C4 nails von Hagens’ Crucifixion

The UK’s Channel 4 has commissioned London-based indie The Garden to make a one-off documentary about a German anatomist’s quest to create an anatomically correct crucifix.

Dr Gunther von Hagens, who previously carried out live autopsies on Channel 4 to investigate the human body, is returning to the channel on Easter Sunday with Crucifixion.

The one-off doc will be produced by Nick Curwin and Magnus Temple at The Garden. Curwin previously executive produced the Autopsy: Life and Death programmes.

It will follow von Hagens, famous for his Body Worlds exhibitions, as he creates a crucifix by injecting liquid plastic into bones and blood vessels from a number of donor bodies. These then harden and casts are taken before the resulting figure is mounted on a wooden cross.

The programme charts von Hagen’s six-year quest to create the piece of art, during which time he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. It will feature interviews with art historians and theologians.

The doc will air on Sunday April 8, directed by Srik Narayanan, produced by Liz Collier and Lucinda Duxbury and executive produced by Nick Curwin and Magnus Temple at The Garden Productions.