TVREAL
7/7: The London Bombings, about the bombs that detonated on London’s transport system on July 7, 2005, is scheduled to debut across January 5 and 6 on BBC Two.
The four-part series follows the three-week hunt to catch the bombers who set off four explosives on three trains and a bus, injuring hundreds and killing 52. It features interviews with victims, key members of the police investigation team, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Home Secretary Charles Clarke to piece together the emergency response to the attack.
As the investigative force went about searching for those responsible, another series of attempted bombings occurred. In the subsequent manhunt, the police shot and killed an innocent man, Jean Charles de Menezes.
The series comes from The Slate Works. The joint series directors are Adam Wishart (9/11: Inside the President’s War Room) and Jim Nally (Murder in the Car Park, Madness in the Fast Lane). Executive producing is Neil Grant (9/11: Inside the President’s War Room, Is Labour Anti-Semitic?, The Murder Detectives). Serena Kennedy is the head of production.
It will debut on January 5 and 6 on BBC Two and begin streaming on BBC iPlayer on January 5. Banijay Rights is handling international distribution.
“It’s difficult to comprehend just how febrile and frenzied those weeks felt like in London and across the country, nearly 20 years ago,” said Simon Young, head of commissioning for history at BBC. “This series painstakingly pieces together the chain of events, moments of resilience and hope, as well as tragedy and horror. The result is a frank portrait of how the nation responded, when our streets became a new kind of frontline.”
Wishart, joint series director and producer at The Slate Works, added, “After telling the story of President George W. Bush on 9/11, we wanted to understand what happened to the British state when faced with a huge crisis of its own. What does it feel like to run the police or the country when faced with the biggest attack on English soil? And what is it like when you or your family are caught in the blasts? How does anyone cope with the emotional consequences and the political repercussions?”
