The Salisbury Poisonings
Anne-marie Duff on the challenges of playing the unsung hero at the centre of a real-life national emergency
SUNDAY-TUESDAY / BBC1
In March 2018, the nation reeled as former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, poisoned with a novichok nerve agent. We speak to star Anne-marie Duff to learn all about this threepart dramatisation of a shocking true story.
THE SALISBURY POISONINGS
NEW SUN-TUE / BBC1 / 9PM / EPS 1-3 of 3 / DRAMA
At the BBC’S London HQ pre-lockdown, Anne-marie Duff, star of His Dark Materials and Shameless, is reflecting upon a role that has affected her like no other…
BBC1’S real-life drama The Salisbury Poisonings, airing over three nights this week, tackles the story of the 2018 novichok nerveagent attack that targeted exrussian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on the streets of the cathedral city.
The plot of the three-parter focuses mainly on public servant Tracy Daszkiewicz, Wiltshire Council’s Director of Public Health, who found herself at the centre of an unprecedented national emergency – and Anne-marie was determined to do her story justice.
‘I’ve never played a real person that’s still alive before,’ she tells TV Times. ‘I’ve played lots of people from history but never actually tried to tell the story of someone who is around to hear it. So it’s a huge challenge trying to do that responsibly, kindly and truthfully.’
The Skripals were rushed to hospital as a result of the attack, believed to be by Russian operatives, but later discharged.
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey (played by The War of the Worlds star Rafe Spall) was contaminated at the Skripals’ home and required hospital treatment. Local woman Dawn Sturgess (Ripper Street’s Myanna Buring) was fatally poisoned after coming into contact with the nerve agent through a fake perfume bottle.
As events unfolded, Tracy was afraid that many more people could be struck down by the nerve agent – a few drops of which was capable of killing thousands.
Here, Anne-marie, 49, tells us why this is a story that should never be forgotten…
How would you describe Tracy? Tracy has an energy that makes her an amazing civil servant. We were really keen to tell the story of somebody who was so crucial to orchestrating the response, but didn’t really get the recognition she deserved. She’s the kind of person who doesn’t let go of the truth and will hunt it down.
What do you remember of the attack in March 2018?
Like many people, I remember bits and pieces, but it was odd – and perhaps it was on purpose – that we weren’t told just how much of a crisis we were potentially going to be in. The ramifications of what happened there could have been war, it could have been globally catastrophic and we can’t underestimate that. But Tracy’s story blew me away and so did she when I got to meet her, because she’s still connected to it all and assists those who were affected.
What was it like meeting Tracy? I got a sense of who she is as a person and details that weren’t in the script but can be useful for an actor to know, although this wasn’t an impersonation. Tracy was really trusting and she’d seen my work before, which helped a wee bit. I assured her that I wasn’t interested in anything other than telling her story, but she still might be really disappointed when she sees the series!
Did she visit the film set?
Yes. Despite meeting her beforehand, I was terrified and felt really self-conscious when she came on set. She has this coat she always wears and we managed to get the exact same one. So she turned up and I was wearing the coat and she was wearing the coat and it was all very strange!
Were you worried it was too soon to make a drama like this?
I’ve seen a couple of dramas in the past where the story has been about very recent events and I remember thinking it was bold to tell those stories so soon. But I think that’s exactly the time we should be telling them – while we’re steeped in the story.
Do you think this will change people’s perception of events?
If you talk to anyone about what happened in Salisbury, they’ll refer to – and sometimes laugh at – the cathedral comments from the Russian agents. You forget how severe it was. And it certainly wasn’t a joke if you live there. It’s great that we get to explain that terror to people and how close we came to something pretty ghastly, as well as show how hard people worked to protect others.