Blazing a Trail
WITHOUT LIMITS: VIETNAM BBC1, 8pm
THERE is a poignant moment in this documentary when the horror of the Alton Towers rollercoaster accident comes flooding back for victim Vicky Balch.
Determined to regain her independence after losing a leg in the 2015 tragedy, Vicky has been driving a 4x4 with a group of strangers along the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam.
The unique group all have various disabilities, and cameras follow them in this entertaining yet emotional travelogue.
But beginning the epic 900-mile adventure, Vicky has an early setback when the car’s brakes fail, sending her careering down a precarious road.
“If the barriers hadn’t stopped us we would have gone over the edge,” Vicky says. “It brought everything back to the surface.”
The three-week journey through the heart of Vietnam – a country ill-equipped for disability – brings up plenty of challenges.
Vicky gamely insists: “I’ve been wrapped in cotton wool since the accident, so it’s nice to be independent.”
Also on the trip are Olympic wheelchair rugby captain Steve Brown, who was paralysed from the chest down 12 years ago after falling over a balcony and breaking his neck. He joins Vicky in the car along with Mary Russell, who was born with dwarfism.
On the motorbikes are Louise Halvey, who is almost deaf, and marathon runner Charlie Lewis, who convinced a surgeon to amputate his leg after a snowboarding accident left him in constant pain. And there’s also experienced biker Andy Slade, who lost his arm in an industrial accident at work nine years ago.
As their prosthetic legs are loaded into the car, Andy exclaims: “We must look like the circus has come to town!”
But while there is some friendly teasing and humour, there are also tears and personal stories that will bring a lump to your throat as they make their epic journey.