Sunday Night: Aug 17

Sunday Night returns this weekend after its one week hiatus, with a profile on Andrea Bocelli plus stories on a family’s fight for justice and a story of medical survival.

The Three Musketeers
They were four beautiful children, enjoying the family holiday of their young lives. There was singing and laughter as Mum drove them to a play date with friends when suddenly everything changed. In a split second, three of the O’Shea children were killed when their car was hit by another driver doing 45km over the speed limit – who had been texting in the minutes leading up to the crash. Three-year-old Connor, nine-year-old Saoirse and Soren, 11, died at the scene. Only mum, Maria, and six-month-old Torben escaped alive. But that is only the beginning of this extraordinary story. Less than 24-hours later, while Maria and her husband helped nurse Torben in the children’s hospital, Danish police arrived and charged Maria with the manslaughter of her own children. Determined to right the wrong in honour of their beautiful children, this courageous Aussie couple’s legal battle for justice is one of the most emotional Sunday Night stories of the year. Reporter PJ Madam also interviews the car-crazy serial speedster whose impatience that fateful day resulted in the deaths of three innocents – and you won’t believe what he has to say. But the biggest twist of all, when the full facts finally emerge, will leave you speechless.

Andre Bocelli
He was the highest paid singer in the world last year – earning more than the biggest names in pop and rock. Andrea Bocelli is a tenor with the purest voice that stirs passion and emotion like no other, but who is this man who captivates millions? Sunday Night was given unprecedented access into Andrea’s private world. Reporter Alex Cullen sits down to interview the musical maestro in his beautiful Tuscan villa, we meet his stunning new wife, their gorgeous little daughter, and are backstage at the intimate open-air concert Andrea gives each year in the vineyards in the middle of his home village. This is pure indulgence. Watching this man, who has been blind since before his teens, walk around his home singing is about as magical a moment can get. And then there’s the spectacular finale to Andrea’s concert you need to see to believe.

Marny and her Hero
This is a story that will make you proud to be Australian – how two remarkable people, both survivors, changed each other’s lives. Marny Cringle was living her dream as a nurse in London when a freak accident left her clinging to life. Her leg was torn off when she was hit by a Tube train, her back broken in five places and her brain severely damaged. In a coma for months, she had little chance of pulling through. Meanwhile, a handsome young doctor in Iraq risks torture and execution to escape Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime and finds himself in an Australian detention centre, known only as detainee ‘982’. Over the next decade-and-a-half, Marny makes a miraculous recovery, returns to Australia, and has only one aim in her life – a return to nursing. Dr Munjed finds freedom, becoming one of Australia’s top experts in helping limbless patients to walk again. Fifteen years after both their lives hung in the balance, these incredible individuals find each other. For more than two years, reporter Chris Bath has followed their amazing journeys. Finally, Marny is fitted with her new leg by her hero doctor and attempts to stand and walk again.

Sunday, August 17 on Channel 7 at 8.45pm.