Frankenstein.

Using a combination of historical fact and dramatic reconstruction, this programme tells the true story of Professor Giovanni Aldini, who, 200 years ago, used electricity to re-animate the corpse of a convicted murderer, inspiring Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein.' Aldini left Bologna as the only corpses he could experiment on were those of beheaded murderers. He travelled to London where criminals were hung, thus allowing him to experiment on an intact corpse. In Newgate Jail he came across George Foster, a young man accused of murdering his wife and child, currently awaiting trial. Aldini took pains to ensure that, following the charge of guilty, Foster was kept in good health so that his plans to resurrect him with electricity would be more likely to work. However, the experiment failed and the galvinisation of George Foster was the closest Aldini ever came to his dream of reviving a human corpse. He returned to Italy and never had the chance to attempt such an experiment again.