999 (BBC TV series)

999
Genre Docudrama
Created by Peter Salmon
Presented by Michael Buerk
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
Production
Running time 50 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC One
Original run 1992 (1992) – 2003 (2003)

999 is a British docudrama television series presented by Michael Buerk, that premiered in 1992 on BBC One and ran until 2003. The series got its name from the emergency telephone number used in the United Kingdom.

In the first series, each episode included two reconstructions of real emergencies, using actors and occasionally Buerk himself, as well as some of the real people involved in the emergency.[1] By the second series, episodes of 999 included more reconstructions.[2] While recreating an accident for an episode in 1993, veteran stuntman Tip Tipping was killed in a parachuting accident.[3] In 2002, it was announced that the series had been cancelled.[4]

References

  1. ^ Dugdale, John (29 July 1992). "Media: Not the 'Nine O'Clock News': Michael Buerk fronts a BBC programme that has been criticised as gory. John Dugdale on the dangers of mixing fact with fiction". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/media-not-the-nine-oclock-news-michael-buerk-fronts-a-bbc-programme-that-has-been-criticised-as-gory-john-dugdale-on-the-dangers-of-mixing-fact-with-fiction-1536210.html. Retrieved 2009-10-27. 
  2. ^ Rees, Jasper (9 April 1994). "Review - Dial nine for no-nonsense entertainment". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/review--dial-nine-for-nononsense-entertainment-1368811.html. Retrieved 2009-10-27. 
  3. ^ "Stuntman killed in parachute jump". The Independent (London). 6 February 1993. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/stuntman-killed-in-parachute-jump-1471168.html. 
  4. ^ Cozens, Claire (4 September 2002). "999 faces last rites". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2002/sep/04/broadcasting.bbc. Retrieved 2009-10-27. 

External links