Waking from a coma speaking a foreign language
Ben McMahon has found a career in Chinese reality TV after a car crash left him unable to speak his native English. Waking from the coma, he could only speak Mandarin.
Ben McMahon from Melbourne, Australia, has had an unlikely career in Chinese reality TV after waking up from a coma speaking Mandarin. When he was 18 years old, Ben suffered a head injury during a car crash. During his early recovery he was unable to speak his native English, and could only communicate with confused doctors in Mandarin, a language he’d studied in high school. Ben regained his English but his Mandarin stayed strong and helped him secure a spot on a Chinese dating show he was obsessed with.
First broadcast 2020
Presenter: Harry Graham
Producer: Mariana Des Forges
(Photo: Ben McMahon in a red tracksuit. Credit: Courtesy of Ben McMahon)
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- Sat 6 Aug 202208:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 6 Aug 202223:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 7 Aug 202208:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 7 Aug 202218:32GMTBBC World Service
- Sun 7 Aug 202222:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
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