First Cut was initially a strand of thirty half-hour primetime documentaries commissioned by Channel 4 Commissioning Editor for Documentaries, Sarah Mulvey. It was added to the schedule to replace the old Alt-TV show, which launched many documentary makers' careers including Marc Isaacs, Olly Lambert, Emily James, Tina Gharavi, Paul Berczeller and Morgan Matthew. First Cut aimed to access the brightest and best new talent, allowing young directors to showcase their talent before being given further opportunities on Channel 4's flagship documentaries Cutting Edge and Dispatches.
After the completion of the initial two series, First Cut was commissioned for a third series which began on Friday, 9 January 2009, with a documentary entitled "The Hunt For Britain's Tightest Person".
The rise, fall, and improbable resurgence of Ashley Madison, the dating website aimed at marriage cheats. Pioneers in outrageous viral advertising, the company stops at nothing to gain publicity and by 2015 it appears to be on the brink of world domination. Then a team of hackers expose the intimate sexual secrets of millions of members, with devastating consequences. But in the aftermath of the data breach, are the site's adulterous users the only ones with dirty secrets?
Ever wanted to quit your job and go travelling round the world? Well James and Karl did and filmed it all. The backpacking documentary follows James and Karl as they travel through 20 countries in 4 continents over 9 months, covering a distance of over 42,000 miles.
A unique social experiment that brings together elderly people in a retirement community with a group of 4-year-olds. Could this encounter between young and old help transform the lives of the elderly?
Actor Alfie Allen, made famous by the television series Game of Thrones, portrays us in this documentary of the two episodes of History Channel his other great love: Football.
Mark Williams-Thomas returns to ITV for an explosive and ground-breaking new investigative series that shows how real life crime can be far more compelling than fiction. The murder of Carole Packman, whose body has never been found, continues to affect the lives of many of those involved and as Williams-Thomas discovers, the shocking tale of murder, fraud, deceit and lies has left family members desperate for answers. In a UK television first, The Investigator: A British Crime Story, will follow the case over four explosive episodes, combining stylized drama with compelling documentary.
Richard Hammond travels the globe to discover the unexplained and the unexpected, the unbelievable and the just plain unlikely, in an attempt to reveal the hidden world of weather.
Discover the most extraordinary gardens in Switzerland, each a veritable little corner of paradise hidden behind its hedges and fences. Who are the enthusiasts working to create them? What are the secrets of their success?
Through mechanization and industrialization, the methods used to settle conflicts have made the art of war more hi-tech, more expensive, and more devastating than ever before.
Based on the US series hosted by the late Joan Rivers, comedian Katherine Ryan meets with the wealthy, the wealthier and the wealthiest to ask them the burning question, "How'd you get so rich?" This series delves into the lives of the rich as they tell their own stories of determination and success and open up their homes and lifestyles to the rest of the World. From founders of million-dollar chain organisations to wealthy surgeons and everything in between, Katherine finds out how each of them have made their millions.
Celebrate the triumph of the African-American religious experience through the last three centuries. From the arrival of the early African slaves through the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Era, and into the 21st Century, explore the epic struggle of a people whose faith was continually tested, and how that faith became a force for social change that helped transform America socially, politically and culturally.