THE STORY of a Hampshire man’s fight to rebuild his body and his family after contracting a devastating illness will be shown on prime time TV.

Father-of-one Alex Lewis saw his life turned upside down after he caught a bug which would eventually see him losing all four limbs and his face badly disfigured.

Filmed just days after he lost his limbs, a documentary maker has followed the Stockbridge dad’s incredible story for the past two years as rebuilds his life, his relationships and reinvent himself.

Channel 4 will be airing the one-hour documentary chronicling his story at 9pm on Thursday night (April 28).

In the show, called The Extraordinary Case of Alex Lewis, the 36-year old talks about he used to be “an ordinary family man” until a common cold would “change the course of my life overnight”.

Now the story of how doctors worked to reconstruct his body and rebuild his face will be broadcast to millions of people on primetime TV.

A spokesman for Channel 4 said: “With incredible access to a candid and inspirational family, this life-affirming film captures a man turning a horrific situation into a triumph of human achievement as, over two years, he regains his personality and identity as a father and partner.”

In 2013, Alex was hit by the same bug which causes a minor sore throat but left him in a coma, wired up to machines and fighting for his life.

In an extremely rare case, the cold developed into toxic shock syndrome, with shattering effects. In the course of one night it would change the course of his life.

His legs and an arm were so badly infected that they had to be amputated to stop the infection spreading.

For months surgeons battled to save and rebuild Alex’s right arm – seen as crucial to leading any kind of independent life when he eventually got out of hospital.

But in the end, in the spring of 2014, the arm snapped and had to be amputated from the elbow.

As well as the devastating physical effects, the illness also wreaked a devastating effect on his partner Lucy and his son Sam, who is now five.

In one heartbreaking scene, Sam, who was three at the time, refuses to kiss him after he has surgery to reconstruct his lips.

The programme will follow the father and son’s emotional paths to rediscovering their love as well as exploring the love which Lucy has for her man.

“I absolutely love him,’ she said.

“When I got with Alex, I didn’t care who it was as long as he made me smile and made me a cup of tea in the morning.

“The tea has gone but he still makes me smile. And he’s the only person that does that.”