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ITV Studios’ production outfit Potato is to make a new series for Channel 5, Autopsy: The Last Hours Of …, which will air in the first part of 2014.
Three one-hour films, ordered by Channel 5 commissioning editor Guy Davies, will look at each of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Anna Nicole Smith, three global celebrities who died suddenly, causing claims, counter claims, wild rumours and multiple theories about their deaths.
The films look at the real truth about how they died as revealed in their autopsies. Forensic pathologist Dr. Richard Shepherd will navigate through the bodies of each of these three celebrities.
Shepherd was forensic pathological expert for the inquiry and Inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Al Fayed. Amongst his other work was providing the attorney general with a review of the forensic pathological aspects of the death of Dr David Kelly and he was the forensic pathological expert for the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.
The evidence revealed by the autopsy is enhanced by interviews with those who loved and laboured with the stars each film reveals the key life decisions and events that set each of them on an inevitable path towards death. A worker at Michael Jackson’s dermatologist claims that the King of Pop was injected with massive doses of opiates several times a week in the months before he died. The ex-boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith tells how the breast augmentation that made her famous nearly destroyed her. Whitney Houston’s chauffeur recalls how the singer’s extreme drug habits almost set his car on fire.
“The fascinating thing about an autopsy is that if you know how to read it correctly, it doesn't just tell you how a person died, it can tell you even more about how they lived," says Shepherd. "And furthermore, autopsies are non-judgmental; they are simply a scientific acquisition of facts, so in the case of a person that is well known, that objectivity can allow you to see them with fresh eyes, up close and personal and as if for the first time. The fact that they are a celebrity makes no difference at all.”
Guy Davies, commissioning editor factual, Channel 5, says, “when each of these icons died it was global news, but the public version of their lives and deaths were largely built on rumour and conjecture. Our programmes use the hard medical facts of the actual autopsy findings - examined and interpreted by a world respected pathologist – and first-hand accounts by those who really knew them – to intelligently piece together these shocking stories, and reveal the reality behind their final, desperate hours.”
Ed Taylor is executive producer, Potato and Michael Kelpie from ITV Studios. Series producer is Duncan Bulling and series director is James Tovell
Episodic Breakdown
Episode One: Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson, “The King of Pop” was the biggest selling recording artist of all time, but when he suddenly died at just 50 years old, he left $400 million in debts, and more questions than answers.
The evidence revealed by his autopsy shows a man who suffered. Plagued by complications from his many plastic surgeries, suffering from two rare skin conditions, riddled with arthritis and with his lungs severely damaged, he had an enlarged prostate, and was still suffering the effects of a horrific accident that left him bald.
But the most startling evidence takes us inside the bewildering number of drugs that were coursing through his veins - many at toxic levels – bearing witness to a host of addictions that had spiralled out of control, and the desperate battle against insomnia that would cost him his life.
Episode Two: Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston was a singer, actress, icon and diva with a once in a generation voice that propelled her into the pop stratosphere, but no amount of talent could protect her from the demons that dragged her to her death in a Hollywood hotel bathroom at the age of just 48.
The evidence revealed by her autopsy tells an astonishing story of excess, revealing in detail the damage done by years of abuse - from liver and heart disease caused by alcohol and smoking, to the perforated septum ravaged by repeatedly snorting cocaine - and uncovers the cocktail of drugs that contributed to her death, from prescription medications, to marijuana and free base cocaine.
But most importantly the evidence gives us a unique portal into the final minutes of her life alone in a bathroom, finally revealing the truth of what killed her and how she died and every detail of the desperate battle to save her life.
Episode Three: Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith was the embodiment of the American dream. Her breast implant-fuelled journey from small town stripper to Playboy pin up, Guess Jeans supermodel and Hollywood movie star captured the public imagination, but it was her marriage to a billionaire 67 years her senior that brought her global notoriety and started her on a downward path that led to her death in a Florida hotel room at the age of just 39.
The evidence revealed by her autopsy tells a heart-breaking story of hard living and hard luck. Her swollen liver, damaged lungs and injection-riddled buttocks all bear testimony to the addictions and behaviours that blighted her life. Coursing around her veins were prescription meds and the sedative that killed her idol, Marilyn Monroe.
But the most extraordinary revelations that the autopsy provides are the unusual cause of the mystery infection that contributed to her death, and the previously undiagnosed condition that could go a long way to explaining many of the tragic events of her life.
http://www.televisual.com/news-detail/Potato-cuts-celeb-autopsy-series-for-C5_nid-3624.html
Three one-hour films, ordered by Channel 5 commissioning editor Guy Davies, will look at each of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Anna Nicole Smith, three global celebrities who died suddenly, causing claims, counter claims, wild rumours and multiple theories about their deaths.
The films look at the real truth about how they died as revealed in their autopsies. Forensic pathologist Dr. Richard Shepherd will navigate through the bodies of each of these three celebrities.
Shepherd was forensic pathological expert for the inquiry and Inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Al Fayed. Amongst his other work was providing the attorney general with a review of the forensic pathological aspects of the death of Dr David Kelly and he was the forensic pathological expert for the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.
The evidence revealed by the autopsy is enhanced by interviews with those who loved and laboured with the stars each film reveals the key life decisions and events that set each of them on an inevitable path towards death. A worker at Michael Jackson’s dermatologist claims that the King of Pop was injected with massive doses of opiates several times a week in the months before he died. The ex-boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith tells how the breast augmentation that made her famous nearly destroyed her. Whitney Houston’s chauffeur recalls how the singer’s extreme drug habits almost set his car on fire.
“The fascinating thing about an autopsy is that if you know how to read it correctly, it doesn't just tell you how a person died, it can tell you even more about how they lived," says Shepherd. "And furthermore, autopsies are non-judgmental; they are simply a scientific acquisition of facts, so in the case of a person that is well known, that objectivity can allow you to see them with fresh eyes, up close and personal and as if for the first time. The fact that they are a celebrity makes no difference at all.”
Guy Davies, commissioning editor factual, Channel 5, says, “when each of these icons died it was global news, but the public version of their lives and deaths were largely built on rumour and conjecture. Our programmes use the hard medical facts of the actual autopsy findings - examined and interpreted by a world respected pathologist – and first-hand accounts by those who really knew them – to intelligently piece together these shocking stories, and reveal the reality behind their final, desperate hours.”
Ed Taylor is executive producer, Potato and Michael Kelpie from ITV Studios. Series producer is Duncan Bulling and series director is James Tovell
Episodic Breakdown
Episode One: Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson, “The King of Pop” was the biggest selling recording artist of all time, but when he suddenly died at just 50 years old, he left $400 million in debts, and more questions than answers.
The evidence revealed by his autopsy shows a man who suffered. Plagued by complications from his many plastic surgeries, suffering from two rare skin conditions, riddled with arthritis and with his lungs severely damaged, he had an enlarged prostate, and was still suffering the effects of a horrific accident that left him bald.
But the most startling evidence takes us inside the bewildering number of drugs that were coursing through his veins - many at toxic levels – bearing witness to a host of addictions that had spiralled out of control, and the desperate battle against insomnia that would cost him his life.
Episode Two: Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston was a singer, actress, icon and diva with a once in a generation voice that propelled her into the pop stratosphere, but no amount of talent could protect her from the demons that dragged her to her death in a Hollywood hotel bathroom at the age of just 48.
The evidence revealed by her autopsy tells an astonishing story of excess, revealing in detail the damage done by years of abuse - from liver and heart disease caused by alcohol and smoking, to the perforated septum ravaged by repeatedly snorting cocaine - and uncovers the cocktail of drugs that contributed to her death, from prescription medications, to marijuana and free base cocaine.
But most importantly the evidence gives us a unique portal into the final minutes of her life alone in a bathroom, finally revealing the truth of what killed her and how she died and every detail of the desperate battle to save her life.
Episode Three: Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith was the embodiment of the American dream. Her breast implant-fuelled journey from small town stripper to Playboy pin up, Guess Jeans supermodel and Hollywood movie star captured the public imagination, but it was her marriage to a billionaire 67 years her senior that brought her global notoriety and started her on a downward path that led to her death in a Florida hotel room at the age of just 39.
The evidence revealed by her autopsy tells a heart-breaking story of hard living and hard luck. Her swollen liver, damaged lungs and injection-riddled buttocks all bear testimony to the addictions and behaviours that blighted her life. Coursing around her veins were prescription meds and the sedative that killed her idol, Marilyn Monroe.
But the most extraordinary revelations that the autopsy provides are the unusual cause of the mystery infection that contributed to her death, and the previously undiagnosed condition that could go a long way to explaining many of the tragic events of her life.
http://www.televisual.com/news-detail/Potato-cuts-celeb-autopsy-series-for-C5_nid-3624.html
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