C4 announces Paralympic Games documentary series Best of British

30 August 2011

Best Of British

• Scheduled to broadcast later in 2011 on Channel 4.
• As the official UK broadcaster, the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be the biggest event in Channel 4's history. 

With a year to go, Best of British, a new ten-part documentary series follows the extraordinary journeys of Paralympians, or those hoping to be, in their sporting and private lives as they journey towards selection for the 2012 London games.

Focusing on different sport - including wheelchair racing, sitting volleyball swimming, shot putting, wheelchair rugby, Cerebral Palsy football, para equestrian, tennis and blind football - the series reveals the brutal training regimes and the fierce rivalries as they compete for a place in Paralympics GB.

With unprecedented access to the trials and tribulations of Paralympic selection and qualification, each film offers an intimate and unflinching look at the sporting and family lives of these men, women and teenagers as they strive for glory.

Many Paralympics athletes owe a great deal to the Spinal Unit at Stoke Mandeville. Channel 4 has been granted special access to unit and spends time with medical staff as well as patients in the early throes of their disability.  We meet athletes who speak of the positive impact the unit has had on them leading to a whole new path in life. 

The series will include the following programmes: 

 

Robbie Hughes

The first Paralympic Stories film profiles the life of Robbie Hughes as he strives to be selected for the British Paralympic Cerebral Palsy football team. 

Three years ago, Robbie was attacked on holiday in Greece and was left with severe head injuries.  He struggles to remember large parts of his life and has an on-going battle with Obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

The film follows him and his close family as he comes to terms with his brain condition. 

On the football pitch Robbie comes to life and has great ability and an even greater desire to be part of the squad.  But can he conquer the many facets of his condition or will it get in the way of him being selected to play?

 

Wheelchair Tennis

Peter Norfolk, Andy Lapthorne and Jamie Burdekin are three of Britain's best wheelchair tennis athletes.  Each is at a different stage in their lives but they all know that London 2012 would be the crowning glory for them. 

Peter, or "the Quadfather" as he is endearingly known, suffered a motorbike accident when he was 19 that left him paraplegic.   He has been a dominant force in the sport for many years winning multiple grand slams and two Paralympic gold medals.  

At 50 years old, he is nearing the end of a glorious career and new blood is coming through the ranks.

Andy in particular is a real challenge to him for London 2012.  Andy has battled all his life against his disability and his family have sacrificed a lot to support him in his tennis career. 

After a solid 2010 Andy has had an impressive start to 2011 partnered his compatriot Peter Norfolk to win the Australian Open title, a victory that has lifted him to the world No 1 in the quad doubles world ranking. 

A former Marine, Jamie was injured in car accident in 2000 when he was 21. Jamie has had real issues in the past but is now a father and sees that concentrating on his tennis could provide him with a goal to aim for. 

For Peter, 2012 could be the final hoorah.  A last chance to take Gold and crown his career.  The film will be about the trials and tribulations each of these athletes has faced on and off the court.

 

Wheelchair Rugby

The wheelchair rugby squad has been through some changes in recent months. At the world championships last year they didn't perform well.  But coach Tom O'Connor has recruited new players and is now bringing the team together with training periods in the States where the sport is big. 

As well as following the fortunes of the squad the film also looks at the idea of male identity.  Many of the team were once able bodied and found themselves in wheelchairs later in life. 

The film is interested in how they have adapted to that and how the physical aspect of the game has helped them keep their sense of masculinity and male identity.

 

Women's Sitting Volleyball

The team trying out for selection in this discipline cover a wide range of women from different stages in life and backgrounds. 

17-year-old Jay Frezza is keen to make the team but is also interested in all the things a 17-year-old is interested in, fashion, gossip, relationships. 

Martine Wright survived the 7/7 bombing and now has a young baby, but balancing the demands of being a young mum with selection to the Paralympics is tough. 

This is an ensemble film and will look at all the pressures of being a woman at different stages of life with the overarching story of whether this squad can raise their game enough to participate in the Paralympics.

 

Power Dwarves

This film centres on dwarf athletes including athletes Sean Clare and Kyron Duke who participate in the "power" events of discus, javelin and shot

The film allows them a chance to challenge the preconceptions associated with their stature. 

It will look at the rites of passage some the athletes are going through, like leaving home for University as well as following some of the relationships with "normal" height parents, partners and friends. 

 

Wheelchair Racing

The film follows the fortunes of Nikki Emerson, Josie Pearson and Shelley Woods as they all aim for selection for Team GB.   The film though also looks at the common theme of how each of these athletes became disabled as a result of an accident. 

The film will explore the idea of how this life changing event, that they have in common, has shaped their lives.

 

Swimming

In Swansea, Billy Pye is training an elite band of young swimmers hoping to be selected for 2012. 

They have varied conditions and the film will be more of an ensemble piece looking at the squad.  As well as training together some of them also live together like Ant Stephens and Sam Hynd. 

The film is interested in looking at how these athletes balance the pressure of performing at this level with all the demands of being in your late teens, early twenties.

 

Stoke Mandeville

Many Paralympics athletes owe a great deal to the Spinal Unit at Stoke Mandeville. Channel 4 has been granted special access to unit and spends time with medical staff as well as patients in the early throes of their disability. 

We meet athletes who speak of the positive impact the unit has had on them leading to a whole new path in life. 

 

Para Equestrian

Sporting rivalries don't come much wittier than British Para Equestrian's Lee Pearson and Ricky Balshaw. 

Lee is a multiple gold winning athlete.  He is the undisputed king of paradressage and knows it.  But there is a pretender to his throne in the shape of Ricky Balshaw, a young upcoming rider. 

The film follows both athletes in the build-up to key tournaments in 2011 that will influence the No 1 slot. 

Lee and Ricky are close friends but this doesn't stop a very strong sense of rivalry with Lee nicknaming his competitor ‘Silver Rick'. "I even bought a gold fish - a gold fish called Lee and a silver fish called Rick", he says. 

 

Blind Football

This film follows Dave Clarke, Robin Wiliams and Owen Bainbridge as our central characters in the British Blind Football squad. 

Although the film will follow the highs and lows of team selection and the squad's performance, the film will also look at the wider family around these players.  

What is it like to have sighted family members, or sighted children and conversely what is it like for those families to have blind sons, brothers, and a dad?    

 

More information about Channel 4 Paralympic programming can be found at http://paralympics.channel4.com/