The Speedshop
Sunday, 8pm, BBC2
WHEN TITCH CORMACK left the Special Forces to turn his hobby of building motorcycles into a profession, he didn’t realise he’d end up changing lives.
In the new six-part series The
Speedshop, we see Cormack and his team design and build vehicles to help give people a better future.
Their first project is an adapted motorcycle sidecar for Cormack’s friend and ex-comrade Toby, who was paralysed from the neck down after being shot while on duty in Afghanistan in 2009.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Since Toby relies on a ventilator, the finished vehicle has to be safe, secure and able to accommodate his life-saving medical equipment, with no margin for error.
‘There was a lot of pressure, as I’ve known Tobes for many years and his situation is horrific,’ admits Cormack. ‘All we heard was: “It can’t be done,” and there were a lot of hurdles and obstacles in the way. So to eventually get there was absolutely amazing.’
Seeing his motorbike-loving friend get back on the road made all the hard work worthwhile.
‘One of my favourite moments in the series was taking Toby out in the sidecar, and seeing the look on his face. He could feel the wind in his hair, and it’s given him back some kind of freedom,’ he says.
GLOBETROTTING
Later in the series, we see the team head to Morocco, where they join a desert expedition and adapt some vehicles for 20 sick and injured Army veterans.
‘At one point we had two guys in a vehicle with three working limbs between them, and they managed to drive one of the buggies together. It was great to see what they could achieve,’ says Cormack.
As well as helping others with their builds, the guys also take on some daunting projects of their own, including riding 700km across Iceland on motorbikes.
‘Iceland was a challenge. We massively underestimated what it would entail to do it and it became really difficult,’ admits Cormack.
He also makes a poignant visit to the D-day beaches to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, who died before he was born but who inspired his military career.
‘It was something I’ve always wanted to do,’ he reveals. ‘Seeing those beaches and what those men had to do was humbling.’