The documentary strand exploring remarkable tales of human experience continues. This edition features a group of Indonesian circus performers whose shocking medical conditions made them the star attraction in a travelling freak show.

With the show now disbanded, the performers have returned to their respective villages where they face the prospect of finding work outside the circus. 'Extraordinary People' follows a British surgeon as he travels to Indonesia to see if he can help the people combat their conditions.

In Indonesia, a close-knit group of circus performers known as 'the Clan' has long been the main attraction at a travelling freak show. Esih, Sahi, Sakim and Mamat all have extreme physical conditions that have never been diagnosed, but the performers have managed to earn a living thanks to the morbid fascination of the public.

However, the circus has now gone out of business and the four performers have been forced to leave life on the road and return to their villages. Sahi is trying his luck at woodcutting, but says the work irritates his skin, which is covered in bubble-like tumours.

Having heard news of the Clan's plight, British craniomaxillofacial surgeon David Koppel is keen to help. So far, all he has seen of the Clan is a video of their act. Mr Koppel hopes that by flying to Indonesia, he might offer the group members diagnoses, and provide them with treatment that could turn their lives around.

The truth is that sideshows have given way to TV and computer screens; we feed our appetite for the outlandish in cyberspace, not at the fairground.

Extraordinary people: World's oldest conjoined twins, Five

Straddling these eras was the gently touching tale of Donnie and Ronnie Galyon, aged 57, truly Extraordinary People: The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins (Five). The senses have been numbed by a plethora of The Man With A Tree For A Head type shows but Kerry Brierley told the Galyons' story with rare sensitivity.

Donnie and Ronnie have spent their entire lives facing each other, joined at the base of the sternum down to the pelvis. They spent three decades as a sideshow attraction, the best way their father could find to support his family of nine. But, refreshingly, they had nothing but fond memories of the experience: it made them feel special.

There was a slightly spurious 'trip of a lifetime' drama sub-plot as the brothers achieved their ambition to see the Dallas Cowboys.