Academy Award® and BAFTA winning actor Colin Firth to star in Sky & Peacock Original limited series Lockerbie

Academy Award®, BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning actor Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, A Single Man, The Staircase) will star in the upcoming Sky and Peacock Original limited event series Lockerbie. Firth will portray Dr Jim Swire, who tragically lost his beloved daughter, Flora, in the devastating event and has doggedly pursued justice, along with his wife Jane, ever since.

The five-part series 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) joins the series as 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.

On 21st December 1988, 259 passengers and crew were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie 38 minutes after take-off, with a further 11 residents losing their life as the plane came down over the quiet, Scottish town.

In the wake of the disaster and his daughter Flora’s death, Dr Jim Swire (Firth), is nominated spokesperson for the UK victims’ families, who have united to demand truth and justice. Travelling across continents and political divides, Jim embarks on a relentless journey that not only jeopardises his stability, family and life, but completely overturns his trust in the justice system. As the truth shifts under Jim’s feet, his view of the world is left forever sullied.

Exploring events from the disaster and its aftermath, Lockerbie provides an intimate account of a man, a husband, and a father who risks everything in memory of his daughter and the unflinching pursuit of truth and justice. 

Production on the series will commence early 2024. Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant are Executive Producers for Carnival Films. Sam Hoyle is Executive Producer for Sky Studios. Other Executive Producers include David Harrower, Liz Trubridge, Jim Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan and Oskar Slingerland. Brian Kaczynski is Producer and Maryam Hamidi is also Associate Producer.

Lockerbie will be available on Sky and streaming service NOW in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and on Peacock in the US. NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution will handle international sales of the series.

The series is based on the book The Lockerbie Bombing: A Father’s Search for Justice by Jim Swire and Peter Biddulph, along with multiple other sources.

Firth is represented by Independent Talent (UK), CAA (US) & Prosper PR. 

Universal International Studios is a division of Universal Studio Group. 

About Sky

Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies and is part of Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments and experiences that matter. At Sky we Believe in Better. It’s in our DNA.

We’re famous for innovation. We offer the world’s smartest TV, Sky Glass; our plug and play streaming puck, Sky Stream; the best aggregation platform, Sky Q: the best aggregation platform, Sky Q; and streaming services NOW and WOW. We provide connectivity you can count on in mobile, fast, secure, reliable residential and business broadband, as well as smart home protection through Sky Protect.

We’re Europe’s premium content producer. We create award-winning original content, produce the biggest live sporting events, and we provide free access to news and the arts. Our new state-of-the-art film and TV studio Sky Studios Elstree is projected to attract £3 billion of new production investment to the UK in its first five years and create up to 2,000 jobs.

We are a diverse and inclusive employer that has a positive impact on society and the communities that we work and live in. Sky plays a major role in the UK’s cultural economy and, in 2022 alone, supported a contribution of £20 billion to UK GDP, broadcast 70,000 hours of elite sports coverage and invested over £130 million to provide news to consumers free of charge.