he bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie has been in and out of the headlines for more than three decades. Now the story is being told in a five-part Sky Original series, a first of its kind dramatisation starring Academy Award winner Colin Firth.
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth focuses on the extraordinary story of Dr Jim Swire. He has devoted the last 36 years to searching for truth and justice for his daughter’s death in one of the deadliest terror attacks ever seen in Britain.
On December 21, 1988, shortly after 7pm, a Boeing 747 bound for New York and Detroit exploded in mid-air over southern Scotland. All 243 passengers and 16 crew died, along with 11 people in the town of Lockerbie.
Within days, it was found that Flight 103 was brought down by a bomb in the cargo hold. A fingertip search recovered more than 10,000 pieces of debris, scattered over 845 square miles – effectively the biggest crime scene in British history.
Among the passengers was Flora Swire, 23, eldest child of Jim and Jane Swire. Dr Swire became the spokesman for the families of British victims, and led a 12-year campaign for the suspected perpetrators to face trial, even travelling to Libya to petition the country’s then leader, Muammar Gaddafi, for their extradition.
A new Sky Original series takes a closer look at one of the deadliest terror attacks in Britain – and a father’s search for answers
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Need to know
Academy Award winner Colin Firth plays Dr Jim Swire, a father who fought for truth and justice
‘Very much a story worth telling’
Firth was overwhelmed by the duration and sadness of Dr Swire’s journey
How Sky brought
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All episodes are available on Sky and streaming on NOW
For many grieving families, the 2001 trial provided a degree of closure. But some, including Swire, felt there were still many loose ends. Lockerbie: A Search for Truth is very much his story, told with restraint and compassion. Few actors embody these qualities quite like Academy Award winner Colin Firth, who plays Dr Swire.
“Colin was probably the first person we thought of,” says executive producer Gareth Neame. “Lockerbie: A Search for Truth is both a character study and an emotional character journey; two areas in which a brilliant actor like Colin always truly delivers.”
Firth’s portrayal reflects the challenges and changes that Dr Swire has confronted during the course of his long campaign. What is remarkable about his performance is how he conveys the sense of Swire growing into his quest, and the lurking fear that without this mission, his life might lose all meaning.
“He wasn’t a natural activist, someone who inherently distrusted the establishment,” Firth says. “His motivation was to find out the truth. I think he set out in good faith looking for answers, which he fully expected to be forthcoming as far as possible. Doubts crept in once he realised that they weren’t as forthcoming as he expected them to be.
“I was just overwhelmed by the relentless sadness of his journey, the twists and turns of it. Revisiting what I thought I knew about the trial, about the investigation and all of the subsequent events, I thought it was the most remarkable story – a painful one, but also in many ways an impressive one. I thought that if you go through the steps that that man has been through, it was very much a story worth telling.”
On screen, as in real life, Dr Swire is backed up by his wife, Jane, who supports his quest for truth.
As Jane, Catherine McCormack brings intelligence and warmth to a role that in less skilful hands might disappear in the shadow of its lead. “It was a rather daunting prospect, playing a real person who had suffered such a great loss,” McCormack says.
“In the Sky documentary [2023’s Lockerbie], asked how she dealt with Flora’s death, Jane said, ‘I just tried to survive it, one step at a time.’ For me, this simple moment was so full of Jane’s humanity, vulnerability and strength, it became a guiding light.”
‘He always delivers’
Academy Award winner Firth was the series producers’ first choice for the role of Dr Swire
Firth is full of praise for his co-star. “I was quite overcome by the degree to which Catherine inhabited the part,” he says. “To have her as that anchor and emotional reality just made my work technically easier... and it was done with such respect.”
One of the challenges that arises from telling a personal story drawn from real events such as those of Flight 103 is that the storyteller has a duty to other people and their differing opinions. “It’s very important to point out that Jim Swire’s belief that there was a miscarriage of justice isn’t the sole belief, and we hope our drama shows that his opinion has been challenged over the years,” Neame says.
“We acknowledge that there are many families who hold a completely different opinion. So, as a drama, we’ve endeavoured to show that, by never saying whether Jim’s version of events is correct or not. We are telling Jim’s story from his perspective.”
Director Otto Bathurst agrees. “This is what David Harrower, the writer, completely nailed. The show absolutely delivers on both levels. There’s the intimate story about Jim and his wife and two remaining children. That was a tumultuous journey, and when something like that happens to a family there are immense ripples, and Colin Firth and Catherine McCormack are absolutely incredible and heartbreaking.”
“Whenever I talk about Jim,” Firth says, “I’m going to have to at least partly talk about my and David Harrower’s Jim, which we hope resonates with the real Jim. I think one of the things that’s so extraordinary and so particular about the character of Jim Swire is the journey and its duration. The point where he finds himself today couldn’t be further from his starting point.”
Trying to do justice to a story that unfolds over 36 years, with so much documentary evidence behind it, is a highly ambitious undertaking, and Lockerbie: A Search for Truth maintains a fine balance between historical fact and narrative invention. As a viewer, you may go in thinking you know the story already. Be prepared to have your eyes opened.
Vital support
Catherine McCormack, right, plays Jane Swire. Above, Firth in a scene showing Jim Swire’s visit to Libya
It’s very important to point out that Jim Swire’s belief isn’t the sole belief
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Jim Swire wasn’t a natural activist, someone who distrusted the establishment
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to the screen
A Search For Truth
