BBC BRIGHTON BOMB DOC TO MARK 40th ANNIVERSARY OF ATROCITY
15 August
15 August
Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland indie Keo Films and Walk On Air are to co-produce a BBC2 doc about the Brighton hotel bombing of 1984, Broadcast can reveal.
The Brighton Bomb (w/t) has been ordered to mark the 40th anniversary of the IRA attack on the city's Grand Hotel.
The 12 October atrocity killed five people and injured 31, making it one of the most significant on mainland Britain during the Troubles. The target was then prime minister Margaret Thatcher who escaped unharmed.
The 1 x 75-minute doc will include archive footage and exclusive testimony from some of those who were involved. Among them is Patrick Magee, who received eight life sentences for his role in planting the bomb. He was released in 1999 as part of the Good Friday agreement, having served 14 years of his 35-year sentence.
Other contributors include Edward and Jo Berry whose father was killed in the attack, John Gummer, former Conservative Party chairman who was with Thatcher at the time, a Special Branch surveillance officer responsible for trying to prevent IRA attacks in England, and an eyewitness who worked at a local nightclub.
The Brighton Bomb will be directed by Guy King (The Fall: Skydive Murder Plot) and executive produced by James Bluemel, Will Anderson and Rachel Hooper. The producer is Simon Bunney, the archive producer is Miriam Walsh and the editor is Iain Pettifer.
It was ordered by head of docs commissioning Clare Sillery and head of content commissioning for BBC Northern Ireland Eddie Doyle with commissioning editors Tom Pullen and Mary McKeagney.
Sillery said: The Brighton Bomb was a deadly attack aimed at the very heart of the British establishment. Forty years on, this film tells the story through the eyes of those who were directly involved and affected.
These personal perspectives raise profound questions for us all - about political violence, revenge and remorse. Is it ever right to forget? And is it possible to forgive?
Doyle said: This is an important and timely addition to our portfolio of programmes exploring the legacy and impact of the Troubles.
Having Keo Films and Walk On Air at the helm, the team behind Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland, means the story around this particular event will be told in a sensitive, revealing and compelling way.
The critically-acclaimed BBC2 series Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland scooped a Broadcast Award, two Griersons and a Bafta.
The Brighton Bomb (w/t) has been ordered to mark the 40th anniversary of the IRA attack on the city's Grand Hotel.
The 12 October atrocity killed five people and injured 31, making it one of the most significant on mainland Britain during the Troubles. The target was then prime minister Margaret Thatcher who escaped unharmed.
The 1 x 75-minute doc will include archive footage and exclusive testimony from some of those who were involved. Among them is Patrick Magee, who received eight life sentences for his role in planting the bomb. He was released in 1999 as part of the Good Friday agreement, having served 14 years of his 35-year sentence.
Other contributors include Edward and Jo Berry whose father was killed in the attack, John Gummer, former Conservative Party chairman who was with Thatcher at the time, a Special Branch surveillance officer responsible for trying to prevent IRA attacks in England, and an eyewitness who worked at a local nightclub.
The Brighton Bomb will be directed by Guy King (The Fall: Skydive Murder Plot) and executive produced by James Bluemel, Will Anderson and Rachel Hooper. The producer is Simon Bunney, the archive producer is Miriam Walsh and the editor is Iain Pettifer.
It was ordered by head of docs commissioning Clare Sillery and head of content commissioning for BBC Northern Ireland Eddie Doyle with commissioning editors Tom Pullen and Mary McKeagney.
Sillery said: The Brighton Bomb was a deadly attack aimed at the very heart of the British establishment. Forty years on, this film tells the story through the eyes of those who were directly involved and affected.
These personal perspectives raise profound questions for us all - about political violence, revenge and remorse. Is it ever right to forget? And is it possible to forgive?
Doyle said: This is an important and timely addition to our portfolio of programmes exploring the legacy and impact of the Troubles.
Having Keo Films and Walk On Air at the helm, the team behind Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland, means the story around this particular event will be told in a sensitive, revealing and compelling way.
The critically-acclaimed BBC2 series Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland scooped a Broadcast Award, two Griersons and a Bafta.
