BBC Factual and BBC Northern Ireland have announced a new four-part documentary series, Titanic Sinks Tonight, produced by Belfast-based Stellify Media, for BBC Two and iPlayer. The series will provide an in-depth account of the sinking of the Titanic, one of history’s most infamous maritime disasters.
The show will focus on the crucial 160 minutes from the moment the ship hit an iceberg to its final descent, as seen through the eyes of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board. By examining a vast archive of eyewitness testimony, the series will present a minute-by-minute reliving of the sinking, based on the actual experiences of those involved.
Programme makers have conducted extensive research into hundreds of survivor accounts, cross-referencing them to construct a detailed timeline. By drawing on a range of sources, including letters, telegrams, newspaper and radio interviews, memoirs, and public inquiries, the series will offer a comprehensive and emotive analysis of the final moments of the Titanic’s maiden voyage.
The four-part series will begin shortly after 11:00 pm, when the Titanic’s radio operators received the sixth and final iceberg warning, and will conclude around 2:20 am the next day, as the ship fully submerges. By piecing together the chain of events, critical decisions, and personal stories, the series will illuminate the fate of those on board during the fateful hours of April 14-15, 1912.
Titanic Sinks Tonight was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual, and Eddie Doyle, BBC Northern Ireland. Kieran Doherty and Matthew Worthy are executive producers for Stellify Media, a Sony Pictures Television company. Fiona Keane is the Commissioning Editor for BBC Northern Ireland, and Simon Young, Head of Commissioning, History, is also involved. The series receives support from Northern Ireland Screen and additional international funding from Sony Pictures Television, ARTE, and SBS Australia.
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