Four part BBC series will tell story of London 7/7 bombings minute by minute
by Sophie Doughty · ChronicleLiveA four part series will tell the minute-by minute story of London 7/7 bombings.
Tyneside woman Lisa French survived the atrocity in the capital, which claimed 52 lives almost 20 years ago. And now, to mark the milestone anniversary of the first suicide bombings to take place on English soil, the BBC is to air a new documentary series which aims to tell the "definitive story" of the attacks and their aftermath.
7/7: The London Bombings will be made-up of four 60-minute episodes which tell the the story of the biggest police investigation in British history and the three-week hunt to catch all the bombers, which included the tragic shooting of innocent Jean Charles de Menezes.
The series starts on Sunday, January 5, on BBC Two and all four episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer.
Four bombs were detonated on London’s transport system on the morning of July 7, 2005, blowing up three trains and a bus. Fifty two people were killed and hundreds injured. Lisa, from Heaton, Newcastle, was onboard the packed number 30 bus when suicide bomber Hasib Hussain detonated his bomb, which killed 13 people in Tavistock Square.
Lisa, who was in London for a business meeting, had almost sat next to the bomber, but, as she had her laptop with her and didn’t think it would fit side-by-side with all of his bags, chose another spot.
The worst attack of its kind in the UK, sparked some of the most chaotic and significant moments in the history of the capital city as police and security services worked to who protect it. Another series of attempted bombings followed and in the subsequent manhunt Jean Charles was shot dead by officers.
Programme makers say series follows the investigation "forensically and painstakingly", minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.
It tells the story from the perspective of the victims on the ground, revealing how survivors had to reconcile themselves with life-changing injuries, and it pieces together the emergency response as first responders scrambled to act in the epicentre of the crisis.
The documentaries include interviews with Prime Minister Tony Blair, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, and Home Secretary Charles Clarke, together with key members of the police investigation team. It examines how they struggled to deal with the repercussions, reassure a nation, and find out what had happened before bombers could strike again.
Simon Young, BBC Head of Commissioning, History, said: “It’s difficult to comprehend just how febrile and frenzied those weeks felt like in London and across the country, nearly twenty years ago. 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.”
And Adam Wishart, joint series director and producer from The Slate Works, added: “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?”
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