Channel 4 was set up to champion minority voices. Born Risky is a brand campaign embodying this. Following on from the Paralympics, we looked at other areas in which to challenge attitudes to disability. So we introduced the world’s first amputee pop artist, Viktoria Modesta, a singer-songwriter till now ignored by the music industry. C4 collaborated with Viktoria, who wrote and performed Prototype. In the music video, Viktoria’s amputeeism is treated as empowering, as part of her artistic expression which can thrill and influence -not an accident of nature which demands sympathy.

Controversially the video was launched in the X Factor Final earning national coverage re C4’s “invasion” of ITV’s and Simon Cowell’s big night. Reaching 8m+ viewers instantly, it made a powerful point about offering an alternative to painfully dull and manufactured pop stars.