Dear Sirs
We have been reading the gurkhas.com website with great interest and wondered if members of your visitors might be interested to help us with the following research enquiry and forward this email to anyone you feel may be interested in talking to me?
RDF are currently developing a programme idea for Channel 4 that would explore a little of the types of challenges faced by some of the world’s highly skilled forces when training. Channel 4 are very interested in the idea and I currently have 3 weeks research to look into the basic feasibility of the project and possible challenges we could explore. The challenges of training are the key part to the recruitment of any serving member of a force and yet little is celebrated of the sheer level of skill, fitness and determination that it takes to pass through such rigorous challenges. RDF are one of the UK’s largest independent production companies and produce popular series such as Secret Millionaire and Scrapheap Challenge.
The aim of our programme would be to appeal to a family audience and to provide information about the history of some of the world’s highly trained forces and to explore the determination and fitness required through a challenge environment. The programme would raise awareness of some of the incredible situations faced by the members of the world’s most highly trained forces.
As part of the research, we are very keen to speak to some people who have served with the highly respected Gurkhas and wondered if you might be able to advise me on any people you could recommend that I contact? I am keen to speak to as many people as possible at the moment. I would especially like to contact people that fall into one of two criteria:
1) Those who have served with the Gurkas in management roles and have advised on training challenges. We would in no way want to compromise any information that may be ‘secret’ but I would really like to explore the types of challenges that could be set to illustrate the sheer level of skill, determination and fitness that are required in the recruitment for the Gurkhas.
2) Those who have left the Gurkhas in the last 5 years and are maintaining their level of fitness through taking part in any of the general or ultimate fitness challenges that exist.
We are also keen to conduct a small number of interviews with personnel who have recently left some of the elite forces and wondered if you have any members of your website who might be interested in helping with this? Again, this is for research purposes at this stage and I’m keen to speak to as many people as possible. I can be contacted either via this email, Anne.sutton@rdftelevision.com; my direct line 020 7013 4081 or my mobile 07970 714 780.
With kind regards
Anne Sutton