Aahana Swrup
Based on a true story, Alex Parkinson’s ‘Last Breath’ charts the exhilarating story of the survival of a deep-sea diver who makes the extraordinary return from death’s door. Duncan, Dave, and Chris are saturation divers responsible for maintaining the undersea gas lines at the ocean bed. However, one unfortunate rotation reveals the real dangers of the job. Following an accident, Chris’ life-saving tether snaps, sending the diver alone and lost at the bottom of the ocean.
As such, it’s up to his fellow divers and the shipmates above the surface to make the impossible come true and save his life. During this daring rescue, one of the divers—Duncan Allcock—takes the bellman shift, providing support from within the specialized diving bell. As the film brings Allcock’s unbelievable experiences to the screen, the audience is bound to develop an interest in the real man behind the character.
Duncan Allcock Continued Saturation Diving After the 2012 Incident
On September 18, 2012, Duncan Allcock was supposed to do some routine undersea maintenance work in the North Sea with his fellow colleagues, David Yuasa and Chris Lemons. Allcock remained inside the diving bell as the bellman for that particular shift while the latter two divers went out into the deep sea, attached to the bell with an umbilical cord that provided them with essentials like hot water, breathing gas, communications, and more. Therefore, things took an adverse turn when Lemons’ cord snapped, sending him plunging into the ocean without a tether.
The rescue mission that followed was taxing for everyone involved—most notably Lemons, who reportedly underwent 29 minutes in the undersea without any oxygen. Nonetheless, Yuasa managed to bring Lemons back into the diving bell after more than 30 minutes. Once in the bell, Allcock, who was like a mentor to the other man, initiated mouth-to-mouth resuscitation—and successfully saved his life. To this day, medical professionals have no firm answer that explains Lemons’ survival and fortunate lack of any physical or mental damage. “Chris took one of those (sharp gulp of air) sorts of breath,” Allcock told The Independent in 2019. “Which to me was like New Year, crackers, fireworks, you name it. Everything. It was like, bloody hell! He’s (Chris Lemons) actually alive!”
Fascinatingly enough, despite the near-death experience, once Lemons was approved for work again, he, Yuasa, and Allcock returned underwater to finish the maintenance job. At the time, Allcock had been at the job for almost 20 years—and remained in the profession for another decade. His colleague Lemons has spoken about his career, establishing him as someone with a genuine love for diving and all the strings attached to it. In 2019, Allcock made a jump to Rever Offshore Limited, where he worked as a saturation diver for around five years. In 2024, he officially retired while in his 50s.
Duncan Allcock is Still Friends With Chris Lemons and David Yuasa
Even more than ten years since the incident, Duncan Allcock, Chris Lemons, and David Yuasa have retained a connection forged from having shared the unique life-or-death experience. In 2019, Allcock and Lemons came together in a professional capacity while working on Alex Parkinson and Richard da Costa’s documentary ‘Last Breath.’ Similarly, all three of them contributed to the development of the project’s dramatized and cinematic remake by visiting the film set in Malta for ‘Last Breath’ and sharing their expertise with the cast and crew. Furthermore, Allcock had a cameo in the film as a background actor.
Allcock even met with Woody Harrelson, the actor who plays the former’s on-screen counterpart. “I had already heard that he (Duncan Allcock) was literally just one of the most beloved people,” Harrelson said in the press notes when speaking about his meeting with the real-life ex-diver. “Everybody loves him. Then you meet him, and you get why because he is really such an interesting, funny, cool, smart guy.” Likewise, meeting the actor knowing he’d be playing him on the screen was a surreal experience for Allcock, who was happy to let the other man pick his brain about his feelings and Yorkshire background. In February 2025, Allcock had a public reunion with Lemons and Yuasa as the trio attended the film’s premiere in New York City.
Duncan Allcock is an Animal Lover and a Staunch Advocate For Their Rights
Although the release of ‘Last Breath’ brought Duncan Allcock somewhat into the public spotlight, the former saturation diver seems to prefer a private life. As per the last known reports, he lives in Chesterfield, UK’s Somersall Lane, with his family. He has a son, who has also been involved in professional diving as a career. Nonetheless, Allcock has a minimal presence on social media and doesn’t seem eager to share every update on his life. Yet, he remains vocal about his passion for animal rights. In 2017, he supported a petition started by Animal Rights to make animal cruelty illegal in China. “No cruelty to animals should be condoned anywhere in the world for any reason,” he wrote in a Facebook post, showcasing his support for the petition. “A different culture is not a reason.”
Read More: Chris Lemons: Where is Deep-Sea Diving Survivor Now?
