From hell to Paradise

A terrorist attack put him in a wheelchair but it hasn’t stopped BBC journalist Frank Gardner from realising a boyhood dream…

- Ian MacEwan

Lying in a hospital bed in 2004, wondering whether he’d survive being shot by terrorists, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner regretted that he’d never achieved his boyhood dream of seeing birds of paradise in the wild.

Little did Frank, 55, know that, even though his injuries would leave him unable to walk, he would be given the opportunity to fulfil that dream 12 years later.

In his moving two-part BBC2 documentary, Birds of Paradise: The Ultimate Quest, Frank joins explorer Benedict Allen on a trip to Papua New Guinea in search of the beautiful creatures famed for their dramatic courtship displays.

As well as a challenging wildlife expedition, for both men the trip is also a personal quest for closure.