How The Salisbury Poisonings tapped into fears, anxieties and hopes of Covid-19 era - Anthony Clavane

As lockdown is eased and we return to some sort of “normality” it can only be a matter of time before a spate of TV dramatisations appear on our screens. They would do well to follow the example of the powerful, three-part, BBC series aired earlier this week.
Anne-Marie Duff as Tracy Daszkiewicz in The Salisbury Poisonings. Picture: PA Photo/Dancing Ledge/Huw John.Anne-Marie Duff as Tracy Daszkiewicz in The Salisbury Poisonings. Picture: PA Photo/Dancing Ledge/Huw John.
Anne-Marie Duff as Tracy Daszkiewicz in The Salisbury Poisonings. Picture: PA Photo/Dancing Ledge/Huw John.

The Salisbury Poisonings, like three other must-watch TV moments during this crisis – Tiger King, Normal People and Quiz – was not merely a ratings hit. It also tapped into the fears, anxieties and hopes of the Covid-19 era.

Scared but resilient British people in lockdown. An invisible killer which is passed through touch. The authorities trying to balance health and economic concerns.

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This could so easily have been a story about the Covid-19 era; it was, in fact, a riveting retelling of the events that took place in Salisbury two years ago when a quaint, and normally sleepy, city found itself at the centre of an international incident.

Anthony Clavane said The Salisbury Poisoning captured many of the emotions people have been feeling during the coronavirus crisis too. Picture:  PA Photo/Dancing Ledge/James Pardon/Ray BurmistonAnthony Clavane said The Salisbury Poisoning captured many of the emotions people have been feeling during the coronavirus crisis too. Picture:  PA Photo/Dancing Ledge/James Pardon/Ray Burmiston
Anthony Clavane said The Salisbury Poisoning captured many of the emotions people have been feeling during the coronavirus crisis too. Picture: PA Photo/Dancing Ledge/James Pardon/Ray Burmiston

Anyone planning to write a series, play, film or book that captures the essence of the coronavirus pandemic should take note of this outstanding production about the aftermath of a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy; in particular, the way it focuses on ordinary people displaying extraordinary heroism during an unprecedented moment in our history.

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Some critics have had a pop at the novichok drama for doing this very thing. For being so tediously domestic. For giving a voice to the “little people” rather than the major players.

“How have the BBC managed to make (it) boring?” asked Stuart McGurk in GQ magazine. The Independent sniffily compared it to “a Crimewatch reconstruction” and others dismissed is as a dull kitchen-sink piece. They are missing the point.

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Of course, it could have been an exciting, Le Carré-esque, post-Cold War espionage drama, giving centre stage to the assassination attempt on the MI6 double agent Sergei Skripal.

He and his daughter survived the attack but the incident sparked global outrage and the expulsion of over 150 diplomats from the UK and other countries.

Or it could have been a dark farce about spooks, hitmen and secret agents – Coen brothers meets Chris Morris – sending up the absurd TV interview given by the two Russian tourists (ahem) who only visited the city to, er, see its famous cathedral.

Or how about a gripping, state-of-the-nation tragedy, perhaps penned by James Graham, questioning the actions of Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings – and the Government’s overall handling of the crisis?

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The Salisbury Poisonings was none of these things. It examined the emotions of the nerve agent’s unintended victims, looking at the lives of their neighbours – and the experiences of the police officers and civil servants caught up in a tragedy none of them could ever have imagined.

As co-creator Declan Lawn explained: “We were just more drawn to the stories of the people who had to clean up this mess rather than the people who made it. (The) ordinary people who have to pick up the pieces, the people who have to clean up Salisbury and also the people who are directly affected by the attack.”

Which brings me to two good news stories from the past week. First there was the uplifting photograph of anti-racism protester Patrick Hutchinson carrying an injured white man to safety during a chaotic scene at a violent rally in London.

Then there was the brilliant campaign victory by Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, who forced the Government to do a U-turn on extending the food voucher scheme for vulnerable children during the summer holidays.

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Rather than focus on self-serving, opportunist politicians, the media has rightly anointed these two diffident men as heroes. Like all the frontline workers, charity volunteers, teachers and good neighbours who have stepped up during the lockdown, their actions have restored our faith in humanity.

The Salisbury Poisonings does a similar thing. It resonates on a human level, fixing its gaze on the trials and tribulations of the regular people affected by the 2018 poison attack. Instead of a thrills-and-spills, action-packed melodrama, the series opts for a calmer, quieter, more low-key approach.

And is all the more compelling for it.

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