999: What's Your Emergency? is a British television documentary. Broadcast on Channel 4, the show provides insight into modern Britain through the eyes of the emergency services, using a mixture of fly-on-the-wall footage taken at incidents and retrospective interviews with the people and staff featured. The show is narrated by Hugo Speer, with the exception of Series 2 which was narrated by Julian Barratt.
Series 1 followed police officers, paramedics, firefighters, and call handlers in Blackpool, Lancashire. Series 2 followed paramedics throughout the UK. Series 3 followed police officers, paramedics, and call handlers in Cheshire. From Series 4 to Series 11, the show followed police officers, paramedics, call handlers, and occasionally firefighters in Wiltshire and Northamptonshire. Series 12 onwards, the programme has followed police officers and call handlers in South Yorkshire and Northamptonshire police.
Episodes All episode ratings are taken from the BARB website and include Channel 4 and Channel 4+1.
Series Episodes Start date End date Average UK viewers(millions) 1 10 10 September 2012 19 November 2012 2.80 2 6 7 October 2013 11 November 2013 1.98 3 14 4 July 2016 3 October 2016 2.00 4 6 24 July 2017 4 September 2017 1.79 5 7 30 October 2017 11 December 2017 6 4 19 April 2018 10 May 2018 7 4 24 July 2018 14 August 2018 8 4 29 November 2018 22 April 2019 9 4 3 June 2019 24 June 2019 10 4 20 January 2020 10 February 20201135 October 202019 October 202012411 January 20211 February 20211358 June 202113 July 20211417 January 2022
Series 1 (2012) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary Total viewers(millions) Channel 4weekly rank1Drugs2.903217 September 2012Children & Youth Crime3.004324 September 2012Relationships & Domestic Abuse2.95248 October 2012Payday & Bonfire Night2.765515 October 2012Mental Health2.963622 October 2012Women2.915729 October 2012Alcohol2.88485 November 2012Life or Death & Hoax Calls3.124912 November 2012Visitors 2.5651019 November 2012Highlights & Interviews1.9219
Series 2 (2013) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary (millions) Channel 4weekly rank17 October 2013Transition to Adulthood1.7115214 October 2013Alcohol 1.7816321 October 2013Mental Health 1.949428 October 2013Life or Death1.94854 November 2013The Elderly2.1986Babies2.336
Series 3 (2016-17) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary (millions) Channel 4weekly rank14 July 2016Call Handlers2.272211 July 2016Legal Highs2.542321 July 2016Neighbours 2.233428 July 2016Mental Health1.94454 August 2016Regular Callers & Repeat Offenders2.202611 August 2016Immigrants & The Language Barrier1.851718 August 2016Money1.941825 August 2016Alcohol2.11391 September 2016Teenagers & Youth Crime2.053105 September 2016Violent Crime1.7271119 September 2016Roads Policing1.8871226 September 2016Relationships & Domestic Abuse1.639133 October 2016Death1.71101427 February 2017Custody1.3916
Series 4 (2017) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary (millions) Channel 4weekly rank124 July 2017Immigrants & Hate Crime1.835231 July 2017Young Men2.22537 August 2017Drugs1.815414 August 2017Vigilante Justice1.787528 August 2017Burglary2.19564 September 2017Children & Parenting2.407
Series 5 (2017) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary (millions) Channel 4weekly rank130 October 2017Sex Offences26 November 2017Squaddies313 November 2017Homelessness420 November 2017Mental Health527 November 2017The Elderly 64 December 2017Workplace Stress711 December 2017Teenagers & Youth Crime
Series 6 (2018) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary (millions) Channel 4weekly rank119 April 2018Dangerous Driving226 April 2018Mother & Son Relationships 33 May 2018Loneliness410 May 2018Cannabis
Series 7 (2018) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary (millions) Channel 4weekly rank124 July 2018Accidents & Injuries231 July 2018Ambulance Response Times37 August 2018Emergency & Non-emergency Calls414 August 2018Poverty
Series 8 (2018) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary (millions) Channel 4weekly rank120 November 2018Violent Crime227 November 2018Learning Disabilities34 December 2018Criminal Families422 April 2019Knife Crime & Murder
Series 9 (2019) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary Total viewers(millions) Channel 4weekly rank13 June 2019Relationships & Domestic Abuse210 June 2019Increased Demand317 June 2019Officer Safety424 June 2019Knife Crime
Series 10 (2020) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary Total viewers(millions) Channel 4weekly rank120 January 2020Roads Policing227 January 2020Young Men & Fathers33 February 2020Hate Crime410 February 2020Women
Series 11 (2020) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary Total viewers(millions) Channel 4weekly rank15 October 2020High Streets & Night-time Economy212 October 2020Burglary & Theft319 October 2020Violent Crime & Youth Crime
Series 12 (2021) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary Total viewers(millions) Channel 4weekly rank111 January 2021Fear of Crime218 January 2021Sex Offences325 January 2021Violent Crime & Youth Crime41 February 2021Coronavirus
Series 13 (2021) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary Total viewers(millions) Channel 4weekly rank18 June 2021Revenge & Vigilante Justice215 June 2021Time Wasters & the Vulnerable322 June 2021Alcohol & House Parties429 June 2021Children & Parenting513 July 2021Housing
Series 14 (2022) Episode Broadcast Date Episode Summary Total viewers(millions) Channel 4weekly rank117 January 2022The Night Shift224 January 2022Drunk Women331 January 2022Custody
Controversies After Series 1 of the show, residents and councillors from Blackpool expressed their dismay at how their town was portrayed to potential visitors, and were concerned the gritty reality may discourage tourism. In particular, the leader of Blackpool council Simon Blackburn voiced his concerns after watching the show. On 26 July 2013, it was confirmed that Crackit Productions and the BBC were about to commission "Holiday Hospital 999", another show portraying Blackpool, but these plans were shelved. After the effect of "999: What's Your Emergency?" on the town's popularity with tourists, the Blackpool Gazette called this a "bullet dodged".
PC Claire van Deurs Goss was disciplined by Lancashire Constabulary after being shown applying lip gloss at the wheel of a police vehicle in Series 1 Episode 6, an action which prompted over 50 complaints to the force.
Despite praising the overall performance of his staff, Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Kier Pritchard admitted that the expletives used by some of the Wiltshire police officers featured in the show fell below the standards expected of them.
References
External links
999: What's Your Emergency? at Channel4.com