An ensemble drama examining the lives of strangers connected by a catastrophic motorway pile-up.
The narrative traces the events leading up to and following a multi-vehicle crash on a motorway. The lives of several unconnected people are drawn together by the disaster, including accident victims Tom Baxter (Daniel Hill) and Joanna (Jane Collins). Each episode revisits the incident, revealing the personal histories and secret anxieties of those involved, from the occupants of the cars to the emergency services personnel, such as police officer Jack Dutton (Davyd Harries), who must manage the chaotic aftermath.
Devised by writer Derek Ingrey, Accident was an ambitious piece of television drama for its time. It discarded a conventional linear plot in favour of a mosaic structure, with each of the nine episodes re-examining the central tragedy from a different character’s perspective. This fragmented, non-chronological approach allowed the serial to function as a series of intricate character studies rather than a straightforward disaster story. The pile-up itself serves less as the subject and more as the catalyst, a fixed point in time around which the private dramas of ordinary people are revealed. The production was a sombre, adult piece of work, notable for its downbeat tone and its focus on consequence and unforeseen connections.
Broadcast: BBC Two, 9 Episodes, Thursdays, 2 November 1978 – 18 January 1979
Devised by: Derek Ingrey
Writers: Derek Ingrey, Ray Jenkins
Directors: Douglas Camfield, Don Leaver, Joe Waters
Producer: Joe Waters
Theme Music: Anthony Isaac
Main Cast: Daniel Hill (Tom Baxter), Jane Collins (Joanna), Davyd Harries (Jack Dutton), John Judd (Bert Stacey), Patricia Garwood (Dilys Martin), Bernard Kay (Andrew Buchan), Patrick Jordan (Lionel Megson), Michelle Newell (Terri)
