''The Accident'' is a four-part British television drama serial starring

Sarah Lancashire Sarah-Jane Abigail Lancashire (born 10 October 1964) is an English actress from Oldham, England. She graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1986 and began her career in local theatre, whilst teaching drama classes at the ...

, which first aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

from 24 October 2019. It explores a fictional Welsh community's fight for justice after an explosion on a construction site, which killed several local children.

Plot

The town of Glyngolau, Wales, has lost its coal mine and steel mill, leaving everyone in financial ruin. A large factory complex, offering 1,000 local jobs, is being built in the town by Kallbridge Developments for a Japanese firm. Iwan, head of the town council, worked hard to secure the project. Iwan's 15-year-old daughter, Leona, is a juvenile delinquent and small-time drug dealer; his wife, Polly, catches Leona in bed with a 30+ year old man. Leona takes eight of her teenaged friends to sneak into the building site, to cause destruction and "annoy my Dad". Their actions cause some gas canisters to explode, leading the building to collapse, killing site manager Alan and eight of the teens ringleader Leona is the sole survivor. Polly leads a campaign to find out who was responsible for the incident. A public inquiry is held, apportioning the largest blame on Leona and her friends, for breaking in to the site and for damaging the material that exploded. A portion of the blame is placed on Alan, for allowing the gas canisters to be stored improperly. The final portion is laid on the company, which has to pay large fines for breaches of health and safety guidelines. Polly and Iwan have a tempestuous relationship, struggling with Leona's injuries and the jealousy of the other parents. Polly also suspects Iwan may know more than he's letting on. Philip, a campaigning lawyer, helps the towns launch a

private prosecution A private prosecution is a criminal proceeding initiated by an individual private citizen or private organisation (such as a prosecution association) instead of by a public prosecutor who represents the state. Private prosecutions are allowed in ma ...

on charges of gross negligence manslaughter against Harriet, the senior vice-president at Kallbridge leading the project. The prosecution is not going well, until Polly persuades Iwan to tell everything he might know. On the stand, Iwan reveals that Harriet knew that the steel used in the structure was sub-standard, which allowed the building to collapse, that he still has her emails asking him to convince the council's inspector to stay off-site until the steel was encased in concrete and that he did it to save the town. Iwan and the inspector are both charged and Harriet is sentenced to seven years in prison.

Cast and characters

as Polly Bevan, a hairdresser married to a local politician *

Mark Lewis Jones Mark Lewis Jones (born 31 August, 1964) is a Welsh actor, whose roles include that of a First Order Captain Moden Canady in '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', a police inspector in BBC drama series ''55 Degrees North'', a whaler in the film '' Mast ...

as Iwan Bevan, a leading local councillor hoping to improve the town's fortunes * Jade Croot as Leona Bevan, Polly and Iwan's rebellious daughter, who survives the explosion *

Sidse Babett Knudsen Sidse Babett Knudsen (; born 22 November 1968) is a Danish actress who works in theatre, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy '' Let's Get Lost'', for which she received both the Robert and Bodi ...

as Harriet Paulsen, executive at Kallbridge Developments who were behind the development project *

Nabhaan Rizwan Nabhaan Rizwan (born November 30, 1996) is a British actor known for crime drama '' Informer'', his supporting roles in '' The Accident'' and '' 1917'', and the miniseries ''Station Eleven''. Rizwan is originally from Essex and now lives in London ...

as Tim, Harriett Paulsen's assistant and love interest *

Joanna Scanlan Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress. On television, she is known for her roles in British series such as ''The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), '' Getting On'' (2009–2012), ''Puppy Love'' (2014), and ''No Offence'' ( ...

as Angela, Polly's friend and mother of one of the dead children * Eiry Thomas as Greta, one of Polly's friends * Genevieve Barr as Debbie, another of Polly's friends. Her husband dies in the accident. * Adrian Scarborough as Philip Walters, a campaigning lawyer who takes an interest in the case and offers to become the families' lawyer

Production

The series was filmed at a variety of locations throughout South Wales, mainly in the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

, Swansea and Caldicot. Polly and Iwan's house was in Blaengarw. Hospital scenes were filmed in Cefn Coed Hospital, Kallbridge Developments' plush offices were filmed at the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales ( cy, Prifysgol De Cymru) is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wa ...

campus in Newport and the Crown Court scenes were filmed in the coroner's court at Cardiff Central Police Station.

Reception

The viewing figures for the series' opening episode were 2.8 million, falling to 2.0 million for the second episode. These were higher than any preceding Channel 4 drama for 2019. The series was reviewed by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' after the first episode, giving it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, complimenting the cast "packed with sensitive, subtle actors, who can convey emotional blows with a glance". ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' reviewed episode 2 positively, describing it as a "righteous, deceptively smart drama, leavened with flashes of warm wit, alive to both the complexities of culpability and the nuances of human relationships". The series also attracted a lot of negative criticism. ''The Telegraph'' reviewer of the final episode gave the series one star out of five, describing the climax as "like an episode of the old Granada Television series, '' Crown Court'', but without the dramatic tension".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Accident, The (TV series) 2019 British television series debuts 2019 British television series endings 2010s British television miniseries Channel 4 miniseries Channel 4 television dramas English-language television shows Television shows set in Wales