The announcement was made at the Channel 4 headquarters here in London by the broadcaster's Paralympics 2012 sports editor Deborah Poulton, with the ten-part series scheduled to be aired later this year.

It will focus on several different Paralympic sports such as wheelchair racing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby and blind football, while some of Britain's top Paralympic athletes will star in the programmes including nine-time Paralympic para equestrian champion Lee Pearson and double Paralympic wheelchair tennis gold medallist Peter Norfolk.

"The documentary series is the most exciting part of the jigsaw of the work we are doing around one year to go this Monday [August 29]," Poulton told insideworldparasport.

"There will be the third series of That Paralympic Show and Channel 4 News are really getting onboard with the one year to go plans around International Paralympic Day on September 8 in Trafalgar Square, but the Best of British documentary will be the biggest thing for us.

"There are four different directors working on the ten films across the series and they have all got their own interpretations of what they want so it makes a fantastic mix.

"These documentaries show not only the sweat and the blood and the guts that these guys have to go through to get to the elite of Paralympic sport but also the other side of their lives and what they give up to pursue their dreams.

"So I think that this is a really exciting opportunity to put something into the heart of the Channel 4 schedule to show Paralympic athletes at their pinnacle and I don't think anything like this has been done before."


The first Paralympic film will profile the life of Robbie Hughes (pictured) who strives to compete in the British cerebral palsy team after he was attacked on holiday in Greece and left with severe head injuries.

This will be followed by a wheelchair tennis film following Norfolk and his compatriots before the next film focuses on wheelchair rugby.

Women's sitting volleyball will then take centre stage, with 7/7 victim Martine Wright one of the main stars, before the film Power Dwarves focuses on the attributes of discus, shot and javelin throwers.

Wheelchair racing and swimming will then be the focus with documentary eight to feature Stoke Mandeville, which is seen as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games.

The penultimate film will see Pearson and his compatriots as they compete in blind equestrian while the final film will focus on key members of the British blind football team including Dave Clarke.

Channel 4 will announce the start date of the documentary series in the near future.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
July 2011: Channel 4 and Sainsbury's partner to produce short films showcasing top British Paralympic athletes
June 2011: Exclusive - We are halfway to where we want to be on the road to the London 2012 Paralympics, claims Channel 4
May 2011: Channel 4 pick disabled journalists to help London 2012 coverage
April 2011: Channel 4 appoints PR firm to raise awareness of London 2012 coverage
February 2011: BBC lose out again as Channel 4 take over BT Paralympic World Cup