''Cutting Edge'' is a British TV

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

series broadcast by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

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

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

social issues A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

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 have 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 Eng ...

's unsuccessful attempt to

qualify Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

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 ...

was harshly criticised by the tabloid

press Press may refer to: Media * Publisher * News media * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press TV, an Iranian television network Newspapers United States * ''The Press'', a former name of ''The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, California ...

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 regarded as one of the most successful English players of all time, having won ei ...

'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 is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

recipients of Asbos, "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 British convicted murderer, confidence trickster and bigamist who is also suspected of having killed a second individual. Dena habitually met men through lonely hearts columns ...

, 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 a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, 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 mar ...

. 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 Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Ro ...

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

. 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 genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

sufferer

Alex Stobbs Alexander Brett Stobbs (born 30 January 1990 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England) is a British musician. He was featured in the Channel 4 documentary series "Cutting Edge" (TV series) in the episodes ''A Boy Called Alex''RCM 6 July 2018 Gradua ...

as he attempts to conduct

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

's Magnifcat at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. 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 List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

The Human Spider

Original airdate: 15 April 2008 Cutting Edge covered

Alain Robert Alain Robert (; born Robert Alain Philippe; 7 August 1962) is a French rock climber and urban climber. Nicknamed "the French Spider-Man" or "the Human Spider", Robert carries out free solo climbs of skyscrapers using no climbing equipment ex ...

, 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 at the age of 3 disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal, Lagos, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007. ''The Daily Telegraph'' ...

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 a school bus stop in Meyers, California, United States. Searches began immediately after Dugard's disappearance, but no reliable leads w ...

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, her ex-boyfriend raped her and stabbed her several times in the arms. Two days late ...

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 multiple birth, octuplets in Ja ...

from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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 BASE jumping () is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend to the ground. BASE is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antenna (radio), antenna ...

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 featured ...

''. 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 The 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt was a major police operation conducted across Tyne and Wear and Northumberland with the objective of apprehending fugitive Raoul Moat. After killing one person and wounding two others in a two-day shooting ...

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 (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumati ...

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 Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving ...

References

External links

* {{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 British English-language television shows