The new run of Cutting Edge kicks off with a special feature-length documentary. In the winter of 2006, one by one, the small community of sex workers that worked the dark streets around Ipswich Town’s football stadium began to disappear. What unfolded over the next 20 days had a profound and lasting impact on everyone involved. Award-winning director Louise Osmond’s ( The Beckoning Silence, Deep Water ) film follows events as they unfolded through the eyes of those at the centre of the storm: brothers, sisters, parents, police, punters and fellow sex workers.

Thursday 5 February 2009
9:00pm, Channel 4

An unflinching and moving film about football legend Paul Gascoigne’s family, as they struggle to cope with an alcoholic, mentally ill father and ex-husband, who happens to be one of the most famous men in the country. The film captures the family earlier in the summer, when Paul returns to the family home following six weeks sectioned under the mental health act. Within days, he leaves the country and the family have no idea where he is.

Read more & comment »

Troubled ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne has hit out at a new Cutting Edge special documentary about him that’s due to be aired next week.

He’s said to be furious with his ex-wife Sheryl for allowing the couple’s son Regan – who’s 12 years old – to take part in the documentary in which she and Regan discuss Paul’s problems with alcohol and mental illness.

Gascoigne told The Sun, “It is beyond belief that a TV documentary has allowed an interview with a kid of 12 to be broadcast like this.

“How can a 12-year-old understand the things I’ve gone through? He is 12, for God’s sake. I don’t blame him one bit. He is my son and I love him and I always will.

“This is all down to Sheryl. She has turned him against me and his mind is now poisoned against me.” Read more & comment »

Britain is a nation of animal lovers. But how far are owners prepared to go when their pets develop special needs? From parrots on anti-depressants to paralysed rabbits in wheelchairs, this one-hour film from the Cutting Edge strand follows a number of owners striving to come to terms with their beloved pets’ disabilities.

Read more & comment »

Every year thousands of British homeowners call in the builders, trusting their most valuable asset to a stranger. For a long time, the trusty British builder seemed to have a monopoly on home improvements. But in the past five years, a new breed of builder has reached Britain from Eastern Europe – particularly from Poland. This Cutting Edge film follows two teams – one British, one Polish – as they each construct an extension on two suburban houses. How will they measure up?

Thursday 16 October 2008, Channel 4 9PM

Dana is only eight years old, but she became so dangerously underweight – at one time weighing just three stones – due to anorexia, that her family felt they had no choice but to admit her to a clinic for a three month program of treatment where specialists in this dangerous disorder could help her to overcome her illness.

Throughout the film, we saw footage of Dana talking to one of the film crew about her experiences, and I was very touched by her honesty and how beautiful this little girl is. Her doe eyes and quiet demeanour belie her troubled mind and other than being skinny, you wouldn’t think she was any different to a million other little girls, but she has a will of iron and a self-determination that speaks volumes about her intelligence and tenacity.

Read more & comment »

Well, where to start? Last night’s Cutting Edge followed a group of fathers and daughters – as well as their families as a whole – as they prepared for and attended a Purity Ball hosted by Lisa and Randy Wilson; an unfortunate first name in the circumstances. The mission of the purity movement is pretty much what it says on the tin; women should be unkissed virgins when they marry. The documentary attempted to discover whether this lifestyle was something the girls themselves chose or if it was imposed by their fathers. Randy Wilson was at the heart of the entire film and is a major player in the movement, in Colorado anyway. Read more & comment »

This week Cutting Edge explores the controversial purity movement currently sweeping across the United States. One-in-six American girls now pledges to remain a virgin – and some even to save their first kiss – until their wedding day. But is this their decision, or their fathers’?

Read more & comment »

This week Cutting Edge charts a month in the life of ambulance 212 and its crews as they attempt to comply with Government targets to reach 75% of life threatening calls within eight minutes. But how much of their work actually involves saving lives? And how much is tea and sympathy? This insightful documentary provides a fascinating view of modern British society and daily lives of the Paramedics on the front line of the NHS.

9pm Thursday 18th September on Channel 4

Millions of drivers find themselves trapped in traffic jams each year. And it’s getting worse, with commuting times doubling since 2003. The result is road rage: wasted time, exasperation and frayed tempers. Read more & comment »

This observational documentary from the Cutting Edge strand follows three extensive families – who currently have 34 children between them – to explore the emotional, religious and psychological reasons why they have a need to keep on having more. Read more & comment »

This week’s Cutting Edge is a life affirming film which shifts from the humorous to the intensely moving, following four young mothers-to-be as they deal with some extraordinary trials and tribulations.

Despite the pregnancies being unplanned and a sometimes rocky relationship with the father, the women take it all in their stride, exchanging thoughts on love and motherhood while finding plenty to laugh about, even as they’re giving birth. The four women featured are just a few of the 8,000 women every year who give birth at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Thursday 13 March 2008
9:00pm, Channel 4

This latest Cutting Edge documentary goes inside the world of the modern call centre to meet the people who are trying to serve callers, finding out what it’s like to be on the receiving end of frustrated fury. Although they are designed to make life easier, there are plenty of people who feel that call centres do the opposite, and in this programme some share their anger on what bothers them most about being kept on hold. Read more & comment »

In January 1999, an incident occurred in Hastings that is every parent’s nightmare. Two ten-year-old girls, Charlene Lunnon and Lisa Hoodless, went missing as they walked to school. Now, as part of Channel 4’s Cutting Edge strand, they give first-hand accounts of how they survived abduction, and how their relationship was changed for ever.

Thursday 28 February 2008
9:00pm, Channel 4

There are more than 300 people living in the 116 houses on filmmaker Sue Bourne’s street. Until now she barely knew a soul. She tweaks the net curtains and reveals remarkable stories, hidden from view, on what could be any street.

There are millionaires living next door to people on benefits, convicted drug smugglers alongside classical composers. On her journey up and down the street she meets wild party animals and recluses, the very young and the very old. She finds stories of success and tragedy and sees how illness and loneliness, hope and happiness have left their mark on the lives of her neighbours. Read more & comment »