Knife Edge

Richard Villar, guest of the BBC's Hospital Watch, is a world-famous surgeon. He is also a hero. For much of his career Richard Villar has worked with the SAS, in the developing world, and amidst conflict zones that include Lebanon, Bosnia, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Central America. 


Knife Edge is his extraordinary true story. Although a surgeon by training, Richard Villar still had to pass the SAS Selection test, reckoned to be the toughest anywhere. Then came his passport to the world's trouble spots, caring for soldiers and innocent civilians wherever he was asked to go. He tells of gunfire outside his consulting room, the dangers of landmines, of how to deal with perilous bleeding in the desert and his fear of a suicidal operation during the Falklands War. 


Richard Villar's experiences as a doctor are unique, the story he recounts truly remarkable.