BBC documentary to show assisted suicide

The medically assisted death of a terminally ill man is to be shown in a controversial new BBC documentary on the subject fronted by Sir Terry Pratchett.

In Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die, the renowned author will follow a British motor neurone sufferer as he carries out an assisted death at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.

Pratchett, who was diagnosed with a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's disease in 2007, said: "I am a firm believer in assisted death. I believe everybody possessed of a debilitating and incurable disease should be allowed to pick the hour of their death. And I wanted to know more about Dignitas in case I ever wanted to go there myself."

The author hopes to choose how to end his own life rather than succumb to his condition, but he also acknowledges that the subject of assisted death is complicated for many people on religious, moral or indeed legal grounds.

In the hour-long BBC Two documentary, Prachett will meet other people suffering with degenerative conditions who want to control the way they die.

He will also compare the legal stances across Europe to assisted death and ask what the future holds for terminally ill people in the UK. The documentary will air on BBC Two in the summer, alongside a Newsnight debate exploring a "wide spectrum of views" on the issue.

Charlotte Moore, the BBC's commissioning editor for documentaries, said: "Assisted death is an important topic of debate in the UK, and this is a chance for the BBC Two audience to follow Sir Terry as he wrestles with the difficult issues that many across Britain are also faced with. I hope this sparks a constructive debate that people across the spectrum of opinion can engage in."

Craig Hunter, executive producer for documentary-maker KEO North, said: "This intensely personal film, by one Britain's best-loved authors, tackles a deeply taboo subject with sensitivity and with Pratchett's idiosyncratic humour. It's a valuable contribution to the increasingly urgent debate as to who determines when and how we die."

Last year, broadcaster Ray Gosling caused controversy after his on-air claim about killing a terminally ill former lover on the BBC's Inside Out programme.