'My Dead Body': Channel 4 documentary to show dissection of woman who voluntarily donated her body

A new documentary will mark the first time a dissection of a named donor has been captured on TV, Channel 4 said.

Toni Crews, from Deal in Kent, who narrated the upcoming documentary My Dead Body before her death, agreed to donate her body to medical science and have it on public display.

The mother-of-two died in August 2020 at the age of 30, after being diagnosed with a rare cancer of the tear gland in 2016 and losing an eye.

She became the first public display cadaver in the UK since records began 180 years ago, and the first British cadaver to be seen being dissected in such a way, for almost 200 years, according to Channel 4.

The film follows Professor Claire Smith, head of anatomy at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, and her team as they dissect Toni’s body and chart the course of the disease from the initial diagnosis to her death four years later.

The broadcaster said the dissection of the body will be part of a series of educational workshops intended to "educate viewers on the science of cancer and its journey through the human body".

Ms Smith said: "As part of this documentary, we were able to invite more than 1,000 students, including nurses, paramedics and neuroscientists, who wouldn’t normally get to learn about this one in a million cancer.

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"Toni’s gift of body donation doesn’t end with this documentary either, her body will be used to educate our medical students and doctors for years to come."

Ms Crews’ family also give an insight into her brave, funny and resilient character.

Her social media posts, at her Instagram handle blingkofaneye, and letters to her children have been recreated with her voice by using replicating technology.

My Dead Body will air later this year on Channel 4.