Surgeons: At the Edge of Life

It would appear we’ve always had a thing for surgeons.

From the days of Doctor Finlay’s Casebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Dr Strange, these scalpel-wielding, sculptured demi-gods always manage to make the right diagnosis, get the patient under the knife in the nick of time and still have space in their diaries for adventure, romance and other shenanigans.

They’ve captured the attention (and hearts) of audiences like no other.

Unless you count the men and women behind the BBC series Your Life in Their Hands.

This startling, fly-on-the-wall documentary first aired in 1958 and ran for five series until 1964, despite the British Medical Association bemoaning the “publicisation of pathology and surgical treatments”.

It covered respiratory paralysis, poliomyelitis, cancer and radiotherapy, liver cirrhosis, head injury, thyroid diseases, chronic bronchitis and pneumoconiosis – words many viewers had never even heard of before.

More than eight million people tuned in as presenter Dr Charles Fletcher examined surgical practice from the point of view of both the experts and patients from various hospitals around the country.

A colour version, fronted by the legendary Jonathan Miller, was broadcast in the early years of the 1970s, before the show was given a new lease of life again in 1979.

This time, Professor Robert Winston was our host as cameras stood cheek-by-jowl with surgical staff in operating theatres, revealing the secrets of complex medical procedures.

Many families were divided between those who were glued to the screen for every moment, and those who could barely keep their dinner down.

That run lasted until 1987, before Your Life in Their Hands enjoyed a third revival for BBC Two. Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs narrated the action, before velvet-voiced actress Barbara Flynn stepped in for the 2004 and 2005 series.

So it should come as no surprise that Surgeons: At the Edge of Life, a 21st-century exploration of medical procedures at Addenbrooke’s and Royal Papworth hospitals in Cambridge, has also found an eager and enthusiastic audience.

To date it has enjoyed four series, and follows surgeons as they undertake some of the most complex operations in the world: a workplace where technical skill is paramount, because even the smallest slip of the scalpel would lead to catastrophe.

Season five’s six-part run begins as specialists work against the clock to treat three patients. Among them is 33-year-old Ben who has crashed his motorcycle into a fixed metal gate. It’s clear the young man has injuries to his chest and lungs, and several serious fractures, but needs a CT scan to rule out any other hidden problems.

The medics also treat single mother Jasvinder, who has sustained spinal injuries after her car left the road at 70mph, as well as 72-year-old Jill, who has fallen down the steps of her caravan.

Whether you turn green at the gills when the action moves to the operating theatre, or if you’re an inch away from the screen dreaming of being in scrubs, there’s no denying the myriad human stories at the centre of this show make it truly compelling viewing.

Here’s hoping that, unlike its predecessor, it never needs to be revived.