BBC documentary tells the story of one man's decision to end his life at Swiss suicide clinic

How to Die: Simon’s Choice is an observational BBC Two documentary telling the story of terminally ill Simon Binner and his decision to ends his life.

The documentary by award-winning film-makers, producer and director Rowan Deacon and executive producer Colin Barr, tells the story of Simon Binner, operations director for Caremark Sutton whose story made headlines in October 2015, when he announced his planned death on his Linkedin profile.

BBC head of documentary commissioning, Patrick Holland, said: “This is a hugely important and powerful film about one of the most contentious issues facing families in the UK. Simon, his wife, family and friends have allowed us into their lives as they face one of the biggest dilemmas imaginable. Together they confront the terrible choices involved with love and humbling candour.”

The BBC Two documentary, made by Minnow Films in partnership with The Open University depicts Mr Binner’s story alongside the recent Parliamentary debate on assisted suicide and features powerful arguments being voiced both for and against.

The documentary is a British television first and gives an insight into Switzerland’s second largest assisted suicide clinic where Mr Binner made his initial appointment to die.

Mr Binner’s story gained the attention of the media last year following being diagnosed with an aggressive form of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in January 2015 and being given two years to live.

After he informed his loved ones that he was considering ending his life at a suicide clinic in Switzerland, both Simon and his family and friends were faced with emotional, moral and legal dilemmas. The documentary reflects their conflicting perspectives surrounding his decision until the end.

Featuring in the documentary, his wife Debbie is relieved when the Assisted Dying Bill is defeated in Parliament. She said: “I’ve always been quite anti-assisted dying. It’s one of those dinner-party conversations you have, never dreaming that you’d ever actually be having the conversation.”

Channel editor for BBC Two, Adam Barker, added: “BBC Two has a strong track record of showing ambitious, compelling authored singles, such as Vanessa Engle’s film on domestic violence or Robb Leech’s film, Welcome To The Mosque, and we’re very proud to be bringing this thought-provoking film from award- winning film-makers Rowan Deacon and Colin Barr to the channel.

“The film sensitively explores the issue of assisted suicide with intimate access to one family facing up to one of the toughest decisions there is to make."

How to Die: Simon’s Choice, will air on BBC Two on Wednesday 10 February 2016 at 9.00pm.