- Cutting Edge (TV series)
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Cutting Edge 
Cutting Edge logoGenre Documentary Narrated by Various Country of origin United Kingdom Language(s) English Production Producer(s) Various Running time 49 minutes Broadcast Original channel Channel 4 Picture format PAL (576i, 16:9) Original run February 1990 – present External links Website Cutting Edge is a British TV documentary series broadcast by Channel 4, it has been its flagship documentary series since 1990 that focuses on political and social issues.
Episodes
There have been numerous episodes since 1990 and some of the highlights include:
Shops and Robbers
Original airdate: 1994
Received some of Channel 4's highest ratings.[1]
Graham Taylor: The Impossible Job
Original airdate: 24 January 1994
About England national football team's unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. Manager Graham Taylor was harshly criticised by the tabloid press during these two years (1992–93), and the fly-on-the-wall documentary revealed a stressed team camp. It also gave birth to Taylor's catchphrase, "Do I not like that" (a statement rather than a question).
Anti-Social Old Buggers
Original airdate: 22 June 2005
Run of episodes in 2005, about "Anti-Social Old Buggers" which included elderly recipients of Asbos), "The Black Widow", "Gridlock" and "The House Clearers".
Blind Young Things
Main article: Blind Young ThingsOriginal airdate: 30 April 2007
A 2007 documentary following students at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. The film won a Royal Television Society award for Channel Four and the Cutting Edge team in 2008.[2]
A Boy Called Alex
Original airdate: 24 January 2008
Broadcast in January 2008, is a documentary that follows 16-year-old Alex Stobbs who suffers from cystic fibrosis as he attempts to conduct Bach's Magnifcat at Eton College.[3] This was followed by a second documentary in October 2009 called "Alex: A Passion for Life", which catches up with Alex at King's College, Cambridge, and member of its world-famous choir.[4]
The Human Spider
Original airdate: 15 April 2008
Cutting Edge covered Alain Robert, one of the most daring climbers in the world, on some amazing free climbs around the globe.[5]
Madeleine Was Here
Original airdate: 7 May 2009
Follows Kate and Gerry, the parents of missing child Madeleine McCann and investigators, two years after her disappearance as they try understand what happened.[6]
Captive for 18 Years: The Jaycee Lee Story
Original airdate: 1 October 2009
About the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard with interviews with people close to Jaycee when she was young, including family members, classmates and her headmistress.[7]
Katie: My Beautiful Face
Original airdate: 29 October 2009
Followed the recovery of former model Katie Piper from a brutal acid attack[8], and which with 3.3 million viewers was the most-watched edition of the Cutting Edge strand in 2009; Piper's case has been subject to a large international response, and following the success of the original documentary Piper was invited to give Channel 4's Alternative Christmas Message for 2009.
The documentary was nominated for "Best Single Documentary" at the BAFTA Television Awards in June 2010, but did not win - the trophy was awarded to BBC One's Wounded.[9] The previous month, director Jessie Versluys had won the Breakthrough Talent prize at the 2010 Craft BAFTA ceremony, for her credits including Katie: My Beautiful Face and The Hospital.[10]
Octomom: Me and My 14 Kids
Original airdate: 12 November 2009
Follows single unemployed mother Nadya Suleman from California, who in January 2009 gave birth to eight children.[11]
The Men Who Jump Off Buildings
Original airdate: 28 July 2010
About Dan Witchalls and Ian Richardson who participate in the adrenaline sport, base jumping. It follows them jump off some the most iconic buildings in the United Kingdom including Nelson's Column, The Millenium Dome, Wembley Stadium and Blackpool Tower.[12]
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
Main article: Big Fat Gypsy WeddingsOriginal airdate: 18 February 2010
Follows four Gypsy and Traveller brides as they plan their wedding day.[13] Screened in February 2010, drew 4.5 million viewers[14] and was subsequently commissioned for a spinoff series called Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.[15] This proved to be very successful with the second episode getting 7.4m viewers at its peak, Channel 4's highest ratings since Big Brother in 2008.[16]
Raoul Moat: Inside the Mind of a Killer
Original airdate: 18 August 2010
Looks at the 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt and the following investigation, with interviews with friends, relatives and neighbours who knew Raoul Moat.[17]
My New Brain
Original airdate: 25 August 2010
Follows 20-year-old Simon Hales on a journey through rehab. Simon was on a night out in Newcastle when he and a friend tried to get back into a nightclub they'd been thrown out of by mistake. Simon jumped over a fence not knowing there was a 20 feet drop the other side landing on his head, suffering a severe brain injury. Lucky to survive, it took Simon five weeks to wake from his coma.[18]
References
- ^ Offthetelly.co.uk: "Channel 4 at 20"
- ^ "Hereford students' key role for Blind Young Things". Hereford Times. 21 July 2008. http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/3221775.Hereford_students__key_role_for_Blind_Young_Things/. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ^ A Boy Called Alex at Channel4.com
- ^ Alex: A Passion for Life at Channel4.com
- ^ Human Spider, Cutting Edge from Channel 4, retrieved 4 May 2008
- ^ Madeleine Was Here at Channel4.com
- ^ Captive for 18 Years: The Jaycee Lee Story at Channel4.com
- ^ Katie My Beautiful Face at Channel4.com
- ^ Television BAFTA winners/nominees 2010 - bafta.org
- ^ 2010 BAFTA Craft winners/nominations - bafta.org
- ^ Octomom: Me and My 14 Kids at Channel4.com
- ^ The Men Who Jump Off Buildings at Channel4.com
- ^ My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding at Channel4.com
- ^ MediaGuardian
- ^ Orange: MBFGW series report
- ^ BBC News - My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding: Why is it a hit?
- ^ Raoul Moat: Inside the Mind of a Killer at Channel4.com
- ^ My New Brain at Channel4.com
External links
Channel 4 Television Corporation Channels News1 Radio Box Television2 Other 4oD · Channel 4 programming · Channel4.com · Film4 Productions · Film4oD · ITV Schools · S4C · T4 · UKIB
1Provided by ITN 2Joint venture between Channel 4 Television Corporation (50%) and Bauer Media Group (50%)
Category · 
CommonsCategories:- 1990 in British television
- 1990 British television programme debuts
- 1990s British television series
- 2000s British television series
- Channel 4 television programmes
- British documentary television series
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