‘Titanic Sinks Tonight’: BBC Two to air new series told through survivors’ final moments

A new dramatised documentary series exploring the final hours of the Titanic through the words of those who survived is set to air on BBC Two.

Titanic Sinks Tonight is a four-part series that begins on December 28 at 9pm on BBC Two and will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from the same date.

The programme revisits the night the Titanic struck an iceberg after setting sail from Southampton, reconstructing the disaster minute by minute from the collision at 11.40pm to the ship’s eventual sinking.

Rather than relying on speculation or narration, the series is driven entirely by verified survivor testimony. Letters, memoirs, interviews and official inquiry records are used to recreate the unfolding events in real time.

Actors portray real passengers and crew members, with each scene guided by documented first-hand accounts. The programme-makers have said no dialogue or characters have been invented and no composite figures are used.

Key moments explored include early iceberg warnings from nearby ships, the growing realisation that multiple watertight compartments had been breached, and the panic that followed once it became clear there were not enough lifeboats for everyone on board.

The series also charts the evacuation process and the desperate measures taken by some passengers in a bid to survive, alongside the tragic fate faced by many others among the 2,208 people aboard the ship.

The cast includes Tyger Drew-Honey as wireless operator Harold Bride, Charlotte McCurry as Eleanor Cassebeer, Patrick Buchanan as Bruce Ismay and Adam Rhys-Charles as second officer Charles Lightoller.

Expert analysis is provided by contributors including presenter and former Royal Marine JJ Chalmers, historian Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, Admiral Lord West and novelist Nadifa Mohamed.

Produced by Stellify Media, the series was filmed in Belfast using virtual production technology at Studio Ulster, with support from Northern Ireland Screen.