Channel 4 To Screen Decomposing Human Body
Channel 4 is planning to broadcast the decomposition of a human body as part of a controversial documentary that will form the cornerstone of its winter schedule.
The broadcaster is currently looking for a donor to take part in the programme, provisionally titled Dust to Dust, which is being produced in association with the Science Museum in an attempt to demystify the processes that take place after death.
The documentary, which will be a first for UK television, follows on from Channel 4’s controversial live broadcast of an autopsy two years ago (pictured). Dozens of people complained about the procedure which featured Professor Gunther von Hagens (see ITC Dismisses Complaints Against Channel 4’s Public Autopsy).
Other highlights of Channel 4’s winter schedule, which was unveiled yesterday, include a factual drama about David Kelly, the pre-eminent weapons expert caught up in the battle between the Government and the BBC. The series has been written and directed by Peter Korminsky and airs in a primetime slot in March.
Documentary films will include Extreme Families, a new three-part series from Jane Treays, about three families who have survived family life pushed to the extreme. Cocaine is a series of three part series from Angus Macqueen who takes viewers on a journey that starts in the coca fields of the Peruvian Andes, and Cameroon Stories follows the women who are seeking to overturn their country’s patriarchal legal system.
Among the season’s drama highlights is Not Only But Always, which tells the story of the partnership between comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Written and directed by playwright Terry Johnson, the feature-length drama stars Rhys Ifans as Peter Cook alongside Aidan McArdle as Dudley Moore.
Paul Abbott’s popular drama series Shameless returns for a ten-part run next year, while brand new comedy includes Meet the Magoons, based on the experiences of four young Indian men working in a Punjabi curry house in Glasgow. The Friday Night Project will be one-hour entertainment show starring a cast of comics including the award-winning Jimmy Carr.
The winter schedule will also see the return of celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, as he attempts to take charge of 20,000 school dinners per day across south London. Jamie’s School Dinners aims to inspire other schools to rethink their approach to school meals and as Oliver overcomes the misgivings of dinner ladies and pupils.
The Simpsons will form a key part of Channel 4’s winter schedule following its long-awaited debut on the channel later this week. Pizza Hut has been signed up to sponsor the hit animated sitcom, which reportedly cost Channel 4 around £700,000 per episode (see Channel 4 Calls In Pizza Hut To Sponsor The Simpsons).
Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.co.uk
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