Dan Witchalls and Ian Richardson are addicted to the world's most deadly adrenaline sport: base jumping.
Cutting Edge follows one of Britain's most prolific base jumpers and his right-hand man as they jump from the top of some of the country's most famous landmarks and escape death by pulling their parachute just seconds from impact.
'Base' is a secretive, underground community that likes to play while the city sleeps, and the 'bandit jumpers', as Dan and Ian are known, cruise the streets, searching for buildings to sneak into, climb up and jump from. Dan and Ian have leapt from some of Britain's iconic structures, such as Nelson's Column, The Millenium Dome, Wembley Stadium and Blackpool Tower.
Dan and Ian explain that a successful jump gives an unbeatable high, but the lows are often fatal. One wrong turn or gust of wind can result in a very serious accident. Since base jumping was invented there have been 144 deaths, meaning one in six people who take up the sport are killed. Dan is a natural athlete who has escaped serious injury in over 800 jumps, but the risks he's taking are spiralling to more dangerous extremes in search of thrills. Now, he even goes out on his own during the night on a 'base crawl', leaving his girlfriend to worry whether he will return.
Ian has earned a reputation among his jump buddies as being accident-prone. In 2009, he was almost killed when he smashed into the side of a building after his parachute opened incorrectly.
Film makers Rob Davis and Alastair Cook question the drive to keep going back to a sport that jeopardises their lives and also their relationships with their families and partners. Can they really marry the two or will they be forced to make a choice to decide their future? Every jump relies on an element of luck and these men know they are playing russian roulette, yet they cannot kick the habit.
With stunning and exhilarating images throughout, the documentary follows the spectacular jumping exploits and near-death experiences of Dan and Ian over the course of a year, seeking to gain psychological insight into the motivation behind one of the world's most dangerous sports.
-
-
Wed 28 Jul 2010
Dan Witchalls and Ian Richardson are addicted to the world's most deadly adrenaline sport: base jumping.
- Strong language
- This programme has episodes with subtitles available.
-
MORE:
-
Solomon: The Escape Artist
1 Episode
The world's greatest escape artist, Thomas Solomon, reveals some of his incredible skills in his UK television debut
-
One Man Walking
1 Episode
Dance film One Man Walking is a powerful and stylish collision of krump, hip hop, B-boy and parkour, set on the streets of London
-
Xtremists
3 Episodes
Over the last ten years, the growth of extreme sports has been phenomenal. This three-part series explores the mad, bad and dangerous world of the adrenaline industry and those who work in it.
-
Daredevils
5 Episodes
A series of visually stunning films following some of the world's most extreme individuals, who risk their lives pushing themselves to the physical and mental limits of human capability
-
Concrete Circus
1 Episode
Concrete Circus brings together the world's hottest names in urban sports with viral film-makers and Mike Christie, the director of extreme sport documentary Jump London, to capture unique portraits of the urban sports scene
-
The 7 Stupidest Things to Escape From
1 Episode
Madcap escapologist Jonathan Goodwin escapes from a variety of stupid, dangerous and sometimes homemade contraptions
-
The Antics Roadshow
1 Episode
Banksy's 'incomplete guide to total anarchy' provides a greatest hits of wayward behaviour, sedition and sabotage
-
Scrapheap Challenge
4 Series, 33 Episodes
Teams compete each week to construct a junk machine, using only what they can scavenge from the scrapheap. Every series builds to a final contest - and the crowning of a champion team.
-
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
-
15 Kids and Counting
3 Episodes
Three-part series exploring the lives of some of the UK's biggest families