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The Big Life Fix

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The UK's leading inventors create ingenious new solutions to everyday problems.

The UK's leading inventors create ingenious new solutions to everyday problems and build life-changing solutions for people in desperate need.

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Inventing The Impossible: The Big Life Fix

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Ross Atkin

Akram Hussein

Zoe Laughlin

Yusuf Muhammad

Jude Pullen

Ruby Steel

Ryan White

Haiyan Zhang

Ros Ponder

Tom Watt-Smith

Damian O'Mahony

Itamar Klasmer

Studio Lambert

Mick Ebeling

Caskey Ebeling

Not Impossible Labs

The Big Life Fix: Inventing the Impossible: Episode 1

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Episode 1

Inventing the Impossible

BBC Two - The Big Life Fix, Inventing the Impossible, Episode 1

Three people’s lives are dramatically changed by the team of inventors.

The inventors help a disabled man who dreams of snowboarding, a hairdresser who was born with one hand, and a young man who could die if his skin is exposed to sunlight.

A team of inventors attempt to change the lives of three inspiring people with very different problems.

40-year-old Graham was passionate about snowboarding until an accident dramatically changed his life. He was caught up in an avalanche and buried under the snow for half an hour before rescuers could dig him out. Now he’s severely disabled; spending most of his time in a wheelchair, and with limited use of his arms and legs.  But, despite all the trauma he’s suffered,  Graham dreams of one thing…  getting back on the slopes and back on his snowboard again. Can award-winning engineer, Yusuf Muhammed, help make his wish come true? There are already a range of skis and snowboards adapted for the disabled, but none that meet Graham’s ambition – to stand upright and control the board independently. 

Alexander lives with a rare genetic disorder that causes extreme sensitivity to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. He is 10,000 times more sensitive to sun light than the average person. If he exposes his skin it immediately blisters and burns and he has a very high chance of getting skin cancer.  He lives at home with his parents and for the last 24 years he’s spent his life avoiding going outside.  When he does go out he has to cover every inch of his body, including wearing a home-made helmet and visor which are bulky and draw the attention of everyone who sees him.  For materials expert, Zoe Laughlin, it’s a huge challenge. She needs to find a way to protect Alex’s skin from the harmful rays which is light-weight and ventilating, whilst allowing him to go out in public without being stared at. 

Kyle’s ambition has always been to be a hairdresser, but he was born with a deformed hand making it impossible for him to hold hair while cutting or styling it. Determined not to give up on his dream he has enrolled at a hairdressing academy, but he’s reached a point where his disability is stopping him from progressing any further and he cannot complete the course. Engineer, Jude Pullen, needs to come up with a solution that will give Kyle the dexterity required to work as a professional hairstylist. And, in a world where appearances are everything, it’s important that whatever he designs looks the part too.

The Big Life Fix: Inventing the Impossible

BBC Two

Knowledge, drama, comedy and the arts for a broad adult audience.

BBC Two is a lively channel of depth and substance, carrying a range of knowledge-building programming complemented by great drama, comedy and arts.

Leading inventors to come up with life-changing ways to help people.

Thousands of people struggle with everyday tasks, hampered by their health or the environment. This series challenges leading inventors to come up with life-changing solutions.

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