Sky Documentaries announces The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door

Screeners and imagery available on Sky Media Village
Contributor interviews available on request

Sky Documentaries has announced an engrossing new one-off film based on one of the most brazen attacks in recent times of a British citizen on home soil by a foreign regime: The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door.

This is the most extraordinary true spy story in modern British history. The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door (90 min) is a cinematic portrait of loyalty and betrayal and a prescient tale of Russian aggression which is relevant to us all today.

In March 2018, a former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapse on a park bench in Salisbury, England - a quaint, historic city where nothing normally happens. But what starts as a local incident explodes into a geopolitical crisis which exposes the covert espionage war being raged between Russia and the West.

At its heart, this is a story about loyalty and betrayal, and the collision of two men: Sergei Skripal and Vladimir Putin, the dictator determined to settle an old score.

Through bold and propulsive storytelling with a deeply human lens, the film reconstructs Skripal’s life as a spy using his own words and takes us through the dramatic events when he was poisoned with the deadly nerve agent Novichok.

The film features rare interviews with a top-level cast of experts directly involved in the crisis: former Prime Minister Theresa May, former Home Secretary Amber Rudd, National Security Advisor Sir Mark Sedwill, MI6 Chiefs Sir John Sawers and Sir Richard Dearlove, counter-terrorism officers Neil Basu and Dean Haydon and ex-KGB agents. Journalist Mark Urban also shares insight from his conversations with Sergei Skripal in the months following the poisoning.

The film also features raw testimony from Salisbury citizens who experienced this story on the ground - a local priest and journalist, a shopkeeper who sold Sergei his groceries, and the doctor who saved Sergei and Yulia’s lives in hospital. There’s also an exclusive interview with Charlie Rowley, the innocent local man who accidentally found the bottle of Novichok poison discarded by the Russian assassins, and gave it unwittingly to his partner Dawn Sturgess, who died – an innocent victim of a secret war.

Interwoven through this story are exclusive scenes with investigative journalist Christo Grozev, the man who first exposed the culprits behind this attack, and who remains in Putin’s crosshairs through his continued quest to take on the Russian regime. Christo’s groundbreaking investigative work was previously featured in the Academy Award®-winning CNN Film Navalny. His contribution brings this story alarmingly up to date, as he explores the current state of grey conflict between Russia and the West.

Directed by BAFTA-winning Dan Vernon and produced by Alex Brisland with executive producers Hamish Fergusson and Kari Lia. CNN Films presents The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door, a Passion Pictures production in association with Propagate Content and West Buttermilk.

The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door was acquired on behalf of Sky by Katie Keenan, Group Director of Acquisitions and Amy Swinglehurst, Senior Acquisitions Executive, with Propagate Content handling international distribution.

Sky is a leading entertainment and connectivity company, serving customers in the UK, Ireland and Italy. In TV, we offer the best sports coverage, unmissable entertainment and the smartest ways to stream the TV you love. In broadband, we power homes and businesses, with a fast, reliable connection. In mobile, we bring people closer, with fair and flexible plans at unbeatable value. And our range of smart home products keep people close to home, wherever they are.

That’s how we do better for customers. And we believe in better for society too. We power the cultural economy in the UK and beyond, contributing billions to UK GDP, supporting thousands of jobs and making award-winning original sport, entertainment and news with the best homegrown talent. We broadcast both our journalism and our coverage of the arts, free to air. We are cutting our emissions and making recyclable, energy-efficient products. We give back, through free internet access for under-served communities and through skills programmes for over 2 million young people and counting.

Sky is owned by Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company.

NOW is the home of brilliant entertainment and broadband. Join in for the latest movies, critically acclaimed shows and biggest live sports.

With a Cinema Membership, access the latest blockbusters and unmissable collections with over 1000 movies on demand. With an Entertainment Membership, enjoy award-winning dramas and the best of HBO - plus Sky Originals and epic kids TV. With a Sports Membership, stream all 12 Sky Sports channels and every Sky Sports+ stream, and catch live action from the Premier League, EFL, Formula 1, England & ICC Cricket, ATP & WTA Tennis, Golf majors, Premier League Darts, NFL, and so much more.

Plus, members can also enjoy a premium experience with the Ultra Boost* add-on, which features stunning Ultra High Definition (UHD) High Dynamic Range (HDR), immersive surround sound, and ad-free** viewing on up to 3 devices at once. Or members have the option to enjoy an upgraded experience with Boost - ad-free** streaming in VOD, Full HD and Surround Sound on up to two devices at once.

For ultrafast broadband, members can enjoy NOW Full Fibre 300, NOW Full Fibre 100, NOW Full Fibre 75 and NOW Superfast membership, all powered by Sky’s award-winning broadband network.

• Ultra Boost features are available on selected content and devices only. See here for full details.
  
  
• *Ad-free excludes live channels and trailers promoting NOW content

PASSION PICTURES is a double Academy Award®-winning independent production studio with a global reputation for groundbreaking, thought-provoking and impactful documentaries. The studio recently won the BAFTA for Best Documentary with “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”, the BAFTA for Factual Series with “See No Evil” and held worldwide number one spots with their series “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke”. PASSION has the ambition to cover new ground, discover stories that need to be told and tell them with the people at the heart of those stories. PASSION has produced over 90 documentaries including the iconic “One Day in September,” “Searching for Sugarman”, telling diverse stories including “McCartney: The Hunt for the Lost Bass”, “Wham!” and the forthcoming“Joan Rivers Vs The world”. Passion’s Oscar® and BAFTA-winning work with partners including Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video, Disney+ and the BBC has been selected at Sundance, Telluride, Tribeca and festivals worldwide.

www.passion-pictures.com