BBC Two drama “The Best of Men” to mark 2012 Paralympic Games

Eddie Marsan and Rob Brydon have been cast to star in a BBC Two drama called "The Best Of Men". This is a one off drama about the uplifting true story of the birth of the Paralympic Games and its creator Dr Ludwig Guttmann.

Eddie Marsan will play Dr Guttmann in the drama; an inspirational doctor who arrives at Stoke Manderville Hospital in 1944 and transforms the lives of his patients and staff. He rejects the general view that paralysis is a terminal condition and throws out the old care regime.  Dr Guttmann soon establishes a new regime, getting all his patients to live fulfilling lives, using sport to help patients build physical strength as well as self-respect.

Stemming from his sports therapy, Guttmann held the very first  Stoke Manderville Games in 1948, in the games of the hospital. Guttmann’s vision for an international event to be held in parallel with the Olympics became a reality in 1960, when the games were held in Rome, Italy alongside the official IOC.

As well as his other work, Guttmann, who died in 1980, founded the British Sports Association for the Disabled in 1961, the same year he was made the inaugural President of the International Medical Society of Paraplegia. A statue of him was erected at Stoke Mandeville earlier this month.

The Best of Men will screen on BBC Two on 16 August 2012

For more information about The Best of Men, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17687971