New BBC Lockerbie documentary will ‘honour the memory of those lost’
Those covered in the 60-minute film include Olive Gordon, a 25-year-old hairdresser, and Greek shipping titan Minas Kulukundis.
A BBC documentary about the Lockerbie crash is set to shine a light on the family and friends who lost loved ones in the crash and their stories.
The film Lockerbie: Our Story is announced as the BBC and Netflix have a six-part drama on the investigation into the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, and how the community in Lockerbie came together in the aftermath airing later this year.
In the documentary, the new stories of six people who died in the terrorist attack will be covered, with loved ones explaining why “they were on the plane that day” as well as wondering “whether they should have been warned not to be”.
Louise Thornton, head of commissioning at BBC Scotland, said: “The impact of the tragic events of the Lockerbie disaster in December 1988 continue to be felt today.
“It was an atrocity which shocked the world and changed lives forever. Our documentary will honour the memory of those lost, and tell the stories of those left behind, with the greatest of care.”
Those covered in the 60-minute film include Olive Gordon, a 25-year-old hairdresser; Greek shipping titan Minas Kulukundis, 38; Tim Burman, a 24-year-old banker; Terri Saunders and Billy MacAllister, a couple; and Helga Mosey, a 19-year-old promising musician.
Clare Sillery, head of BBC commissioning, documentaries, said “Nearly 40 years on from the bombing of Pan Am 103, this film shines a long overdue light on some of the people and personal stories behind the bombing.”
On December 21 1988, the plane exploded killing 270 people, 11 of whom were locals to the area, 40 minutes into its flight from London to New York.
Victims were of 21 different nationalities, and 190 were American.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only man ever convicted of the atrocity, while another man is due to stand trial in the US this year in relation to the attack.
A Libyan suspect of the Lockerbie bombing, Abu Agila Masud, who is alleged to have helped to make the bomb, is to go on trial in the US in May.
Al-Megrahi died in 2012 in Libya after controversially being granted compassionate release in 2009 following a terminal cancer diagnosis.
In December 2023, a memorial took place to mark the 35 years since the Lockerbie bombing, and last year the Princess Royal visited the site of the Garden of Remembrance, laying a wreath.
Earlier this year, Sky drama Lockerbie: A Search For Truth – starring Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth as Dr Jim Swire, who has been campaigning for justice since his daughter Flora died – aired.
The BBC and Netflix show has SAS Rogue Heroes actor Connor Swindells, Ozark actor Peter Mullan, Mary & George star Tony Curran, Back To Black actor Eddie Marsan, and Karen Pirie actress Lauren Lyle among the cast.
The series will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year, followed by Netflix.
Lockerbie: Our Story will be on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Scotland.
