Original version

BBC One Cambridgeshire

Without Limits: Australia

Documentaries

Factual

Factual: Travel

Factual: Disability

British and Australian veterans embark on a dramatic journey across Western Australia.

With the support of HRH the Duke of Sussex, British and Australian wounded veterans embark on a dramatic journey across Western Australia to mark the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney.

Series 1

BBC Two

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One London

London

BBC One West Midlands

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

BBC Two Scotland

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Without Limits: Australia: Series 1

Helen Baxendale

Lucy Carter

Ben Crichton

Nicola Comber

Without Limits: Australia: Series 1: Episode 1

without-limits-australia_e01_171018_pp.jpg

Episode 1

BBC One - Without Limits: Australia, Series 1, Episode 1

British and Australian wounded veterans embark on a journey through Western Australia.

Two-part observational documentary following a team of injured British and Australian veterans as they embark on an extraordinary expedition through Western Australia.

This two-part observational documentary sees a team of injured British and Australian veterans embark on an extraordinary near 1000-mile expedition across Western Australia's remote Kimberley region. 

The group is led by former Parachute Regiment officer Martin Hewitt. Martin was shot in Afghanistan in 2007, which resulted in paralysis of his right arm. In 2011 he joined Prince Harry and a team of wounded veterans on an unsupported trek to the North Pole, as filmed in the BBC's Harry's Arctic Heroes. Before they depart for Australia, Martin introduces the British veterans to the Duke of Sussex, who was seconded to the Australian Army in 2015 and knows the challenges of the Kimberley region.

British veteran Shaun Stocker, 28, from Wrexham in Wales, was a fusilier in the Infantry Regiment, First Battalion, the Royal Welsh. At the age of 19, and just six days before the end of his tour in Afghanistan, Shaun stepped on an IED. He lost both his legs and was blinded, and spent six years at the rehabilitation centre Headley Court. He was fitted with specialist prosthetics and regained 30 per cent vision in one eye. Shaun embodies the spirit of Invictus - from the very start of the expedition, Shaun confounds his teammates with his positive attitude and physical ability.

The other Brit is Keanie Trick, 23, from Devon. After seven years in the Army as an aircraft technician in the REME, Keanie was still awaiting medical discharge at the time of filming (discharged in September 2018). Following injuries to her hip and back, Keanie suffers from chronic pain, and from depression and anxiety. Like so many veterans who are medically discharged, she's readjusting to the loss of her ambition for a career in the military and wants to gain enough confidence to look forward to a new life on civvy street. But Keanie finds the start of the expedition in Australia challenging - emotions run high as she doubts her physical ability.

The British veterans join up with their Aussie teammates in Broome on the coast of Western Australia. Dean West, 46, from Brisbane was a corporal in the Australian Army. Having initially appeared to be the joker of the group, Dean reveals his terrifying backstory. In 1993 he was involved in a serious vehicle accident on a training mission in Malaysia. Five of his fellow soldiers died, including his best friend. As well as spinal and brain injuries, Dean has battled severe depression and alcohol abuse. Twenty-five years after the accident he still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Matt Tolson, 34, from Caboolture, Queensland, was a private in the Australian Army. He suffers from severe pain from damage to his back and knees, but even more disabling is his acute PTSD resulting from being exposed to traumatic events while peacekeeping in Timor Leste. Matt travels with his PTSD service dog, a black Labrador called Hades, who helps him cope with the symptoms of PTSD.

The team's route follows the Gibb River Road, an old stock route of mostly unpaved road that cuts through the stunning Kimberley region. Spreading over Australia's entire north western corner, the Kimberley is three times larger than England but with a population of less than 40,000 - it's one of the world's greatest wildernesses. The isolation of the region and the long hours spent driving vast distances give the team a chance to bond quickly, and they begin to share intimate stories of their injuries and discuss the difficulties of their recovery, both physical and psychological.

En route, they set up bush camps in beautiful and remote locations. But even camp life is challenging for some of the group - Shaun's visual impairment means that operating in the quickly descending dark is a real challenge. And on a walk to bathe in a natural pool, Keanie's 'invisible' injuries suddenly manifest in a remarkable scene as she struggles to walk the short distance.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Without Limits: Australia

Series 1

Episode 1

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC One Cambridgeshire

About BBC One