Stuff the British Stole on ABC and ABC iview S2E5 – Charles Byrne was born in 1762 in the small village of Littlebridge. By the age of 18, he had grown to over 7 feet tall and realised that he could earn a small fortune by becoming a pay-per-view human curiosity.
He went on a tour of country fairs and village greens in Scotland and northern England, marketing himself as the Irish Giant, and the tour was a runaway success. By the age of 21, he was hailed as the tallest man in the world.
After moving to London to seek fame and fortune, he came to the attention of an eminent surgeon who became obsessed with his potential value as a cadaver and medical exhibit. Byrne was robbed of his life savings and was afflicted by a deadly malady that cut short his life at the tender age of 22. On his deathbed, Byrne made it clear to his friends that he did not wish to be dissected and instead wished to be buried at sea in an iron coffin.
Unfortunately, bodysnatchers removed his remains before his wish could be fulfilled.
For years, Byrne’s bones have been on display in a London Museum. So exactly how did he get there?
This epic story starts at the mysterious steps of Giants Causeway, where tales of leviathans have consumed people’s imaginations for centuries and takes us right into the dark heart of London’s oldest operating theatres via a few Irish pubs along the way.
This is not just a story of a man who was larger than life; it is a story of betrayal, exploitation, and the brutal reality of the medical industry. Many of the medical practices that save lives today are only possible thanks to the macabre and brutal business of shady grave robbers who sold corpses to medical schools or scientists who needed human bodies to dissect.
Production credit:
An Australia-Canada co-production, Stuff the British Stole is co-produced by Wooden Horse, WildBear Entertainment and Cream Productions (Canada) for the ABC and CBC. Major production investment from Screen Australia. Financed with support from Rogers Cable Network Fund, the Government of Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, Canada Media Fun, Screen NSW and VicScreen.
FremantleMedia will distribute the series world-wide.
Creator, Writer, Director and Executive Producer: Marc Fennell. Series Writer and Director: Stephanie Weimar.
Executive Producers: David Brady and Kate Harrison Karman (Cream Productions) Michael Tear (WildBear Entertainment); and Richard Finlayson and Jude Troy (Wooden Horse).
Series Producer: Kate Pappas. Producers: Alan Erson and Felicity Justrabo.
CBC Executive Director of Unscripted Content: Jennifer Dettman.
CBC Executive in Charge of Production, Unscripted Content: Nic Meloney.
ABC Commissioning Editor and Executive Producer: Kalita Corrigan. ABC Head of Factual: Susie Jones
Stuff The British Stole on ABC and ABC iview S2E4- Monday 15 July, 2024 at 8.00pm
Media Release – ABC
TV Central ABC content HERE
Stuff the British Stole on ABC and ABC iview S2E5
