Birmingham Six - Granada Television Productions

Granada Television Productions

On 28 March 1990, ITV broadcast the Granada Television documentary drama, Who Bombed Birmingham?, which re-enacted the bombings and subsequent key events in Chris Mullin's campaign. Written by Rob Ritchie and directed by Mike Beckham, it starred John Hurt as Mullin, Martin Shaw as World in Action producer Ian McBride, and Patrick Malahide as Michael Mansfield (QC). It was repackaged for export as The Investigation – Inside a Terrorist Bombing, and first shown on American television on 22 April 1990. Granada's BAFTA-nominated follow-up documentary after the release of the Six, World in Action Special: The Birmingham Six – Their Own Story, was transmitted on 18 March 1991. It was released on DVD in 2007 in Network DVD's first volume of World in Action productions. In 1994 forensic scientist Frank Skuse brought libel proceedings against Granada, contending that World in Action had falsely portrayed him as negligent. His counsel asserted in the High Court that scientific tests performed in 1992, after the Crown's substantive concession of the accused men's third appeal, showed that traces of nitroglycerine were detected on swabs taken after the bombings from the hands of Gerry Hunter and Paddy Hill and on rail tickets handled by Richard McIlkenny and Billy Power. Granada maintained that there never were any traces of explosives on the six men. However, Skuse abandoned the action.