BAFTA award winning documentary film editor and consulting editor specialising in stories of complex human drama.

Based near London, England.

I’ve had the fortune of working with many of Britain’s finest documentary makers, credits include:

9/11: Inside The President’s War Room

2021 BBC/Apple Original Films

A feature documentary by director Adam Wishart, exec Neil Grant.

The film reveals 9/11 from the perspective of President George W Bush and his inner circle, as they learn of unfolding events and make decisions that will take America into its longest war.

🏆 Winner: BAFTA editing factual 2022

Nominated: Emmy Awards, outstanding editing documentary

Winner: best documentary - Rose D’Or 2021 and Broadcast Awards 2022

Nominated: BAFTA best single documentary 2022

Nominated: British Film Editors, Cut Above Awards 2022

The Wrong Man: 17 Years Behind Bars

2024 Two Step Films/BBC

A single feature directed by Fran Robertson and Gemma Gander, executive producer Kevin Macdonald.

Told by Andrew Malkinson, his family and legal team - the experience of being convicted of a brutal rape that he didn’t commit, the 20 year battle to prove his innocence and the revelation of the scandalous miscarriage of justice and that leads to a public inquiry.

7/7: The London Bombings

2025 The Slateworks/BBC

Again working with director Adam Wishart and exec Neil Grant.

A series of four films looking back at the 7/7 2005 terror attacks on London, the subsequent copycat attacks and the manhunt in which police shoot dead an innocent man. Survivors, police, members of the intelligence services and heads of government speak of their extreme experiences and the desperate race to find those responsible in the story of Britain’s biggest ever murder investigation.

The Final: Attack On Wembley

2023 Rogan Productions/Netflix

Directed by Rob Miller and Kwabena Oppong

Feature documentary - a snapshot of England as it emerges straight from the pandemic into the euphoria of its first football final since 1966. The day begins with bright excitement for Gareth Southgate’s team and descends into a drug fuelled, drunken riot with 6000 ticketless fans storming Wembley. The nation is left to contemplate the racism directed at players who missed their penalties.

⭐️ Nominee: 2024 Broadcast Awards, best sports documentary

Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case

2023 Vesuvius Pictures/Netflix

Throughout six months on this project, I worked as consulting editor between the production company in Tokyo and Netflix commissioners in London. I directed a stage of the edit in Singapore.

In this feature documentary, the determination of both the family of Lucie Blackman and detectives of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department leads to the discovery and capture of one of Japan’s most prolific serial killers. In a story where much is lost in translation through the friction of cultural differences, both the family and detectives are eventually deeply bonded through trauma, sorrow and respect.

Mayor On The Frontline: Democracy In Crisis

2023 On Our Radar/BBC

A single observational feature directed by Paul Myles and Chris Walter.

The Major of Freetown, Yvonne Aki Sawyer has won international plaudits for addressing many issues faced by one of Africa’s poorest countries. But as she bids for re-election, she comes up against violence and intimidation in one of Sierra Leone’s most fiercely contested elections since the end of the country’s bloody civil war.

🏆 Winner: 2024 Association of International Broadcaster Awards, best politics film

Louis Theroux 2002-2015 BBC

I had the privilege of working with Louis, editing a dozen of his films over more than a decade.

Directors include Stuart Cabb, Jason Massot, Emma Cooper, Tom Barrow and Paddy Wivell.

Films include ‘Louis and The Nazis’, ‘Behind Bars’, ‘Gambling In Las Vegas’, ‘Edge of Life’, ‘Law and Disorder in Philadelphia’ and the 2015 ⭐️ BAFTA best documentary nominated ‘Transgender Kids’.

24 Hours In Police Custody 2017 Channel 4

1x60min director Toby Paton exec Simon Ford.

Police investigate an attempted murder by a man wielding a fire extinguisher in the lift at the Hilton Hotel, Luton Airport.

⭐️ BAFTA nominated factual series 2017

Life and Death Row: Episode 3 Crisis Stage

2014 BBC

1x60min, director Graeme McAulay exec Colin Barr.

In this groundbreaking first series, a law student from Houston University volunteers to help with the final appeals of two Texas death row inmates - Robert Pruett wins a stay, Robert Garza is executed.

🏆 BAFTA and RTS winning documentary series 2015

Murder 24/7 2020 Expectation TV/BBC2

2x60min, director Jonny Ashton, exec Colin Barr.

These two observational films follow the investigation by Essex police of the murder of a homeless man in Colchester. A county lines gang is involved and witnesses are scared to come forward, multiple film crews simultaneously capture all the elements of this unfolding investigation.

The Paras: Men of War 2019 Avanti/ITV

2x60min observational, directors Nick Betts, Ross Haley and Jonny Ashton, exec Neil Grant.

The brutal process of filtering out the weak and turning the strong into soldiers for the elite British regiment. Filmed over six months on the muddy then snowy hills of northern England, the recruits journey deep into themselves to discover whether they are a Para - the vast majority aren’t.

Grenfell: Did The Fire Brigade Fail?

2019 Dispatches Channel 4

1x30min, director David Modell.

An investigation into the fire brigade’s response with new evidence and witnesses. The consequences of the instruction to residents to stay put, lack of training in high rises, poor communications and chains of command are all examined. The revelations are shocking for a service with a heroic status, that has previously stood above criticism.

Inside The Real Narcos

2018 Plum Pictures/Netflix

3x60min producer Tom Pearson, exec Stuart Cabb.

Former UK special forces soldier Jason Fox meets members of the Sinaloa, Cali and Medellin cartels that he used to operate against. This time he’s the one sheltering under trees, hiding from military helicopters. Filmed in Mexico, Colombia, Peru and The United States.

Inside The KKK 2015 Barcroft TV/Channel 4

1x60min, director Dan Vernon journeys into the largest chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Missouri in the aftermath of race riots.

Modern Times: Weekend Warriors 2015 BBC

1x60min, director Luke Sewell

The film focuses on several men taking part in the Tough Mudder endurance event. They are all dealing with struggles of life - divorce, midlife crisis, father/son estrangement, confidence and health. The event becomes a form of self punishment for some, bonding for others and a metaphor for all of their struggles.

Wonderland: Documentary strand 2008-2011 BBC

3 x 60min across 3 seasons in this much loved strand by executive producer, Nick Mirsky.

The 92 Year Old Danger Junkie Director Dan Vernon. Ron Cunningham is the world’s oldest stuntman in the last years and then the final days of his life, he still yearns for the fame that his stunts provide.

The Men Who Won’t Stop Marching Director Alison Millar explores Belfast’s Shankill Road more than 10 years after the end of the troubles. She follows members of a protestant band during the marching season and concentrates on 11 year old Jordan - a drummer from one of the most famous former paramilitary families on the estate.

Can We Get Married? Director Vanessa Stockley. Ben and Emma a twenty something couple with Down’s syndrome hope to marry - would getting married be stressful or the romantic dream they have always imagined?

18 With A Bullet 2006 BBC

3x60min, director Ricardo Pollack, exec Charlotte Moore.

An observational trilogy inside the 18th Street Gang, which originated in Los Angeles and is now a deadly force in San Salvador.

The first film follows recruitment of teenagers into the gang.

The second is the Shakespearean like tale of ‘Slappy,’ a killer on the run, who against gang rules struggles with drug addiction and is then caught by police for another murder. He finally finds some happiness reunited with old friends in jail, where he’ll serve life.

The third explores the complex politics of the gang in prison and how it controls the streets outside.

Smokey Dives, Jazz Faces and Places 2001 BBC

1x60min, director Ian Denyer.

George Melly, Humphrey Lyttelton and fellow musicians revisit scenes of their adventures, where the buzzing 50s and 60s Jazz clubs of London’s Soho and other cities across England once partied through the night. They remember life on the road in times of great cultural change and their impromptu jamming sessions with the likes of Jimmy Hendrix, which would happen in places like the Watford Gap service station.

For a more extensive list of over 90 credits please refer to imdb.com

Languages: basic Spanish

Edit availability - Contact me direct: danielcollins@mac.com +44 7785 547200

Edit consulting availability, I use an agent: Jen Lane jen@thecuttingroom.io