The series begins with a film about a documentary-maker's search for the most average person in the UK. It's a neat excuse for painting some touching vignettes of ordinary Brits - their fears, their habits, their fashion sense. It turns out that the most average part of Britain is Colchester and the average Briton gets three pieces of junk mail every day. We also learn that to be average often means contentment: reaching after specialness or fame, it turns out, is no way to find happiness.
A look at the routines and rituals of sharing a bed in modern Britain – the myriad behaviors we negotiate in falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up each morning beside a partner – mixing light-hearted humor and serious analysis to reveal what is – and isn't – important to sleep, relationships and modern British society. The film’s stars are the couples themselves – young and old, straight and gay, married and unmarried, with and without children pairings – sitting on the end of their beds recounting their different stories while also reminiscing and arguing among themselves.
Set in the Swan Hotel in Chorley, Lancashire, and narrated by pub landlord Terry, Karaoke Soul follows three people who find relief from their everyday lives through song. Director Joshua Neale mixes stylized musical performances with intimate observational documentary to tell the very personal stories of three people through the songs that are close to their hearts.
A spoof documentary following a day in the life of an office worker's desktop. Already under pressure from her boss to deliver an overdue spreadsheet, Lucy distracts herself by surfing the web. But her day takes an unfortunate turn when she discovers she was unwittingly filmed - and now the embarrassing video is on YouTube...
A journey into the hidden world of the pick-up artist or "pua", a community of men who've developed a sequence of tricks, codes and routines that they claim any man can use to seduce any woman. The programme follows the lives of three would-be Lotharios who have been drawn into this underground network.
With just four weeks left until she turns 25, filmmaker Maja Borg attempts to trace the Romanian fortune teller who claimed she would die before reaching the quarter-century mark.
Documentary about the modern day witch-hunt for Maxine Carr, former girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley. Victims of a perceived need for vengeance, more than a dozen innocent women have been mistaken for Carr and hounded from their homes. Maxx Ginnane examines the surreally horrific events of their lives as the mob mentality took hold.
Following professional musician Jeffrey Marshall, who was born without arms or legs, as he decides to exhibit himself in America's only remaining freak show
Dan was born with two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears... and four nipples. Now 28, he's determined to get to the bottom of why: what is it that causes one in eight of us, including Hollywood actress Tilda Swinton and singer Lily Allen, to have an extra nubbin or two? First Cut: The Triple Nipple Club is a funny and touching film that sees new director Dan Louw set out on a surprising personal journey into this genetic riddle.
A true story about Paul Clarke who gave up everything to give away footballs to children in Africa. What started as a mad idea turned into an epic story about setting up a charity and hand delivering over 6,000 footballs to children in Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, and Angola, one of the world's most dangerous countries.
Murderers on the Dance Floor tells the story behind a YouTube clip that has now been viewed by over 9 million people. In this incredible clip 1,500 inmates of a Filipino prison dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller. But Thriller isn't the only dance the inmates perform; their dazzling repertoire includes Giorgio Moroder's Electric Dreams, a rock version of Canon in D major and numbers from Sister Act.
The past is not the past until you stop reliving it. Seventy-one-year-old Johnny Murphy spent 40 years fighting as a mercenary in the African jungle, but his biggest battle is perhaps the one he's now fighting with boredom, in a Surrey retirement home.
Have you ever looked up at the Moon and thought: 'I want to own a piece of that'? Thousands of Britons have. Cornish businessman Francis P. Williams has sold over 280,000 acres (1,100 km2) of it in Britain, at around £20 a pop. But does Francis really own the moon? And why do so many people want to "own" a rock in the sky that they can't even get to? For First Cut, new directors James Price and Lenka Clayton travelled the country to tell the stories of some of the ordinary people who've bought land on the Moon and the businessman who's sold it to them.
There are a growing number of people in Britain today who believe the century they're living in is making them sick. New director Anne-Claire Pilley travels around the country to meet some of them. In London, Sarah Dacre says she suffers such strong allergic responses to electrical appliances and mobile phones that she's moving out of the capital; in Somerset, Gillian McCarthy claims to have such extreme sensitivities to everything from household chemicals to electricity that she is allergic to her own hair.
Eating healthily is on all our minds at this time of year, but few of us go to the lengths of the fanatics in this show. The Raw Foodists are a growing community of men and women who believe theirs is the healthiest diet on the planet. They don't eat wheat, dairy, sugar, meat or fish, and everything they do eat is raw, because they believe heating food above 45C destroys enzymes and nutrients. Some also drink urine and have enemas every day.
First Cut takes a road trip across the USA to meet the people who've made Britney's breakdown their business. Young filmmaker Bruce Fletcher flies to LA to film the people who are capitalising on the breakdown of Britney Spears, either to make money or become famous themselves. They include paparazzi, disturbed adolescents and creepy preachers. NEW SERIES
Having rejected the independence that comes with being a modern working woman, Joanne, Debbie, Diane and Sammi are desperate to be old-fashioned housewives. The four women have found men who share their vintage obsession, and have turned their homes into vintage shrines, wilfully ignoring most aspects of modern life.
In February 1997 13-year-old East Sussex schoolgirl Billie-Jo Jenkins was beaten to death in her back garden. Her foster father, Sion Jenkins, was convicted of murdering her. However, he was subsequently retried twice; with no verdict having been served, he was acquitted, and is currently free. The case remains unsolved. In this film Anoop Pandhals follows Sion Jenkins over four months as he prepares to tell his side of the story of his foster's daughter's murder.
Each year in Britain around 2,500 people are buried alone. No one claims them, and no one attends their funerals. Others have lain dead and undiscovered for weeks, or even years, before they are found, and relatives traced. Driven by a desire to find out more about these lonely individuals from the people who knew and loved them, Lucy Cohen’s bitter-sweet first film pieces together two peoples’ lives, and asks how it is possible for anyone to simply slip through the cracks and disappear.
The surprising stories of ordinary people who live or work along the A1 from London to Edinburgh, sung and spoken by the people themselves. Finding people local to the road through word of mouth and the press, Till interviewed them about their stories, adapted them as song lyrics and set them to music. He then coached, choreographed, and directed their performances. The result is both a tragic-comic tale of love, life, and lay-bys on the A1 and a compelling portrait of contemporary Britain.
Director Piers Sanderson is getting married, but he is feeling nervous. As the product of a particularly painful divorce, he is keen not to put his own children through what he experienced as a small child. Featuring stylised animation and a long journey around the UK that features interviews with a cross-section of couples up and down the country, the film follow Piers's attempts to write his marriage vows as his big day approaches.
Britain is a nation of cat-lovers: we keep more than seven million as pets, buy 400,000 tonnes of cat food every week, and spend £55 million on cat toys every year. Ceri Whitby's film goes on a journey to discover what Britain loves about the common moggy.
Earlier in 2008, Steve Wright was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of five women from the Ipswich area. His unsuspecting partner Pam Wright was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Tanya Freedman’s debut film for the First Cut documentary strand follows Pam over two months as she makes a new life for herself in Devon, after leaving a police safe house. But how do you move on when your boyfriend is a serial killer?
Documentary following three men who are obsessed with growing large vegetables for competition, and the plight of their long-suffering wives. Featuring a Mansfield couple who haven't been on holiday for 30 years as husband Joe is unwilling to be parted from his outsized vegetables, a man who has won the "best of show" prize at the UK Giant Vegetable Championships for 10 consecutive years, and a newcomer to the pursuit.
Waheed Khan directs this intriguing documentary following three young men who suffer from albinism. Extraordinarily, two of them have siblings who are also albinos. In the case of one, the coincidence is explained by the fact that both his parents are albinos, matched as a couple in their native Pakistan at a young age for fear they would remain partnerless. The three adolescents followed by Khan face varying degrees of prejudice. One of them, Joey, the only ethnically white subject of the film, has been the victim of frequent bullying. The visual conspicuousness of these teenagers makes their search for inner identity all the more affecting
Here, Mark Craig collects the junk mail that comes through the letterbox and meets the people who send them out - the estate agent, the pizza shop owner, the organic-food distributor, the Jehovah’s Witness, and so on. In doing so, he discovers a shared humanity lurking behind those despised leaflets.
Tonight's opener by documentary filmmaker Lizzie Wingham explores the growing online-dating phenomenon in which thousands of men from across the US search for romance with women prisoners on specialist "jail date" sites. Men like Richard, who is prepared to forego sex while he waits for Beckey, who is serving a life sentence for murder in Texas. (NEW SERIES)
With the credit crunch biting deep, money-saving has become the nation's favourite hobby. The first film in the new run of First Cut, by new director Claire Braden, looks at what happens when money-saving spills into madness. Claire meets the men and women who have devoted their lives to saving money in the most extraordinary ways.
Tom Pearson's film follows two parents who turned their children in to the police after discovering they had committed crimes, and the difficulties each parent faced in making a complicated moral decision on the matter, and the consequences of their choice: keep the crime a secret, or turn their children into the authorities.
In 2008, Levi Bellfield was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of two women and the attempted murder of a third. His unsuspecting family were left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. This documentary follows Bellfield's eldest daughter Bobbie-Louise as she approaches her 18th birthday hoping for a future free from the burden of her father. Though free from guilt for any of Bellfield's crimes, the family was vilified by the community and the children were bullied at school. They recall the years being victim to their father's abusive and often strange behaviour. *There was no episode on friday 23 January due to the launch of Celebrity Big Brother.*
Paul Parker is a hunter with a singular mission: to kill every grey squirrel in Northumberland. Unfortunately for Paul, he's outnumbered two million to one by the little Yankee bleeders. To licensed pest-control officer Paul, grey squirrels are recent immigrants. They came to Britain in the 1820s from America, and their population has been multiplying ever since. The main losers in the squirrel wars have been the British red squirrels, falling victim to a deadly squirrel plague whenever the greys move into their patch. It seems that Britain isn't big enough for the both of them.
Poet Luke Wright teams up with director Zara Hayes to create Seven Ages of Love, a short film that combines both documentary and performance poetry to give seven differing perspectives on what 'love' means in Britain today.
First-time director Jamie Balment explores the extreme lengths to which some British homeowners will go to defend their property from burglars and intruders. An Englishman's home has always been his castle, and today's castles are being fortified with the most advanced security systems ever known.
First-time filmmaker Cat McShane delves into the little-known world of adult doll's house enthusiasts, exploring the attraction of creating miniature worlds through the stories of some very British eccentrics. Hello Dollies offers a window into these charming houses and explores what drives these British enthusiasts to create tiny, perfect worlds.
First-time filmmaker Vanessa Stockley's powerful and moving film is a raw and intimate portrait of two women from very different backgrounds as they face the final stages of their officer training at Sandhurst Military Academy before being sent to Afghanistan.
Claire Sessarego travels from her home in Hereford to Antwerp to collect the remains of her now deceased father, and to discover who he really was and how he died. As a mercenary or “gun for hire” involved in secretive “black ops” across the world, Philip had taught the Taliban how to fight the Russians in the 1980s, double-crossed soldiers in the Balkans by faking his own death in the 1990s, and wrote a book about his time in the SAS in 2001 (later revealed to be lies and fantasy). Uncovering the murky truth about her father, Claire’s journey allows her to finally lay his memory to rest - but as what? An heroic larger-than-life soldier of fortune or simply a man who abandoned her and his family to live out his fantasy?
This quirky documentary explores the world of personalised car number plates and some of the people who spend thousands to own the right combination of numbers and letters; among them several people with the name Nigel, who crave the same ultimate number plate.
The story of a radical 1970s commune where the children were all given the surname “Wild”, in the hope that they would grow up to be wild and free from the traditional confines of the nuclear family.
Every day, over 1,200 cremations take place in the UK - that’s more than 1,500 tonnes of ash that has to be dealt with every year. Whilst tradition might dictate that we should scatter or inter our relative’s remains, now it seems, we as a nation are discovering more unusual ideas for dispersing of – and indeed holding onto – our loved one’s ashes. In Ashes to Diamonds filmmaker David Brindley sets out to meet some of those families across the country who have decided on a far from conventional farewell for their loved one. From a widow having her husband turned into a diamond to a family putting their father into a steam train’s furnace, this film seeks to discover why some of us form such a strong relationship with these ashes and how the decision concerning what to do with them can impact those that are left behind.
For the fourth run of First Cut, Susannah Price's compelling documentary tells the story of one of the biggest swindles in music industry history. In 2003, Joyce Hatto became one of the most famous pianists in the world, thanks to an elaborate fraud perpetrated by her delusional husband William Barrington-Coupe, who claimed he simply "wanted people to realise just how wonderful piano music was." This accomplished film tells the story of the scam, and talks to people who were hoodwinked by it.
The fourth run of the First Cut strand continues with Sally Ashby's intriguing film that lifts the lid on the exclusive world of super-rich Russians who want an English public school education for their children. Dina Karpova, a glamorous international property broker, is capitalising on Russia's love for all things British, fast-tracking her clients' children into Britain's high society by introducing them to aristocratic families and getting them into our most prestigious public schools.
In Estephan Wagner's poignant debut, he meets Noel Martin. Paralysed from the neck down 13 years ago when a concrete block was thrown through his windscreen by neo-Nazis in eastern Germany, Noel's lifelong dream came true 3 years ago when he bought a racehorse to compete at Royal Ascot and it came in first. Although the horse has given him a passionate reason to live, his health has been deteriorating and he has decided that he wants to go to Switzerland for euthanasia.
Frank Evans, Britain's only professional matador, retired from the sport in 2005 to undergo knee replacement surgery and a quadruple heart bypass. Last year, unwilling to hang up his cape for good, he announced he would make a comeback at the age of 65. In the latest run of Channel 4's First Cut series, filmmaker Molly Clarke follows Evans' progress over three months as he prepares to re-enter the dangerous world of professional bullfighting.
Hard-working but hard-up singleton Rebecca, 28, from Essex, who has never been in a long-term relationship, guides us through her entertainingly shameless and impressively inventive quest to bag herself a wealthy man.
Jon is a typical teenage boy in all respects except one: he was born a girl. Brought up as Natasha for 15 years, Jon can remember feeling male since he was only five years old. He has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition that affects over 100 British children every year, and is now embarking on an extraordinary journey of transition. In Green Bay's Channel Four film, Director Julia Moon follows mother and son through the first three months of Jon's life-changing treatment as the testosterone pushes his female body into male puberty.
First-time director Leon Dean meets Britain’s most notorious car clamper. Ted Evans is the thorn in the side of the beautiful Yorkshire village of Haworth, the home of the Bronte sisters. Residents spurn him and tourists fear him. He has been accused of immobilising a car while its driver was asleep, clamping a minibus for disabled children and clamping the Prime Minister of Australia. In 2003 his company, Carstoppers, won the RAC Dick Turpin Award for the nation’s worst clamper. And Ted’s car park ends up being debated in Westminster when he clamps former Parliament speaker Betty Boothroyd.
Mitch Winehouse talks openly about the consequences of his daughter Amy's superstardom, and the issues that an ordinary family in extraordinary circumstances faces, dealing with media scrutiny and addiction. As Amy's dad, he's been an important force in her life and career and, he now hopes, in her rehabilitation. But a father's job is often a thankless task, and it's beginning to take its toll on the 58-year-old London cabbie, as director Jazz Thwaite asks what the future holds for him. (NEW SERIES: 4)
Fifteen-year-old Ambreen Sadiq is the first Muslim female boxer in the country. In June 2009 she became the ABA female national champion for her age and weight. Morag Tinto's First Cut film follows her preparations for the rematch of her championship bout against rival boxer Bobbi Clarke.
Leanne befriended Wayne while working in a jeweller's shop in Oxford. He immediately wooed her with a trip to the city's plush Randolph Hotel, where he ordered a 300GBP bottle of champagne. He then revealed to her that the source of his largesse was his work as an MI5 agent and that he was involved in a surveillance operation on the shop where she was employed, swearing her to silence. Somehow, Wayne was able to continue with this ruse for months.
Support for the British National Party is growing - last June, almost one million people voted for the far-right-wing party at the European Parliament elections, and a recent survey found that one in 20 young people would vote for the BNP. Against this backdrop, Peter Beard's First Cut documentary follows 19-year-old Kieren, as he considers joining the political party. An unhappy and difficult childhood and the lack of a strong male role model left Kieren disillusioned with society. Aged 16, he became actively involved in nationalism, which offered him a cause at which to direct his anger.
It's estimated that about one per cent of the adult population suffers from a stutter or a stammer, an embarrassing and sometimes debilitating condition. This First Cut documentary follows two sufferers, Julian Burgess and Danielle Finch, as they try out various physical and mental exercises to minimise their stammers, with the ultimate aim of feeling confident enough to speak in front of an audience.
Director Patrick Nation's First Cut film is a pop curio: an extraordinary account of the extraordinary genesis of the 1978 chart hit "Blame It On The Boogie": "This is the story of two men with the same name, performing the same song, hitting the charts in the same week, staying in the same hotel and appearing on the same edition of Top of the Pops." The men in question were the King of Pop and Yorkshireman Mick Jackson, who had actually written the song, and the press called the chaos that ensued the Battle of the Boogie.
Adults with disabilities speak out about their experiences of hate crime and question a society that continues to do nothing to protect them. Public attention was drawn to the issue of disability hate crime after the tragedy of Fiona Pilkington, a mother who killed herself and her disabled daughter in October 2007 after a decade of abuse from local teenagers. More often than not the voices of those who are persecuted because of their disability still go unheard. From low-level bullying through to violent assault and murder, many of the people in this film have been victimised their whole lives. (Producer/Director: Hannah Murphy) (Executive Producer: Eamonn Matthews)
At a time when many white South Africans viewed their black neighbours as inferior, conversely, millions of African women became trusted members of Afrikaner families through their roles as children's nannies. This film follows South African-born Mark Rossiter, whose family left the country in 1986 to live in Britain, as he returns in the hope of finding Susan - the 'second mother' he hasn't seen for 25 years. Armed with only a single photograph and some vivid childhood memories, his search seems futile until an advert in a local newspaper produces a promising lead. (postponed from 15 January)
In this First Cut film, Dom Joly tries to fulfill a lifelong fantasy by becoming the world-famous Belgian reporter TinTin, and attempting to retrace the steps of TinTin's British adventure: The Black Island. For the film, Joly dons the costume of his hero, complete with shorts, plus fours, a white shirt and blue jersey, and even dyes his hair ginger.
First Cut returns for a fifth run. Rachel Williams's 'First Cut' documentary tells the story of Thanos Papalexis, the British playboy-businessman who last year was jailed for murdering an intransigent sitting tenant who stood between Papalexis and a lucrative property deal. After the murder, the debt-ridden killer reinvented himself in the US, shacking up with a porn star and hosting fundraisers for the Clintons. (NEW SERIES: 5)
Ruth Kelly's 'First Cut' film is a thoughtful exploration of trichotillomania, an impulse control disorder that causes people - mostly female - to pull out their own hair. She meets three women affected by the condition.
The First Cut strand of documentaries takes a light-hearted look at the world of online romance. The programme provides a series of interviews with women who are frequent users of dating websites and follows the progress of a successful blogger as she makes her cyber-experiences public on the internet. Director: Rosie Walsh
The title of this First Cut documentary refers to a person under a train on London's underground. Lucy Bennett's film introduces us to Debbie, whose husband threw himself in front of a train one morning, before going on to consider the effects of these suicides on those involved. A coroner explains that about half of those who attempt suicide in this manner will survive, although often with life-changing injuries. And drivers tell of their initial reactions, the trauma of attending the inquest, and how the nightmares never go away.
An imaginative First Cut film directed by Toby Paton and written and narrated by poet Luke Wright, The Bed reflects on life in a busy casualty department from the perspective of an A&E trolley. The tale is told through the experiences of patients who occupy the trolley at various times, interspersed with impressionistic poetic interludes supplied by Wright - delivered over synthetic xylophone noodlings.
Claudia Lawrence, a chef at the University of York, went missing in 2009, one of the 200,000 people who do so in the UK every year. In this case, the police launched a high-profile murder inquiry because of the unusual circumstances of her disappearance. In Billy Dosanjh's 'First Cut' documentary, Lawrence's father, sister, and friends take a cathartic break from their terrible limbo to discuss how they have coped with the vanishing - and with more than a year of intense (albeit courted) press interest.
This First Cut documentary by Simon Alveranga ranks as one of the most unusual ones in the series so far, since it follows two teenagers fulfilling their dreams to work with dead people. Laura, 18, from Norwich, has been passionate about her job since doing work experience at the age of 14. We see her in her role as a trainee undertaker and in her free time as a Miss Norfolk beauty pageant contestant. Paul, 19, of Worcester, is blissfully happy in his work and is even engaged to fellow teenage undertaker Sonia, whom he met at a funeral. Tonight, we watch as he steels himself to prepare his uncle Dudley for "his final journey".
Lucy Morgan's striking 'First Cut' documentary follows the stories of four of the 50,000 premature babies who, every year in the UK, begin life in a hospital incubator. With access to a neonatal intensive- care ward, her film captures personal family moments as parents hold their babies for the first time, see them through life-saving surgery and, after months of sitting beside an incubator, get to take their children home.
Pinny Grylls's First Cut film follows Neil Clarke's attempt to discover whether or not it is possible to remember something that happened before birth. Clarke is sceptical about past life regression, but under hypnosis he begins to recount the heartbreaking story of a 19th-century landowner called Hawksworth, who loses his wife, his money and his freedom when he commits manslaughter. Clarke's wife believes that these memories could have something to do with an experience from his past that he has never dealt with. Prompted by his experiences under hypnosis, Clarke sets out to find out if Hawksworth really existed.
A look at the world of online pawnbroking through Borro founder Paul Aitken and those who come to him to pawn their most treasured possessions. (dir: Kirsty Garland) (NEW SERIES)
Kevin and Kate Rattray's passion for rats knows no bounds. This First Cut film charts their adoration of their 27 furry friends for whom they throw birthday parties. (dir: Jenny Popplewell)
The life of a cabbie is never dull. On a Friday night in Romford, the drivers of A1 Taxis get all sorts of people in the back of their cab: a young couple on the way back from their "wedding on the cheap"; a man found lying in the middle of the road; a couple who have just met on the internet; jealous couples; reunited couples; couples who cannot wait to get home; desperate young men and lonely old men. The two-camera split-screen technique shares the simultaneous, real-time reactions of the cabbies and their passengers.
Father Ray is an Anglican priest who's been stationed in a central London parish for three years. Ray is gay and believes now is the time to come out. See how he deals with the fallout from the sermon in which he reveals his homosexuality. (dir: Anna Llewellyn)
Cooper & Stollbrand is one of the last clothing factories in Salford. Three years ago, James Eden left his lucrative job in the City to buy a stake in the business, and he has dragged the factory out of the doldrums and into the 21st century, developing a business that produces garments for high street retailers and premium designer labels. See the factory floor in the run-up to Christmas. (dir: Satnam Authi)
At Impact, an alternative school in Liverpool, pupils with behavioural issues are encouraged to work with unwanted horses, who need taming at the Shy Lowen Horse and Pony Sanctuary before they can be reintegrated with their herds. But these teenagers must first confront their own difficulties before addressing those of the horses. (dir: Lucy Kaye)
In Asian culture, it's customary for family members to look after the elderly. Aashna House in London, one of Britain's few residential care homes for Asian OAPs, offers a home to Asians whose busy families can't look after them. One is Mr. Sen, a former film extra who has photographs of himself alongside Roger Moore and Harrison Ford. Now he's seeing out his days in an old folks' home, when he might have expected better. (dir: Fozia Khan)
Three individuals struggle against planning regulations. While a 76-year-old woman witnesses her extension being ripped down, a man who decided to live in a house he'd made of straw bales wins his epic four-year campaign. The locals objecting to some lion gateposts, meanwhile, don't bother waiting for the planners, taking matters into their own hands, along with a large hammer. (dir: Melody Howse) (postponed from 21 January)
A new run of the First Cut strand. David De Gale, a schoolteacher, awaits trial for attacking a pupil who relentlessly taunted him about his age, appearance, and dying wife. In a monologue, he slowly comes to understand that his best efforts will always be defeated by deliberate cruelty. Fictional drama based on actual incidents. (writer/director: George Kay, guest star: Phil Davis)
Prompted by an email from a childhood friend not seen for 16 years, Michael Ogden returns to the Wythenshawe estate in Manchester to explore his past as a closeted gay teenager in the 1990s. Then he played football and dated girls while secretly lusting over posters of Ryan Giggs. Nowadays his life seems so different, but is it? For Ogden, filming becomes an opportunity to confront past and present. (postponed from 11 March)
"419" is the number in the Nigerian penal code that describes obtaining money by false pretenses, and in Lagos it's a full-on cottage industry. This film speaks to two women who were taken in by Nigerian men using fake identities on internet dating websites. In one case, divorcee Brenda ended up losing 60,000GBP. (dir: Barney Lankester-Owen)
Across Britain, a small and secretive band of men are donning comic book style costumes and taking to the streets to fight crime. This film for Channel 4’s First Cut strand tracks down and follows some of these self-proclaimed ‘superheroes’ to find out what they’re doing and why. Insightful and witty, Superheroes of Suburbia looks under the masks to try and understand the people behind the ‘superhero’ personas. Attempting to film both their home and ‘crime fighting’ lives, we aim to uncover the everyday challenges of ‘superhero’ life. What’s it like to be married to a ‘superhero’? And should the public welcome them, or fear masked vigilantism? What’s really motivating these people?
A year in the life of a paediatric nurse and mother of two who's been diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's. Forty-year-old Vicki Williams attempts to come to terms with her condition, battling not only the debilitating effects of the disease but also the side effects brought on by the medication such as compulsions for sex, shopping, drinking and partying, which threaten to pull her family apart.
In 1991 the bodies of Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell were found in a car in Castlerock, Northern Ireland. It was believed they had formed a suicide pact, devastated by the discovery of an affair between their spouses. For their surviving spouses, Colin Howell and Hazel Buchanan, life slowly returned to normal. But in January 2009 Colin contacted the police and told them that he and Hazel had killed their respective spouses. (dir: Judy Kelly)
Best friends Maria, Kelly and David have dedicated their lives to rescuing Britain’s most mistreated ferrets. The three of them run 2nd Chance Ferret Rescue in Bristol, a refuge for traumatised and abused ferrets. But Maria, Kelly and David don’t just rescue troubled ferrets, they rehabilitate them to stop them biting and find them a new home. For Kelly, ferrets mean more to her than just pets; they are her therapy and a lifeline. (dir: Becky Lomax)
Laura Buckingham, Nicola Hillary, and Jo Ward found out they were all being taken in by serial cheat and fraudster Simon Reid, but working together, the trio confronted their seducer. This film charts Reid's trail of deception across the UK and the US, climaxing with the women's own footage of the con man's comeuppance.
The chicken is the most common bird on the planet, but there are many breeds on the brink of extinction. Having been helped through depression by the poultry on his family's farm, Australian Mark Tully set off on a journey spanning five states to find and protect the survivors of endangered rare breeds. (dir: Randall Wood)
Since Kate Middleton married Prince William, Prince Harry has been thrust into the spotlight as the most eligible bachelor in Britain. Third in line to the throne, the prince has become an object of desire for girls across the globe - from Americans Cassie and Whitney, who grew up watching Disney movies and dreaming they would one day marry a prince of their own, to Chingford teenagers Jade and Joy who know Harry's whereabouts at any time, day or night. (dir: Emily Hughes) (produced by Rare Day)
Winnie Johnson's search for the body of her son, Keith Bennett, who was murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in the 1960s. He is the only one of the five victims of the Moors Murderers who remains buried on Saddleworth Moor. Almost 50 years after Keith's disappearance, Brady still refuses to say where he buried the 12-year-old. Now 78 years old and recently diagnosed with cancer, Winnie refuses to give up her quest to find and bring home her eldest son and makes one last plea to Brady.
Would you feel comfortable heckling a 90-year-old Chelsea pensioner? You would? This First Cut documentary follows nonagenarian Jack Woodward as he tries to revive his stand-up comedy career and perform at the Hammersmith Apollo. He began in Northern working men's clubs, then on troop ships during the war. Can modern comedians help him update his act? (dir: Clair Titley) (Testimony Films)
What makes someone donate a kidney to a stranger? The family and friends of 26-year-old Tom appreciate the nobility of his sacrifice, but find it hard to understand. As this new documentary winds on, an explanation suggests itself -- and, occasionally, we get a glimpse behind Tom's gallows humour -- but the film is still more question than answer.
Storm Theunissen tries to legally exploit her body in every way possible by selling her hair, fingernails, and eggs in Hollywood.
Conman Edward Davenport, a wealthy socialite and self-styled 'Lord', was regularly pictured with celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Mick Jagger. This documentary reveals the circumstances that saw Davenport end up behind bars after being convicted of a multimillion-pound fraud in 2011.
What are the rules of contemporary sexual politics? See how the life of one writer in London was transformed for the worse by the word of a woman he met just once. Via dramatic reconstruction and interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, a story unfolds of how he become not only a victim but a sexual assault suspect.
The story of siblings who are ranked 17th and 18th in the world of competitive Irish dance.
Anglo-Chinese businesswoman Carrie Waley runs a finishing school in London for Chinese students eager to learn about English customs and Western business etiquette. Waley returns to Beijing where her mother recalls the family's persecution during the Cultural Revolution.
This First Cut documentary has intimate access to Brighton and Hove Albion as they prepare for the game that determines whether they achieve their dream of promotion to the Premiership.
Natasha Owen-Jones has never met her brother Morgan Schulz as both were adopted by different families. Now a single mother of two, she has spent 20 years tracking him down, eventually locating him in a Minnesota jail where he is serving a life sentence for murder. She journeys from England to meet the family who adopted her brother and eventually Morgan himself.
Fertility problems affect one in seven couples in the UK, so when single mother Camille Strachan announced in July 2011 that she would be launching the world's first IVF lottery, it caused a huge media storm. As she attempts to launch the lottery, Camille meets people who are planning to enter the 20GBP-a-time monthly draw, hoping to win treatment worth 25,000GBP.
Mark Roberts from Liverpool has done the Full Monty over 500 times. Mark, who's 48, is known as 'The Baredevil' and has no wife, no job, no money and - frequently - no clothes. This documentary unearths what has motivated Mark to streak with such extraordinary regularity for the last 20 years and why he is planning his retirement now. From streaking at the Superbowl, to a local building site, the film features extraordinary archive shot throughout his career and remarkable footage as he attempts to make his final streak his best ever. The film is part of Channel 4's critically-acclaimed First Cut strand, which introduces new and diverse directing talent, presenting original and bold documentary films.
Male stripping is booming in the UK. Every weekend in most major cities, women are paying to see men get naked. The Dreamboys is the biggest male stripping agency of them all and ex-stripper David Richards is in charge. He claims to know what women want, and is prepared to do whatever it takes to give it to them. David is on the search for some 'fresh meat' to join his London troupe and meets the men that come forward to auditions. Who are they, why are they doing it and what impact is it having on their life? Like never before, this First Cut film lifts the lid on this exotic world of sex, fantasy and temptation and shines a light on the private lives of the men whose job it is to bare all.
Thirtysomething singletons Naomi and Lex are given access to each other's lives to discover where they're going wrong in their search for love. Meeting each other's friends, family and former lovers, Lex's only serious ex-girlfriend describes him as "a child in a man's body" (ouch) while Naomi, it transpires, is still sleeping with her ex.
This innovative documentary, part of the First Cut strand and directed by the Grammy-nominated Fred&Nick, follows four youngsters in Croydon, south London. The film focuses on their contrasting lives and finds out how well their "payday" money sees them through the month.
Every year, more than 2,000 people go missing in Britain and never return. This First Cut documentary follows the stories of three families struggling to cope after a loved one vanished without trace, with the mysterious and out-of-character disappearances baffling the police. The film explores how hope is driving them to extraordinary lengths as they try to locate them and examine how the ones left behind are unable to move forward with their lives in the absence of evidence, answers or closure
Filmed at specialist school Muntham House in West Sussex, we follow the fortunes of Cole (16), who's struggling to read and write; lone wolf Junayd (9), and Ryan (15) whose troubled soul is soothed by horse-riding. (dir: Marc Williamson) (Minnow Films)
Following the progress of three brave and feisty teenagers as they leave the care system at the mandatory age of 18. (dir: Natasha Zinni)
New filmmaker Rachael Kinley meets the men and women selling cars to Britain's rich and famous.
This new compelling and powerful documentary provides unprecedented insight into the clandestine gay Asian - or 'Gaysian' - community in the UK. This community provides a vital lifeline and haven for young men who are unable to publicly reconcile their sexuality with their cultural identity and traditions. Homosexuality is widely deemed to be forbidden within Islam and the exhibitionist nature of drag remains one of the ultimate taboos for many British Asians, forcing the entire scene underground. Ian McKellen narrates. (dir: Marcus Plowright)
There are few creatures more pitiful than the unreconstructed racial supremacist, and this examination of the present state of the British far right is timely following the implosion of the English Defence League. Director Jamie Roberts spent a year getting to know a few people for whom patriotism must be at someone else's expense, and considers whether the current diffusion of these sentiments makes them more or less dangerous.
From 2008, the remains of more than 90 individuals have been recovered from the canals, rivers, lakes and ponds of Greater Manchester - most of them young men. News of the discoveries has sparked theories that a serial killer may be operating in the area, and the story has now caught fire on social media. In this unflinching First Cut documentary, made by first-time director Darren Lovell, former murder detective Tony Blockley reviews the cases of three young men who drowned in the city's canals. Two of them went missing only to turn up dead later, while the third was seen leaving a nightclub with a mystery man who has never been identified. Is the so-called 'Pusher' real or a 21st-century urban legend? (BriteSpark Films)
Filmmaker Leonardo Machado charts the story of a man fighting to rebuild his life after a devastating infection took his limbs, parts of his face and his independence. Father Alex Lewis came down with a common cold in late 2013 which quickly developed into septicaemia and toxic shock syndrome. With less than a 3% chance of survival, doctors fought to save Alex. From arriving back to his family home and readjusting his relationships, to taking his first steps, this film delves into some of the raw moments that shape his days. Starting just days after he lost his last limb, Machado follows Alex's incredible journey as he seeks his purpose in life, rebuilds his relationships and reinvents himself. (credited as a First Cut Film)
A documentary exploring the ageing population through the eyes of some of Britain's oldest muscle men, as they work towards the competitive World Bodybuilding Finals in Miami. The programme takes an alternative look at what it is like to be old in today's rapidly changing world, and meets contestants including 79-year-old Eric Dowie, who is the oldest man in the competition and hopes to retain his 2014 title of Over-70s World Champion. Cameras also follow Jimmy, who is desperate to reclaim the title from Eric, and 76-year-old Roger, who is determined to succeed with the help of his right-hand lady Joan. (Prod/Dir:Rachel Millar; Exec Prods: Rory Wheeler, Colin Moxon; Prod Co: Popkorn TV) (credited as a First Cut Film)
This First Cut documentary follows three spirited pensioner couples who are set to tie the knot and prove that you're never too old for love. In 2015 the number of grooms in their late sixties increased by 25%, while the number of brides in the same age group went up by 21%. The programme captures their excitement as well as their fears as they tackle the challenges of getting down the aisle and face the realities of what the future might hold for them. Widow Georgina, who's 94, is marrying 86-year-old retired chef Raymond, who has terminal cancer. Defiant in the face of this knowledge, they hope to have at least a couple of years together. Margaret, who's 81 and has 11 great grandchildren, has turned to the internet to find love. She met Victor, who's 77, fell for him instantly and, ignored her granddaughter's warning not to take him home on the first date.
In the world of competitive ballroom there's a serious shortage of young male dancers, with hundreds of girls lining up for every boy. This First Cut documentary from first-time director Carla Wright follows four of these rare boys, from south Wales's Valleys, as they head towards the biggest competition of their dancing lives so far: the UK Championships in Bournemouth. The ballroom boys train six days a week and compete most Sundays. They're serious about winning, and so are their mums. But as they gear up to compete against the best in Britain, these boys don't just have the pressure of the competition to contend with. In an area where rugby is an obsession, it isn't easy to go against the grain. Even more so when dance competitions require the boys to wear make-up and fake tan, which doesn't wash off before school. The boys face disapproval from peers, friends and even fathers. When the competition is over, will any of them decide that the pressure isn't worth it?
Bangladeshi-British entrepreneur Kazi Shafiqur Rahman attempts to break into the fiercely competitive airline industry while also fulfilling the demands of his faith by insisting that the airline must comply with the teachings of Islam.
Two young girls attempt to become and remain friends in one of Britain’s most racially segregated towns: Dewsbury in West Yorkshire.
Tom Pursey's inspirational film follows three UK vloggers (Emily, 22; Charlotte, 17; and Chris, 34) all of whom have been diagnosed with cancer, revealing how the process of uploading videos online has helped them to deal with their illness. It's a modern portrait of an age-old struggle to carry on living under the cloud of cancer.
A UK recruitment agency provides temporary workers with employment in the wake of a mass exodus of Eastern European employees due to Brexit.
Three deaf teenagers navigate the challenges of life at one of the most exclusive boarding schools for the hearing-impaired in the world.
Bickleigh is England’s oldest inhabited castle – witness to a thousand years of bloody wars, revolting peasants and blue blooded aristocrats. Today, owners Sarah and Robbie Hay run the Devonshire castle as a top wedding and events venue. But in an age where the customer is always right and the staff working downstairs are no longer willing to be lorded over by those upstairs, can they hold it together for the all important summer season?
At Comfort Zone clinic in Turkey, they promise their mostly British clients an all-inclusive holiday package with a difference: new boobs and a bigger bum, as well as full-board aftercare at their flashy villas. Owner Engin admits people are drawn to cut-price cosmetic surgery and “jump in” after seeing their results on Instagram. We follow three women who’ve decided to sign up hoping to cure their body image woes.
In the heart of London’s East End, the docks of the Isle of Dogs were once the beating heart of Empire. Now the docks are long-gone, but the old ways of life carry on for these Real Eastenders, many of whom trace their Island roots back six generations. First-time director Ashley Francis-Roy presents the world as seen by children growing up on the Island’s council estates. With narration and original music by local singer-songwriter Hak Baker, this moving film finds the innocence of childhood alive and well in the least expected of places.
Tom Oakley's a young dancer with cystic fibrosis and a huge year ahead. This moving film follows him preparing to audition for dance school during Covid.
This First Cut documentary tells the story of Bill Thomas, South Yorkshire's first black police officer, offering an insight into the endemic racism in Britain and particularly the police force at that time. His film-maker son, Alex, helps him revisit key historical events from the miners' strike to riots, as well as find people who made his life so difficult. Bill also reconnect with his allies: the black officers who helped him form Yorkshire's first black police union. (Prod/Dir: Alex Thomas) (Prod Co: Milk First)
Glamorous, ultra-rich Amanda Cronin welcomes rough diamond film-maker Martin Read into her jet-set world, on an eye-popping and revealing journey into the great British wealth divide.
