Presented by Anita Rani, this series tells the stories of ordinary people caught up in the biggest events in living memory, each of whom received an act of exceptional humanity from someone that would change their life forever.
In each episode we hear from someone who has lived through one of the biggest moments to have shaped Britain and its people - including the 7/7 terrorist attacks, the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the Falklands War. The series also looks at stories from across the world, including the Holocaust and the Bosnian War.
We follow each contributor on a personal journey to find someone significant from this time who they have lost touch with, combining their emotional journey with historical learning and investigative research. The series celebrates moments of kindness and humanity in some of our most challenging times, and culminates in some emotional reunions.
The first episode follows the story of Karl, a trainee clinical psychologist who was a passenger on the first carriage of the Piccadilly Line London Underground train - one of the four targets of the 7/7 bombings. In the moments after the bomb exploded Karl was comforted by a woman who was standing close to him, who reached out and held his hand in the dark smoke-filled carriage as he feared for his life. He has been looking for this mystery woman ever since, and we join him on his quest to try and track her down, as he finally comes to terms with the event that changed his life forever.
Alongside Karl’s search we meet Emina, an NHS researcher living in Nottingham. Emina and her younger sister Edina were born in Sarajevo. As a baby, Edina was diagnosed with Down Syndrome and shortly after this, a brutal civil war broke out across Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sarajevo came under siege. In desperate need of medical care and with no safe way to leave the city, Edina’s doctor fought to place the family on a rare list for immediate medical evacuation, enabling them to escape the horrors of Sarajevo and begin a new life in Birmingham.
Returning to Sarajevo today, Emina is searching for the doctor who helped her family evacuate to safety and gave her sister the chance of a better life.
Saved By A Stranger airs Thursday 29th April at 9pm on BBC Two.