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Bombing Brighton: The Plot to Kill Thatcher

Bombing Brighton: The Plot to Kill Thatcher

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Summary

An exploration of one of the IRA's most significant attacks on mainland Britain during the Troubles, which killed five people and seriously injured 34 others. Directly targeting Margaret Thatcher, the bomb was planted three weeks before the Conservative Party conference, hidden beneath a bathtub in room 629 of Brighton's Grand Hotel. This programme features new testimony from many of those affected and an interview Patrick Magee gave in 2022 about his role in the bombing

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Review

David Brown

Margaret Thatcher’s whereabouts on the morning after the 1984 bombing of Brighton’s Grand Hotel are seared into the memories of a generation. There she stood, the picture of defiance at the Conservative Party conference, declaring that attempts to destroy democracy would fail. But the PM wasn’t alone in being resolute: equally unwavering but coming from the opposite position was Patrick Magee, the Provisional IRA volunteer involved in the planting of the bomb. As uncomfortable a prospect as this may be, the story presented here is as much Magee’s as it is Thatcher’s. And it’s in his interview that we hear of his equanimity when tasked with targeting the Tory government.

Has Magee’s viewpoint altered in the decades since? For the answer, the focus shifts to Jo Berry, whose father, MP Anthony Berry, died in the blast. Her actions following Magee’s prison release were singular and courageous, and their recounting see this film take a turn for the remarkable. Those seeking further accounts can find them in a repeat from 2004 on BBC4
at 10.15pm.

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7.6/10

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Credits

Crew

rolenameParticipantJohn GummerParticipantPenelope GummerParticipantLesley Ann BrettParticipantEdward BerryParticipantJo BerryParticipantRobin ButlerParticipantBrian McdowellParticipantDanny MorrisonParticipantPatrick MageeParticipantLady DebenParticipantMichael ColaccicoProducerSimon BunneyDirectorGuy KingExecutive producerJames BluemelExecutive producerWill AndersonExecutive producerRachel Hooper

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Details

Released on

2024-10-09

Languages

English

Formats

Colour

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