STV to mark 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha Disaster

Fire in the Night, an STV produced feature length documentary to be screened on BBC Two in July 2013 will mark the 25^th anniversary of the disaster.

“STV Productions is very proud to have been commissioned to make this feature documentary. To have the opportunity to document Britain’s worst industrial disaster is a challenge we look forward to taking on, and diversifies STV Productions’ remit even further.” Says Alan Clements, director of content, for STV.

The documentary will reveal the tragic events that occurred on the Piper Alpha rig on 6^th July 1988. It was a catastrophe that killed 167 men and left only 61 survivors, each of whom had to fight for their lives to escape the huge, labyrinthine structure and the flames that were consuming it.

Over the course of 90 minutes, the documentary will detail astonishing testimonies from men who found themselves in the midst of an inferno that destroyed a rig which was, at one time, the world’s single largest oil producer.

Speaking to survivors and rescuers, many of whom have never spoken on camera before, this film examines how the disaster would shape the lives of the survivors, and discovers 25 years on how they have attempted to deal with the physical and psychological damage inflicted on them on that terrible night.

Ewan Angus, commissioning editor for BBC Scotland, adds, “Piper Alpha was a disaster which made a huge impact both on those personally involved in it at the time but also on those who watched those tragic events unfold on our TV screens all those years ago. Looking back at it again through the eyes of those most closely involved in it will, I’m sure, shed further light on one of Scotland’s darkest industrial days.”

Fire in the Night is based on the book by Stephen McGinty with the STV production directed and produced by BAFTA award winning, Anthony Wonke. The production will also be released in cinemas UK wide in 2013 before the television transmission.