Saved by a Stranger
BBC2 HD, 9pm
Presented by Anita Rani, this series tells the stories of people caught up in the biggest events in living memory, starting with the 7/7 terror attacks in London.
ANITA RANI reunites people with the good samaritans who came to their aid
NEW
FACTUAL
Saved by a Stranger Thursday, BBC2 HD, 9pm
IN BBC2 SERIES Saved by a Stranger, Anita Rani hears incredible stories of kindness involving people thrown together by traumatic events such as wars, terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
The four-part series sees individuals who were once helped in their darkest hour search for the people who changed their lives forever. When they’re reunited, it’s an emotional experience for everyone involved.
‘It’s a history series where we take big events that have happened in living memory, and we meet ordinary people who have lived through them,’ says Rani. ‘We tell the story of what happened to them, and then we help them find a particular person who had a huge impact on them, in that moment in time, and saved their lives.’
Here, Rani, 43, tells us about some of the inspiring stories featured in the programme.
THE 7/7 BOMBINGS
Trainee psychologist Karl was on an underground train on London’s Piccadilly line when a bomb exploded in his carriage on 7 July 2005, killing 26 people. Karl, who was in the front carriage, has been looking for the woman who held his hand and comforted him in the smoke-filled carriage ever since.
‘Karl was literally in darkness, and somebody held his hand and told him everything was going to be OK,’ says Rani. ‘It was so touching in so many ways and now he’s desperate to find that amazing woman.’
THE BOSNIAN WAR
NHS researcher Emina and her sister Edina, who has Down’s syndrome, were living in Sarajevo in 1992 when civil war broke out across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Edina’s paediatrician, Nataša Savić, fought to get them on
a list for immediate medical evacuation, and they eventually made a new life in Birmingham. Since then, Emina has been searching for Nataša to say thank you.
‘The family doctor managed to get Emina, Edina, their mum and gran on the very last bus out of Sarajevo before the bridge was bombed,’ says Rani.
THE AIDS CRISIS
Marc was just 17 when he was diagnosed with HIV in the late 1980s, at a time when it was considered a death sentence. Struggling to cope, he had regular counselling sessions with a volunteer called John. Now, more than 30 years later, he’s desperate to thank John for helping him.
‘This is a really important story to tell,’ says Rani. ‘Marc was 16 when he came out – then a year later, he was diagnosed with HIV. John effectively saved his life, and it’s one of the most moving bits of TV you’ll see when we finally find him.’