999: What's Your Emergency?
| 999: What's Your Emergency? | |
|---|---|
 Series 1 titles | |
| Genre | Reality television, Documentary |
| Narrated by |
Hugo Speer (2012) Julian Barratt (2013) Hugo Speer (2016) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | British English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 18 (16 aired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Ed Coulthard (2012-2013) Simon Ford (2012-2013) Guy Davies (2013) |
| Producer(s) |
Daniel Fromm (2012) Mark Jones (2012) Ally Roberts (2013) |
| Location(s) |
Blackpool (2012) Various (2013) Cheshire (2016) |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Blast! |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Original release | 10 September 2012 – present |
| External links | |
| 999: What's Your Emergency? | |
999: What's Your Emergency? is a British factual documentary following the members of the emergency services in Blackpool, Lancashire in series 1 and the ambulance service throughout the UK in series 2.
The first series was filmed in Blackpool over 6 weeks in 2011 and follows members of the Police service, the Fire service and Ambulance service as they work together to tackle crime and disorder in Blackpool.
The third series was announced on 27 June 2016 to be starting on 4 July 2016 on Channel 4. This series follows the Ambulance service and Police force in Cheshire as they attend a wide range of urgent and not so urgent call outs.
Every episode highlights issues ranging from the damage caused by drugs and alcohol to the reality of domestic violence, and from the dysfunctional way that some people bring up their children to the plight of those who slip through society's safety net, with one or multiple issues raised per episode.
Episodes
All episode ratings are taken from the BARB website and include Channel 4 and Channel 4+1.
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | Average UK viewers (millions) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||||
| 1 | 10 | 10 September 2012 | 19 November 2012 | 2.80 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 7 October 2013 | 11 November 2013 | 1.98 | ||
| 3 | 13 | 4 July 2016 | 5 September 2016 | 2.09 | ||
Series 1 (2012)
| Episode | Broadcast Date | Episode Summary | Total viewers (millions) |
Channel 4 weekly rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 September 2012 | Drugs | 2.90 | 3 |
| 2 | 17 September 2012 | Children & Teenage Carers | 3.00 | 4 |
| 3 | 24 September 2012 | Relationships & Domestic Violence | 2.95 | 2 |
| 4 | 8 October 2012 | Payday & Bonfire Night | 2.76 | 5 |
| 5 | 15 October 2012 | Mental Health | 2.96 | 3 |
| 6 | 22 October 2012 | Women | 2.91 | 5 |
| 7 | 29 October 2012 | Alcohol | 2.88 | 4 |
| 8 | 5 November 2012 | Life or Death Calls & Hoax Calls | 3.12 | 4 |
| 9 | 12 November 2012 | Visitors | 2.56 | 5 |
| 10 | 19 November 2012 | Highlights & Interviews | 1.92 | 19 |
Series 2 (2013)
| Episode | Broadcast Date | Episode Summary | Total viewers (millions) |
Channel 4 weekly rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 October 2013 | Transition to Adulthood | 1.71 | 15 |
| 2 | 14 October 2013 | Alcohol | 1.78 | 16 |
| 3 | 21 October 2013 | Mental Health | 1.94 | 9 |
| 4 | 28 October 2013 | Life or Death | 1.94 | 8 |
| 5 | 4 November 2013 | The Elderly | 2.19 | 8 |
| 6 | 11 November 2013 | Babies | 2.33 | 6 |
Series 3 (2016)
| Episode | Broadcast Date | Episode Summary | Total viewers (millions) |
Channel 4 weekly rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 July 2016 | Call Handlers | 2.27 | 2 |
| 2 | 11 July 2016 | Legal Highs | 2.54 | 2 |
| 3 | 21 July 2016 | Neighbours | 2.23 | 3 |
| 4 | 28 July 2016 | Mental Health | 1.94 | 4 |
| 5 | 4 August 2016 | Regular Callers & Repeat Offenders | 2.20 | 2 |
| 6 | 11 August 2016 | Immigrants & The Language Barrier | 1.85 | 1 |
| 7 | 18 August 2016 | Money | 1.94 | 1 |
| 8 | 25 August 2016 | Alcohol | 2.11 | 3 |
| 9 | 1 September 2016 | Teenagers | 2.05 | 3 |
| 10 | 5 September 2016 | Violent Crime | 1.72 | 7 |
| 11 | 19 September 2016 | Driving & RTCs | ||
| 12 | 26 September 2016 | Relationships & Domestic Violence | ||
| 13 | 3 October 2016 | Death | ||
Controversy
Since the airing of the show, residents and councillors from Blackpool have been vocal on how the show has made their home town look to new visitors and especially families, after showing the apparent "darker" side of Blackpool.[1] The leader of Blackpool council Simon Blackburn has even voiced his concerns after watching the show.[2]Esther Rantzen wrote in the Daily Mail about how the show made her "weep for the women of today."[3]
In a separate incident, PC Claire van Deurs Goss was disciplined by Lancashire Constabulary after being shown applying lip gloss at the wheel of a police vehicle in Series 1 Episode 6, which prompted over 50 complaints to the force.[4]
On 26 July 2013 it was confirmed that Crackit Productions and the BBC were about to commission "Holiday Hospital 999" again based in Blackpool however these plans were shelved in what the Blackpool Gazette called a "Bullet Dodged" due to the damaging effect caused by 999: What's Your Emergency? on tourism in the town.[5]
References
- ↑ http://www.people.co.uk/celebs-tv/tv/reviews/2012/11/04/999-what-s-your-emergency-shows-the-darker-side-of-blackpool-102039-23937815/
- ↑ http://cllrsimonblackburn.com/2012/11/01/999whats-your-emergency-and-how-we-can-tackle-blackpools-social-problems/
- ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221197/Esther-Rantzen-C4s-999-Whats-Your-Emergency-makes-weep-young-women-today.html
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-20086519
- ↑ http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/business/local-business/bullet-dodged-on-999-tv-show-follow-up-1-5894353