Behind the scenes of the BBC's 'Wounded' documentary

Just 24 hours after transmission, Sara met friends in a Soho pub and was gobsmacked to overhear strangers chatting about the documentary that she ate, slept and breathed for 16 months of her life.

The film followed the plight of two very brave soldiers, Lance Corporal Tom Neathway and Ranger Andy Allen, who were both severely injured by improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan.

As a result of the blasts, LCpl Neathway, aged 25, had his left arm and his legs amputated. Ranger Allen, 19, lost both legs and most of his sight.

The cameras rolled from the moment Ranger Allen was rushed into the critical care unit in Selly Oak Hospital through to rehab and recovery:

"It was an odd feeling," said Sara. "It was very strange waiting for someone to have something disastrous happen to him."

She admits that at times her emotions got the better of her:

"Nothing can really prepare you for a battlefield casualty, seeing the injuries that can be caused by an explosion."

Sara describes one particularly harrowing scene when Army plastic surgeon Lieutenant Colonel Steve Jeffrey peeled back field hospital dressings, exposing the horrifically mangled leg of Ranger Allen:

"That was quite a shocking moment," said Sara.

In grim scenes, surgeons battle to save Ranger Allen's leg from 'muscle death' before, finally, the decision to amputate was taken to save his life.

The grisly sound of the power saw did not need subtitles.

At the time of the explosion, Ranger Allen's girlfriend Natalie was six months pregnant and his battle to regain some sight before his baby son was born became a race against time.

Odd, intimate moments brought tears to Sara's eyes. When Ranger Allen's mum, Linda, chatted softly to her son as he emerged from a coma, she reassured him that he was safe in Birmingham and no longer fighting in the battlefields of Afghanistan. He shook his head in disbelief:

"Even now, watching that really gets to me because you can see a loving mother willing her precious son to be OK," said Sara.

The film doesn't gloss over Ranger Allen's misery when he briefly spiralled and starts to give up. When his physiotherapist cajoled him to exercise, he slumped on his bed:

"What's the point?" he asked.

His struggle affects every member of his family and it takes mum Linda to bring him round:

"If you're giving up, I'm giving up."

You glimpse her agony when she candidly admitted, after Ranger Allen loses his second leg, that she wants him to die:

"If you knew what lies in store for your children, you wouldn't have them," Linda reflected.

There are more highs and lows. Ranger Allen shakes with emotion when his sergeant major rings him in hospital, reducing his brave, pragmatic, Irish mum to tears.

As LCpl Neathway and Ranger Allen lay unconscious, Sara sought permission to film from their anxious parents. She acknowledges the debt that she owes them for allowing her to record their trauma. It was a gamble because Sara knew that if LCpl Neathway and Ranger Allen revoked permission, it would all be over.

Their stoic determination moved Sara deeply:

"I've dedicated 16 months to this and if you can't connect emotionally I think there's something horribly wrong with you. Filming was tough but such an amazing experience because Tom and Andy both opened up their world to us at a really devastating time in their lives."

Viewers follow LCpl Neathway's journey back to health and see the goals that inspire him. LCpl Neathway wants to join his unit in Cyprus, where they end their Afghan tour, until medics veto his trip to prevent a psychological crash:

"I'm still me, even though I've lost my legs," reasoned LCpl Neathway.

But, instead of being crushed, he stoically throws himself into rehab and his lack of self-pity as he gets himself off the floor, both physically and mentally, is inspiring.

LCpl Neathway's new goal is to attend his medals parade, which is just seven weeks away, but first he must master his 'stumpies' (short artificial limbs) before he tries out iron 'long legs'.

When he takes his first faltering steps in front of his teary-eyed family in the presence of Prince Charles, it is an uplifting moment.

According to Sara, the lads' motivation for being filmed was not fuelled by a mere desire for fame:

"They wanted people to see what life can be like for injured soldiers," she explained. "Their motivation was purely that nobody talks about the wounded. They wanted a British audience to really understand and appreciate that soldiers are human too - they have families and lives."

Did filming spur on their recovery?

"I don't know whether we helped their recovery but I like to think that we didn't hinder it. I really enjoyed hanging out with them, hearing their stories and being there when they were having dark times but also when they had a really big breakthrough.

"When Andy moved himself from his bed onto his wheelchair for the very first time at Selly Oak, it was an amazing moment. He said 'I'm going to do this' and he did it. It was brilliant and that's a really small thing for most normal people but pivotal in his recovery. We were all just taken aback and really pleased and it's moments like that that made you feel you're really involved."

Sara filmed LCpl Neathway and Ranger Allen for six months and they have kept in touch. Before 'Wounded' aired, Sara phoned Ranger Allen to ask if he'd be watching and was taken aback by his breezy reply:

"Well, there's a Man U match on."

Undeterred, Sara rang LCpl Neathway, only for him to break off because he was 'about to do a skydive':

"So their lives are carrying on," said Sara, who couldn't be more chuffed.

Media pundits are tipping 'Wounded' as a shoo-in for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts):

"That sort of talk is dangerous," laughed Sara.

Naturally she is pleased at the prospect of a BAFTA, but she's even more delighted that her film struck a chord with millions of viewers:

"It's one of those films that a lot of people have got together and watched and that is very powerful," she said.

"Television can allow you into a world that people don't really understand. People in Headley Court weren't victims. They were feisty, young men who were still messing around and enjoying banter while being really supportive at the same time."

Besides, no accolade would please Sara more than if the programme brought home what it really means to be a casualty.

'Wounded' is not just a testimony to the raw courage epitomised by LCpl Neathway and Ranger Allen. It is a tribute to the compassion and skill of the medical staff of Selly Oak and Headley Court and the professionalism of the lads' regiments. You won't see a more uplifting or moving film all year.

This article is taken from the November 2009 edition of Defence Focus - the magazine for everyone in Defence.