How the pandemic gives the Salisbury poisonings new poignancy
Actor Myanna Buring on playing tragic Novichok poisoning victim Dawn Sturgess in a tense new drama
WATCHING TV HAS sometimes felt odd in lockdown. When characters on Eastenders hug, or visit a relative’s home, it can feel conspicuous by its very normality – quite the opposite to current times. But now the BBC is releasing a drama that feels haunting in its prescience.
In March 2018, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found collapsed on a bench in the cathedral city of Salisbury. Initially, it seemed the pair had overdosed. But a massive public health investigation identified Novichok, a fatal poison, as the weapon in a bizarre assassination plot. Miraculously they survived, but a local woman, Dawn Sturgess, was not so lucky, passing away after her partner stumbled across a perfume bottle – contaminated with the poison – and gave it to her. Many headlines depicted Dawn as a homeless drug addict. But, for Myanna Buring, the actor playing her in The Salisbury
Poisonings, this was inaccurate. ‘Here was a woman who had gone through really hard times and was struggling, but she was trying to get her life back on track,’ Myanna tells Grazia over a video call from her home in north-east London. ‘She wasn’t homeless. She had an alcohol problem, not a drug addiction. Everyone I spoke to about Dawn would say how she had the time of day for anyone and, if someone needed help, she’d be there. She was funny. She loved to dance. And she was a spark of joy. I just hope people remember that, you know? Nobody is disposable. Nobody is collateral.’
Watching the first episode is nerveshredding in the way that it shows how the poison was spread around. The camera follows a policeman who attended the scene as he returns home, puts the kettle on, and passes his wife a cup of tea. It feels almost like a horror film, as you watch the contamination spread silently. ‘It’s sort of spooky how many similarities there are [between the transmission of poison and a virus],’ Myanna says. Indeed, BBC bosses are said to have deliberated over whether it was appropriate to air the show during a pandemic. ‘But I think the story needs to be told. This happened two years ago in the UK, but I think for a lot of people it’s been an easy thing to forget.’
Despite years of TV work for Myanna – who has appeared in series including Ripper Street and The Witcher – filming the show took its toll. ‘I haven’t done a single interview where I’ve not struggled to not cry,’ she explains. ‘Dawn was a mother of three. She was a daughter of the most beautiful parents. All of this gets forgotten when we reduce the human being to a headline.’
Amid the preparation for the role of Dawn – the dialect coaching and extensive research – Myanna knew she had to consult Dawn’s parents, Stan and Caroline. ‘They were incredibly generous with their time and their stories,’ she says. ‘Can you imagine? This is your child, and she’s gone, and suddenly you’re having to read about your daughter in ways that feel invasive and wrong. It was quite emotional for all of us. So it made us more aware that it was an important story to get right. I would say to them, “I’m not Dawn, but hopefully what we’ll do is just remind people that she was a human being.”’ She is not sure if they will choose to watch the programme.
Dawn’s life, Myanna considers, seemed not to matter as much as others. ‘And I wonder, aren’t we seeing elements of that now?’ she asks. ‘That some people don’t matter as much? We’re packing people who can’t afford not to work on to packed tubes and buses, with no clear guidelines. It shows the classism that we still have. I’m hoping it will be harder to ignore after this.’
‘The Salisbury Poisonings’ will air this month on BBC One
IT STARTED WITH a Whatsapp exchange, arranging our first picnic of the year. First, a flurry of excitable messages; then an uncomfortable silence as everyone read my last point. After a friend divvied up olives, houmous and cheeses between us, I questioned whether we should be sharing food if we’re trying to socially distance. Five minutes later came the reply: ‘Let’s not meet; you’ve made me feel inconsiderate.’
Welcome to the Socially-distanced Squabble (SDS), a by-product of our newfound dilemma over how strict a social distancer anyone outside our household is. My first SDS triggered a wave of existential doubt: have I emerged from this pandemic a killjoy square, too fearful to use the same corkscrew as a friend I’ve known for years? Indeed, the SDS has the potential to tighten friendships – or drive us apart.
Talking to someone about how seriously they are socially distancing is a delicate task but will soon become as necessary as asking whether they’re vegetarian. As an easing of restrictions means we can meet outdoors again, some are making plans like it’s, well, three months ago, while others continue to hose down every leaflet that comes through the letterbox.
To confuse matters further, we’re all on the same side here: no one wants to spread a disease or see a family member fall ill. We just have different ideas about how to get on with our lives. So, here are the six Socially-distanced Squabbles you might soon be getting into…
1. The over-friendly friend
This time last year, you were squeezing into toilet cubicles with her on nights out and you’ve slept top-to-tail in tents at festivals. But now she thinks it’s a joke when you duck her hug and lean away when she shows you pictures on her phone. Back off, germspreader! Don’t make me call the police.
2. The dating app rule-breaker
He slid into your DMS during peak lockdown when you suddenly felt compelled to find The One, and you’ve been Facetiming sporadically since. Sure, you’ve had phone sex, but now he somehow thinks being allowed to meet outdoors means he can come and stay the night. Is it weird to argue with a new boyfriend before you’ve met him IRL?
3. The mum mafia
You’re counting down the minutes until the school gates reopen and you can pack them off back to class (sod the two-metre rule if it means you can drop the home-schooling and get some work done!). But you find your former playground pals won’t be letting their precious progeny near the classroom until a vaccine has been found – and every human on Earth immunised. The debate could turn nasty, so figure out whose views align with yours and say sayonara to the rest until 2021.
4. The gung-ho grandparents
They’re in their seventies and have a dodgy heart and asthma between them, and yet they’re the ones trying to persuade you they can make the 300-mile round trip to see the grandchildren without anyone needing to worry. You’ve spent the past couple of months shouting down the phone at them that, for God’s sake, visiting friends’ gardens doesn’t count as ‘essential’. You’re not sure you have the energy to fight them now the rules have been relaxed.
5. The family feud
One parent is desperate for the family to go on socially-distanced walks and picnics. A sister’s 40th? We can easily pop by and wave hello! But the other is hyper-vigilant and risk-averse. Approach with extreme caution: the former is sure to be economical with the truth about their daily ‘solo walk’, ensuring they’ll be at loggerheads for weeks to come.
6. The rebellious housemate
Whenever they tip-toe back in smelling of alcohol and perfume you know it’s unlikely they’ve been in the Sainsbury’s queue for the past three hours. You never signed up to be ‘the sensible one’, but when their disregard for the rules is endangering lives it’s making you compulsively clean more – and review your house-share when all this is finally over.