Grenfell Tower fire tragedy to be turned into BBC TV drama

The BBC is to make a TV drama telling the story of the Grenfell Tower fire.

The three-part series, titled Grenfell, will dramatise the events surrounding the night of 14 June 2017, when 72 people died as a result of the blaze.

It will piece together the stories of survivors, bereaved family members and firefighters, using interviews and evidence from the public inquiry.

Writer and director Peter Kosminsky said he hoped the show would "reach the heart of this catastrophe".

He said he wanted the series to examine "how such a thing can have happened; [and] how we can avoid it ever happening again".

"Occasionally, events occur in our national story which touch us all," he said in a statement.

"The fire at Grenfell Tower is such an event. We remember what we were doing when we heard about it, remember the pictures, the saturation coverage.

"And yet, despite this, despite the many newspaper pages and TV hours devoted to the story, we may be left with a less than clear sense of exactly what happened, what went wrong."

The BBC said the series would provide "a comprehensive account of the events leading up to, during, and after the devastating fire".

It is not yet known how the drama will depict the night of the fire itself in the London tower block.

Kosminsky and associate producer Ahmed Peerbux have carried out interviews with some of those affected.

"We have been working on this drama for more than five years now, and it is only right that such a terrible event, seared into the national psyche, should be approached with rigour and not rushed," Peerbux said.

"We are immensely grateful to the men and women who have shared their stories with us, and let us into their lives - we couldn't possibly hope to honour their experiences without the time and trust they have given us."

The inquiry into the fire has now closed and is expected to report later this year.

Kosminsky has won seven Bafta Awards including for dramas made in response to such real-life events as the Bosnian war, the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the 2003 death of Dr David Kelly.

He is also known for directing the TV adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall.