed from the neck down, but no one yet knows the full extent of his injuries. As doctors have decided to put Taylor into a coma so that a machine can support his breathing, this documentary sets out to record Taylor's medical journey, as well as the love and support of his family and friends as they visit him in hospital.
As part of the War on Terra season, Marcel Theroux travels through the weird and scary world of climate change to talk to the experts — the environmentalists, scientists and economists — and meet people who have already had a taste of what global warming has in store for us all. Global warming is the biggest problem facing us this century … bigger even than the problems of global terrorism.' — Sir David King, Chief Scientific advisor to the British Government. The icecaps are thinning, the forests are dying, the sea levels are rising and the Gulf Stream is slowing. Theroux explores how the threats posed by climate change call for a radical re-thinking of our priorities. To save the planet, scientists say we need to slash carbon dioxide emissions by at least 60% which leads Theroux to the unthinkable conclusion: that nuclear power may be the way to avert catastrophe.
As the nation breathes a sigh of relief as Shannon Matthews is found alive, this Cutting Edge special offers a unique insight into the intense emotional turmoil experienced by her family in the five days leading up to her rescue. With unprecedented access, the film follows Shannon’s mother, Karen, and stepfather Craig, as they deal with every parent’s worst nightmare, a missing child, while finding themselves at the centre of a media storm. Filmed within the family home this documentary offers an intimate portrait of the Matthews family and a community united in worry; from moments of despair to relief as Shannon is found.
