Lockerbie: A Search For Truth is a true-life drama that sees Colin Firth play a real-life doctor who lost his daughter in the 1988 terrorist bomb attack that saw a Pan-Am passenger plane explode over the quiet Scottish town of Lockerbie.
The series dramatises the disaster, that happened on December 21, 1988, where 259 passengers and crew were killed when a Pan Am flight exploded just after take-off. Eleven residents also lost their lives when the plane crashed into the town.
Colin plays Dr Jim Squire, whose daughter Flora died that day and who, alongside his wife Jane, spent the rest of his life fighting for truth and justice. But his battle almost cost him everything.
Here’s everything you need to know about the hard-hitting drama Lockerbie: A Search For Truth…
Lockerbie: A Search For Truth release date
The five-part series Lockerbie: A Search For Truth will premiere in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Thursday, January 2 2025 at 9pm with episodes running weekly at the same time, plus it's available as a five-part box set on NOW. US viewers can catch it also on Thursday, January 2 2025 on Peacock.
Is there a trailer for Lockerbie: A Search For Truth?
Yes there's both an official and teaser trailer for Lockerbie: A Search For Truth. You can watch both below...
Lockerbie: A Search For Truth plot
Based on the book The Lockerbie Bombing: A Father’s Search for Justice by Jim Swire and Peter Biddulph, the five-part series Lockerbie: A Search For Truth follows Dr Jim Swire’s fight for the truth in the aftermath of the tragedy. We'll witness the terrifying disaster in which his daughter was killed, and see him nominated as spokesperson for the UK victims’ families who united to demand truth and justice. What followed was a relentless journey across continents, and political divides, taking on a justice system that had no desire for the facts to be exposed. We hear that, ‘as the truth shifts under Jim’s feet, his view of the world is left forever sullied’.
The opening episode begins with Jim (Colin Firth) and his wife Jane (Catherine McCormack) waving goodbye to Flora, only for the terrible news about the bombing to come through a few hours later. Meanwhile, just outside the small town of Lockerbie, local journalist Murray Guthrie (Sam Troughton) races to the scene of the crash, realising an enormous story is unfolding before his very eyes.
Lockerbie: A Search For Truth cast — Colin Firth on playing Dr Jim Swire
Colin Firth plays Jim Swire, a father determined to uncover the truth behind the bombing of the Pan Am flight. Colin says: "I thought it was the most remarkable story, a painful one, but also in many ways an impressive one. His motivation was to find out the truth and also to gain understanding. He wanted to make sense of something which is inherently unfathomable.
"Jim Swire set out in good faith looking for answers and doubts crept in when they weren't as forthcoming as he expected them to be. When he went to meet Colonel Gaddafi he fully expected to be taken prisoner or even shot. He was going into the belly of the beast with this unofficial mission with no support, no back up!"
* Colin Firth previously won an Oscar for his role in The King’s Speech and has also starred in the BBC's hit TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. His other films include A Single Man, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Mamma Mia!, Love Actually and Operation Mincemeat. He's also appeared in Fever Pitch, Pride and Prejudice and Before I Go to Sleep.
Who else is starring in Lockerbie: A Search For Truth?
Catherine McCormack (Slow Horses, Temple, Lucan) also stars in Lockerbie, playing Jane Swire, wife of Dr Jim Swire. Sam Troughton plays local Lockerbie journalist Murray Guthrie. Sam says: "‘When we first meet Murray he’s walking down Sherwood Crescent in Lockerbie. There are burning buildings everywhere, it’s almost like a Heironymus Bosch level of hell. It was an extraordinary and deeply affecting film set."
All about the real Lockerbie bombing in 1988
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a bomb 38 minutes after take-off. It had flown from London Heathrow and was on route to JFK airport in New York. All 243 passengers and 16 crew were killed and 11 residents of Lockerbie, a small Scottish town, also lost their lives as the plane crashed into its residential streets. It’s the deadliest terror attack in British history.
Warrants were issued for the arrest of two Libyan nationals in 1991 but it wasn’t until 1999, after protracted negotiations, that Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi handed them over for trial.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was jailed for life in 2001, but released on compassionate grounds in 2009, three years before his death from prostate cancer. However, it is widely disputed that he acted alone. And some relatives of the British victims, led by Dr Swire, believe Megrahi was innocent and the real culprits were Iran and the Palestinians.
In 2003 Gaddafi accepted Libya’s responsibility for the bombing but refused to admit that he personally ordered the attack, despite claims to the contrary. In 2020 the US indicted Libyan national Abu Agila Mohammed Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi for his role in the terror attack and he faces a federal trial next year.
Behind the scenes and more on the Lockerbie: A Search For Truth TV series
Filming on the series Lockerbie started in early 2024. The five-parter is a co-production between Carnival Films, which is part of Universal International Studios and Sky Studios. Renowned Scottish playwright David Harrower (Blackbird, Knives in Hens) is lead writer. Maryam Hamidi (Vigil) is guest writer on an episode. BAFTA Award-winning Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders, The Winter King) is lead director. Jim Loach (Save Me) will also direct an episode.
