''Cutting Edge'' was a British TV documentary series broadcast by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. It had been Channel 4's flagship documentary series between 1990 and 2017 that focused on

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and social issues.

Episodes

There have been numerous episodes from 1990 to 2017 and some of the highlights include:

Shops and Robbers

Original airdate: 1994 Received some of Channel 4's highest ratings.

Graham Taylor: An Impossible Job

Original airdate: 24 January 1994 About

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

's unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Graham Taylor Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln C ...

was harshly criticised by the tabloid

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

during these two years (1992–93), and the

fly-on-the-wall Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, ...

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) and

Phil Neal Philip George Neal (born 20 February 1951) is an English retired footballer who played for Northampton Town, Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers as a full back. He is one of the most successful English players of all time, having won seven First D ...

's touchline comment "Can we not knock it, boss ?"

Anti-Social Old Buggers

Original airdate: 22 June 2005 Run of episodes in 2005, about "Anti-Social Old Buggers" which included

elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

recipients of

Asbo An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO ) is a civil order made in Great Britain against a person who had been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. The orders were introduced by Prime Minister Tony Blair i ...

s, "The Black Widow", "Gridlock" and "The House Clearers".

The Black Widow

Original airdate: 29 June 2005 Documentary on

Dena Thompson Dena Thompson (born 1960), commonly known as The Black Widow, is a convicted murderer, confidence trickster and bigamist. She habitually met men through lonely hearts columns and stole their money. She is currently in prison for murdering for ...

, a woman who murdered her second husband but who was also found to have had a 20-year career of fraud, deception and

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

. She was acquitted of murdering her third husband. 4.5 million people watched the documentary, a 22% share of that evening's TV audience.

Blind Young Things

Original airdate: 30 April 2007 A 2007 documentary following students at the

Royal National College for the Blind The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational specialist residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are aged 16 to 25 and blind or partially sighted. ...

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. The film won a

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

award for Channel Four and the Cutting Edge team in 2008.

A Boy Called Alex

Original airdate: 24 January 2008 This documentary follows 16-year-old

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

sufferer

Alex Stobbs Alexander 'Alex' Brett Stobbs (born 30 January 1990), (Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England) is a British musician with cystic fibrosis who was the subject of the Channel 4 '' Cutting Edge'' documentary ''A Boy Called Alex'' in 2008 and its sequel, ''A ...

as he attempts to conduct

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's Magnifcat at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. This was followed by a second documentary in October 2009 called "Alex: A Passion for Life", which examines Alex's life as a music student at King's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

The Human Spider

Original airdate: 15 April 2008 Cutting Edge covered

Alain Robert Alain Robert (born as Robert Alain Philippe on 7 August 1962) is a French rock climber and urban climber. Known as "the French Spider-Man" (after the comic character Spider-Man) or "the Human Spider", Robert is famous for his free solo climbi ...

, one of the most daring climbers in the world, on some amazing free climbs around the globe.

Madeleine Was Here

Original airdate: 7 May 2009 Aired two years after the disappearance of missing child

Madeleine McCann Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British missing person who disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007, at the age of 3. ''The Daily Telegraph'' described the disappeara ...

Captive for 18 Years: The Jaycee Lee Story

Original airdate: 1 October 2009 About the

kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard On June 10, 1991, Jaycee Lee Dugard, an eleven-year-old girl, was abducted from a street while walking to her school bus stop in Meyers, California, United States. Searches began immediately after Dugard's disappearance, but no reliable lea ...

with interviews with people close to Jaycee when she was young, including family members, classmates and her headmistress.

Katie: My Beautiful Face

Original airdate: 29 October 2009 Followed the recovery of former model

Katie Piper Kate Elizabeth Sutton (née Piper; born 12 October 1983) is an English writer, activist, television presenter and model from Andover, Hampshire. In March 2008, she was attacked with acid by her ex-boyfriend and an accomplice, causing major da ...

from a brutal acid attack, 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''. 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''.

Octomom: Me and My 14 Kids

Original airdate: 12 November 2009 Follows single unemployed mother

Nadya Suleman Natalie Denise Suleman (born Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman; July 11, 1975), known as Octomom in the media, is an American media personality who came to international attention when she gave birth to the first surviving octuplets in January 2009.

from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, who in January 2009 gave birth to eight children.

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.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

Original airdate: 18 February 2010 Follows four Gypsy and Traveller brides as they plan their wedding day. Screened in February 2010, drew 4.5 million viewers and was subsequently commissioned for a spinoff series called ''

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings ''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 4, that explored the lives and traditions of several British Traveller families as they prepared to unite one of their members in marriage. The series also feature ...

''. This proved to be successful, with the second episode getting 7.4m viewers at its peak. Production company(s): Firecracker Films

Raoul Moat: Inside the Mind of a Killer

Original airdate: 18 August 2010 Looks at the 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt and the following investigation.

My New Brain

Original airdate: 25 August 2010 Follows 20-year-old Simon Hales as he recovers from a

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...

Ian Brady: Endgames of a Psychopath

Original airdate: 20 August 2012 N/A

The Fried Chicken Shop: Life in a Day

Original airdate: 19 February 2013 N/A Production company(s):

Mentorn The Tinopolis Group is an international TV production and distribution group with businesses based in the UK and US. It produces over 4,500 hours of television annually for more than 200 UK and foreign broadcasters. History Llanelli, Wales, b ...

References

External links

''Cutting Edge''
at

Channel4.com Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cutting Edge (Channel 4 Tv Series) 1990 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 1990s British documentary television series 2000s British documentary television series 2010s British documentary television series Channel 4 documentary series English-language television shows