Jonny Kennedy is a man with a lot to do. He's got just four months to move home, befriend Nell McAndrew, fly a plane, visit Downing Street - and plan his own funeral.
36-year-old Jonny is an extraordinary man with a terrible condition - Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) - which means his skin literally falls off at the slightest touch, leaving his body covered in agonising sores and leading to a final fight against skin cancer. In 2003, Jonny decided to work with filmmaker Patrick Collerton to document his last months in an uplifting, confounding and provocatively humorous story of a singular man.
Although it never shies away from the grim reality of his illness, this moving film is a celebration of a life lived to the full. Whether chatting up Nell McAndrew or choosing a coffin with a surprising baked-bean can motif, Jonny displays a devilish humour, an acute intelligence and an unwillingness to suffer his fate, or fools, gladly.
When it was first shown, The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off captivated nearly five million viewers and helped to raise £500,000 for the EB charity DebRA.
-
-
Jonny Kennedy is a man with a lot to do. He's got just four months to move home, befriend Nell McAndrew, fly a plane…
- Some strong language and scenes some viewers might find upsetting
-
MORE:
-
The Boy Who Was Born a Girl
1 Episode
Julia Moon's First Cut film follows Jon, a 16-year-old boy who was born a girl, through three months of life-changing treatment as testosterone pushes his female body into male puberty
-
My New Brain
1 Episode
Cutting Edge follows 20-year-old Simon Hales on a remarkable journey through rehab, as he and his family come to terms with the challenges of life after he suffered a brain injury
-
Alex: A Passion for Life
1 Episode
Cutting Edge catches up with Alex Stobbs, the musical prodigy and cystic fibrosis sufferer originally featured in A Boy Called Alex, who is now studying music at Cambridge
-
Britain's Conjoined Twins: Hope and Faith
1 Episode
This moving Cutting Edge film follows the births of conjoined twins Faith and Hope - and the girls' subsequent fight for survival
-
Girls on the Pull
1 Episode
First Cut follows three women living with trichotillomania, an impulse control disorder that causes them to pull out their own hair
-
The Stuttering School
1 Episode
First Cut follows two people with severe stammers on the McGuire Programme four-day intensive course, which helps people who stammer overcome their affliction
-
The Smallest People in the World
1 Episode
Acclaimed documentary maker Jane Treays enters the world of children on the edge of society, examining how they cope when their lives are shaped by extreme circumstances
-
Jess: Britain's Youngest Sleepwalker?
1 Episode
Cutting Edge reveals what life is like for a little girl whose insomnia has become more than a childhood habit. Three-year-old Jess has a condition that has baffled medical experts.
-
One Born Every Minute
3 Series, 25 Episodes
A ground-breaking look at the drama and emotion of a maternity unit, from the perspective of the parents-to-be and the maternity ward staff
-
Coppers
4 Episodes
Filmed across Britain, from inner cities to country beats, Coppers reveals what the police are up against every day of their working lives
-
Katie: The Science of Seeing Again
1 Episode
Katie Piper explores the issues surrounding the pioneering surgery she's undergoing to regain the sight in her left eye
-
Confessions of a Nurse
3 Episodes
Filmed over a year at a major NHS trust, Confessions of a Nurse follows a diverse group of nurses, revealing their day-to-day challenges and what they really think about being a nurse
-
Party Paramedics
3 Episodes
Three part series following the medical units, home and abroad, that patch up the victims of Britain's binge-drinking culture
-
Bouncers
1 Episode
Funny, irreverent and often surprising film following the boys of Newport's biggest security firm over a summer of booze and brotherhood
-
Bleach, Nip, Tuck: The White Beauty Myth
1 Episode
Two documentaries from the Race: Science's Last Taboo season examine the growing trend for deracialisation surgery
-
MotherTruckers
1 Episode
How do women lorry drivers get on with their male colleagues, juggle families, and stay feminine? This amusing film meets the new queens of the road.
