The Salisbury Poisonings (2020) s01e03 Episode Script

Skripal?
Sergei was a high-level MI6 agent
..and since you're the Director
of Public Health for Wiltshire,
we're going to need you right
at the heart of this.
Novichok. It's one of the deadliest
synthetic substances on Earth. Nick!
In terms of protecting citizens,
this is about as bad as it gets.
Thank God!
You don't know what I'm doingand
I'm not allowed to tell you.
It's more important than anything
right now, OK?
I made a decision about Dawn
a long time ago.
You don't have to save her,
you just have to see her.
I got offered my own flat.
Gracie can come and visit you there.
There will be people out there
who ask us, "Is it safe now
"to live our lives?"
To answer that with any certainty,
we need to know
exactly what happened here,
and I'm not sure that we ever will.
This programme contains
some strong language
and scenes which some viewers
may find upsetting.
It was highly likely that Russia
was responsible for this reckless
and despicable act.
They have treated the use of
a military grade nerve agent
in Europe with sarcasm,
contempt and defiance.
There will be no attendance
by ministers, or indeed members
of the royal family, at this
summer's World Cup in Russia.
There's no better endorsement
than the royal seal of approval,
and few places need it more than
Salisbury after it was caught up
in the poisoning
of a former Russian spy.
The playground is back in action,
the benches are again being
used to rest tired feet.
This visit wasn't
just about meeting stall holders.
It was a message that Salisbury
is open and completely safe.
My God!
You know that Wiltshire Police
will buy it from us?
Or erm We could move back in?
Start again? Nick!
Daddy!
No, no!
N
Are you OK?
Such a lovely day
and you can see, of course,
some of our World Cup panel kids,
who are practising there
I'm dropping the girls at Mum's
and then I'll be back. OK.
You'd better get dressed.
Yeah.
OK. Bye, Dad! Bye, Dad. See you!
I was thinking
..Mum needs some time off, Tobes.
Why don't we go away
for a few weeks after you break up?
Disneyland?
Cornwall?
I tell you what,
if England win the World Cup,
we'll go to Disneyland. How's that?
That's NEVER going to happen.
Cold spoon!
Ugh. All right.
Come on.
Gracie's coming today.
You look nice.
Where did you get that?
It's a good 'un.
Go on, then. Try it.
Hey, hang on. We need scissors.
That's weird.
It doesn't smell of anything.
Hmm.
Weird.
You don't have to worry.
You don't have to keep phoning me
at the station. No, OK.
Yeah. All right, sir.
We'll make sure
everything's all right. OK.
Thank you very much, Sarah.
Thank you.
Arrest rates have gone through the
floor since you've been off sick.
How're you doing, Nick? I'm doing
very well, sir. Thank you. Yeah.
Good. You're making the most of
your excuse to watch the football,
I hope.
Well, to be honest, sir,
I just want toI want
to get back to work.
OK. Well, I'm here to tell you
not to rush it.
Don't come back
until you're absolutely ready
and not a moment before, right? OK.
And, look, if you need a desk job
for a month or two
No. No, sir. I am
..I'm ready for full duties.
Nick, you should listen to him
Honestly. Honestly.
Really. Sir, I'm good to go.
There's no way, Sarah.
Not yet. I know.
But the thought of it,
it's the only thing
that's keeping him going.
Well if there's anything
you need from us.
Anything.
You take care of yourself.
Thanks, Paul. I appreciate it.
You're watching
Good Morning Britain.
Our main news this morning
England's last 16 World Cup game
against Columbia on Tuesday
will be their biggest in a decade,
according to
manager Gareth Southgate.
Dawn?
Dawn?
Dawn?
Dawn.
Dawn!
Yeah, hi, Charlie. Yeah. Yeah.
We're on our way.
Charlie?
Charlie, calm down. What is it?
Charlie, what's happened?
What is it?
Hey. Room two's set up.
I'm sure she's going to be OK, yeah?
You are MELTING in this heat.
Your eyes
Your pupils are bloody tiny!
What have you been doing?
Nothing. Nothing.
You want to get some fresh air?
Yeah. Yeah.
Mate, are you all right?
You're OK. You're OK.
Right. I'm going to get
some help, OK?
Well, what else did he say?
You know Charlie. Not much.
Just that she's taken unwell again
and they're admitting her
to hospital.
I'll see you later, love.
OK, Gran.
Listening to him
..sounds like they had a big night.
Oh, for God's sake.
I'll text you later.
Hello, love. Filling the pool? Yeah.
It's just not possible.
Mrs Sturgess
Our Dawn wouldn't do that!
She wouldn't do that! Her partner
does have a history of drug abuse.
But he's not using now.
Look, all I'm saying
is we have to explore
the possibility
that this is an overdose.
Explore all you like.
There's no way our Dawn took drugs.
I've sent her bloods for testing.
After that, we should know
what it is and how to treat it.
And how long will that take?
If it's straight-forward, hours. If
not, it could be a couple of days.
We'll work as fast as we can.
Excuse me.
Where is he?
On the right.
Charlie, isn't it? Yeah.
Charlie, don't be alarmed.
We're dressed like this
because there's already been a call
from this address this morning.
We're taking
extra precautions, OK?
Can you look at me at all?
What if I turn your head?
Charlie, I'm just going to have
a little look in your eyes, OK?
Can you tilt your head back for me
a little bit?
That's it. We're going to get
you to hospital, OK?
Moscow has been at the centre
of this incredible World Cup party,
and now England have arrived
in the Russian capital.
The fans are here in good number,
the country is starting to
believe, the team is full of hope
and opportunity really is.
Where are you going? To do
something more interesting
..like ironing.
I'm sorry, I don't get it.
The results have shown that Dawn
and Charlie were contaminated.
What do you mean?
That they came into contact with
something called an organophosphate.
It's similar to a pesticide.
Pesticide?
So So Dawn didn't take
anything herself?
It wasn't her fault? No.
It wasn't her fault.
We're doing everything we can
for her. And for Charlie.
Excuse me.
I'm sorry, Doctor.
This just doesn't make sense.
Where would
they come across a pesticide?
No!
Fuck
All right, Dave?
I thought every man in England
was screaming at a telly right now.
What?
When?
Oh No.
No, I'llI'll come and meet you.
Ted, I have to go.
When will you be back? Later.
Later? Yeah, that's what I said.
Later!
Dawn and Charlie have been poisoned
with a nerve agent.
Not the same one as the?
Yeah, Novichok.
You can't see her for now.
You can't go near her.
I'm so sorry.
So, what do we know?
Not that much.
Where were they taken ill?
A flat in Amesbury,
four days ago. Four days.
and we're only just
finding out about it now?
The assumption was
some kind of overdose.
One of them had been a user.
Who are they?
They are Charlie Rowley
and Dawn Sturgess.
Dawn was living at John Baker House,
a sheltered accommodation.
She's been there
for the last two years.
And Charlie Rowley had recently
moved to Muggleton Road in Amesbury.
And that's where the ambulances
picked them up on Saturday.
Amesbury is nine miles away
from Salisbury.
It's nine miles away
from the nearest hot site.
We're tracing all their movements.
Closing everything down
like last time.
What did we miss?
What the fuck did we miss?
Are they here? They're here.
Hello, Grandad.
Sh! We've got to keep
our voices down,
because Gracie's asleep.
I don't know.
Mr Sturgess? Yeah?
We're family liaison officers
from Wiltshire Police.
Can we come in? Er, yeah.
Hi, I'mI'm Julie.
I'm Mrs Sturgess. Dawn's mother.
This is her sister, Claire.
Hiya, Claire. And Karen.
And this is Dawn's boys.
Ewan. Ewan. Aidan.
Aidan, nice to meet you.
I realise this is
an incredibly difficult time.
But this information will get out,
and it will get out very soon.
They can't make us leave Dawn.
Claire,
I don't think you understand.
You and your family are now at the
centre of an international incident.
By tomorrow morning,
there will be dozens
of journalists on your doorstep.
And not just here,
they'll turn up at your work.
They'll even stop you
on the school run.
You can call the hospital
whenever you need to,
but you need to find
somewhere else Gracie can stay,
away from all of this.
And then you need to go, too.
Charlie Rowley and
Dawn Sturgess, both in their 40s,
were found unconscious at a house in
Amesbury, in Wiltshire, on Saturday.
They remain in a critical condition
after being exposed to the
substance Novichok.
Now, Nick Dixon has this report.
Police have validated
what many speculated.
Nick! Two more people
have fallen victim
to the lethal
nerve agent Novichok. Nick!
We can confirm that the man
and woman have been exposed
to the nerve agent Novichok.
It'sit's happened again.
What? It's happened again!
..the nerve agent that contaminated
both Yulia and Sergei Skripal.
The couple, named locally as
Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess
What if it's my fault?
What if they've come into contact
with something that I touched?
No, Nick. That's not
That's ridiculous!
It could be a delayed reaction,
couldn't it?
I mean, it takes 50 years
to degrade No, Dr Haslam
Dr Haslam said that's not right
Right! I want you and the kids to
get tested again. NICK!
I can't have you like this.
I juI just can't.
Sorry. Sorry for shouting.
Are you OK?
Why don't you get ready
for school, yeah?
Yeah?
This is
a precautionary measure
at the sheltered housing
where Dawn Sturgess lived.
It is unnerving speaking to people
here in Salisbury today
who are worried about the impact,
again, on this city.
Sorry to disturb you,
but as you can see,
the police are here.
They've not come to arrest you,
they have come to help you.
For safety reasons,
you have to evacuate the building.
Questions are being asked
about how this could have happened
just months after
..four people now,
if you are including the Skripals,
who are in a critical condition
after a military-grade nerve
agent in a Wiltshire town.
That's it.
Sorry, sir. Restricted access.
Oh, Sarge!
Didn't realise you were?
Are you?
So, where are we with containment?
Charlie Rowley's flat
has been sealed off, along with
everywhere else he went that day.
John Baker House, where Dawn lives,
has been evacuated.
They were in Salisbury on Friday,
the day before they became ill.
Where?
Queen Elizabeth Gardens.
We are moving to close it now.
And we believe they then
took a bus to Amesbury.
As soon as we identify it,
we'll impound and test it.
Would anyone care to hazard a guess
as to what's happened here?
Well, we always knew the attackers
would have a container
for the poison.
We just assumed they left with it,
but what if they didn't? Maybe Dawn
or Charlie found it, picked it up
So, we're back to square one?
This isn't square one, Stephen.
This is much, much worse.
First time around,
we had something to work with.
This time, we have no idea
what's happened or how.
Sergei Skripal was a Russian spy.
These are two ordinary people.
Home, sweet home.
Just as you left it.
The boss wants to see us
in five, OK?
You know there's no way any of us
could have foreseen this.
I'll be there in a minute.
I know, I'm just saying.
It's not your fault.
It's not anybody's fault.
I said I'll be there
in a minute, Dave, OK?
I was reading
about Dawn this morning,
and I realised I've met her.
I ran an outreach seminar
for people with alcohol problems.
She was having a hard time.
She was funny.
She had a bit of life about her.
I liked her.
You'd like her, too.
I'll see you upstairs.
Yeah.
How long am I going to stay
at Nana Diane's for?
Just a couple of days, love.
And I don't have to go
to school? No.
You get an extra half-term break.
Slippers.
What's wrong with Mum?
She's a bit poorly, love.
But the doctors are going
to make her better.
Yeah?
Yeah. Good girl.
Don't worry now. It's all right.
She's going to be fine, dear.
Oh, sweetheart.
Oh, there.
Come on.
Your brother's just through here.
Thank you.
I haven't seen him for a while.
We had a bit of a falling out, like.
If you wouldn't mind
putting these on
Can I touch him, then
..with these on?
Only his feet.
Jesus, Charlie,
what have they done to you?
What have they done to you, eh?
I'll get that.
Our colleague Ben Brown
has our top story.
He's live in Amesbury for us now.
Mum.
Dad!
..Simon, where a couple
on Saturday fell ill.
..just here behind me,
and a police cordoned there.
They're now critically ill
in hospital in Salisbury
after being exposed
to Novichok nerve agent.
While in the House of Commons,
the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid,
has said he understands
the concerns of the public.
I recognise that
some local Wiltshire residents
will be feeling very anxious.
Let me reassure you
that public safety
is of paramount importance.
We will bring you the very latest
this afternoon.
I let her down, our Dawn.
I let her down. No, you didn't.
I was relieved, you know, when they
told me she'd been poisoned. What?
I thought she'd done it to herself.
And I was relieved
..because I wouldn't have to live
with that for the rest of my life.
That I couldn't save her
from herself.
I thought, all those months
I kept her at arm's length,
she goes and does this to herself.
How could I live with that?
So when they told me
about the poison
..I was happy.
I was bloody happy.
Have you ever heard anything
more selfish than that?
You didn't let her down, Stan.
You were always there for her.
She knew it.
She knew it.
How could this happen
to our little girl?
Do you remember when she was 15
and she ran away to Cornwall
and you had to go and pick her up
from the travellers' camp?
They were the ones
who wanted rid of her.
And then when she was 17, she got
knocked down by an ambulance.
They were treating her on the side
of the road, and she looked up
and she said, "I don't know whether
I'm really unlucky or really lucky."
Yeah, I remember.
When you think about it, Stan,
this could only happen to our Dawn.
Wiltshire Police
initially thought the couple
had taken contaminated
crack cocaine or heroin.
..initially thought they'd fallen
ill after using heroin
or crack cocaine from
a contaminated batch of drugs,
but further tests are now needed.
Police say it's not yet clear
if a crime has been committed.
..the couple may have touched
a contaminated object
from the Skripal attack,
like a discarded cigarette end
or a syringe containing Novichok.
The couple may also have found
a container
in which the original substance
was mixed.
The fact that the police
still haven't found the container
with the lethal chemical weapon
inside it is a cause for concern.
The public are repeatedly told
that the risk to them is low,
but without the evidence,
that is hard to justify.
Can everyone get off the vehicle,
please?
A month ago, I stood
in the middle of this city
and declared it safe
and open for business.
We all thought it was.
What do we say to them now?
You said that this city
was safe outside the cordons.
Now what do you say?
My son is ten.
He won't go to school.
He's having panic attacks
about this.
What am I supposed to tell him?!
Who missed this?
How did you miss it?
How do we know it's not
going to happen again
today or tomorrow or next week?!
If I may, erm You're right,
we didn't see this coming,
and we still don't know
exactly how it happened.
Is that all you have to say?
Until we work out
exactly what happened here,
yeah, I'm afraid it is,
that's all we have to say.
We are testing every single object
found at all six sites,
and we'll have answers soon.
What?
What the hell is this?
What are they saying about her?
Stan, don't read it.
A homeless addict?!
That's not Dawn!
Any more teas or coffees?
We're fine.
I hardly slept all night.
Me too.
I don't know why we're here.
We should be with her. They told us.
We have to go back.
Whatever happens
..we have to be with her.
Tim.
How's it going? Slowly.
Look
This isn't out yet, but last night
we tested a perfume bottle.
It was full of Novichok.
Dawn must have sprayed it
on herself.
I mean, even now,
what's left in the container
could kill thousands of people.
The contamination radius
could be worse than the last time.
So we have no idea where they got
hold of it and who gave it to them?
Professor!
Professor Atkins!
Just after 11 o'clock
this morning,
we saw a large convoy
of emergency vehicles.
More than a dozen in all
One of them is Charlie Rowley,
isn't it?
I thought you didn't want to know.
I nicked him a couple of times.
I used to bump into him
when I was on the beat.
That's why they call it Smallsbury.
Yeah.
He wasn't one of the worst,
actually, Charlie.
He was all right.
He was all right.
Sarah.
Yeah?
I am ready to go back.
Nick, I just
I am a police officer, OK?
It's who I am.
I have to
I have to go back.
I have to.
They're coming.
Oh, my God, Stan.
Can I get a few questions, please?
Mrs Sturgess!
Mum?
Please, can you just leave
her alone, please?
We need to go into our house,
please.
Please, can we just get
into our house, please?
What the fuck was that?
Don't answer it. Oh, my God.
What's that?
"Mr and Mrs Sturgess."
"Mr and Mrs Sturgess."
Sir, just please come out
and comment.
Come in.
You want to see me?
I heard about the town hall, Tracy.
You were right to request
more information,
so these are the chief suspects
in the criminal investigation
being run by CT.
Their movements before and after
their attack on the Skripals.
It does not leave this room.
OK.
They flew to Gatwick from Moscow
on Friday, March 2nd,
then went to a hotel in East London
where, according to other residents,
they spent the night with
a prostitute and a bag of marijuana.
The next day, March 3rd, they caught
a train to Salisbury for a recce
and left and went back again the
day after. The day of the attack.
And does it look like they threw
any kind of container away?
There's no evidence of them
discarding anything, but they were
out of CCTV range for long periods,
so they could well have done.
You've got ten minutes.
Thanks for this, Paul.
The Home Secretary
has pointed the finger at Russia.
It is completely unacceptable
for our people
to be either deliberate
or accidental targets
or for our streets, our parks,
our towns
to be dumping grounds for poison.
It's very sad because I think it's
probably put Salisbury back again.
I hope not because we were
just beginning to
One disaster is bad enough, and now
we thought we'd moved out of it
and it seems to be
happening again
Salisbury is always a quiet place.
You know, it's nice to live in.
So it's a bit worrying
what's going on
I don't know why we're
so bloody quiet. She hated that.
Can I talk to you all
in the family room?
We should be able to declare
the flat in Amesbury safe
in less than ten days.
However, as you would expect,
this is the biggest concentration
of Novichok we've ever encountered,
and yet we still haven't managed to
find any in any of the other sites
that Dawn or Charlie visited.
Stephen.
Well, that's good news
they haven't found it anywhere else.
It means this time it wasn't spread,
so I suggest we reassure the public
by countering
the conspiracy theories
and get the facts out there.
Huh!
I'm sorry, is there a problem?
Facts?
I still know next to nothing about
what really happened here, Stephen.
You want to tell the public
this city's safe
when all they know for sure is
that an innocent man and woman
are fighting for their lives
in hospital,
and there still could be
something else out there.
You saved the other ones.
You saved them.
Why can you not save Dawn? Mum.
Dawn has a bleed on the brain.
It's inoperable.
She can't recover from it.
I am so, so sorry.
Where am I?
You're all right, Charlie.
You're OK, mate.
I'm here.
It's your brother. It's Matthew.
They sent for me.
Where's Dawn?
You're OK, mate.
Where's Dawn?
You're OK.
Dawnie?
Dawnie?
You are a good person.
You are
..a good person.
You always were.
Come on, mate.
Hey.
You should get some sleep.
I'm just here for a shower
and a change of clothes.
Can you take me to school?
No, Tobes, not today, no.
You're never here. It's worse than
last time. Toby, you know I have
I'll talk to him.
See you later, yeah?
Hello, Dave.
Yeah.
No, I've just nipped home. Why?
Oh, no!
No!
I'm sorry
I'm so sorry.
Hospital staff
in Salisbury said they did
all they could to save
the life of Dawn Sturgess,
a 44-year-old mother of three
who came into contact
with the highly toxic Novichok
nerve agent just over a week ago.
She died late last night
after being on life support.
The death of Dawn Sturgess,
a British citizen on British soil,
now changes the investigation
to a murder inquiry,
with all the diplomatic and security
ramifications that carries.
Charlie.
It's all right, Stan.
I'll stay here.
And now Gracie Sturgess
would like to say a few words.
I just want to say
..I really loved my mum
..and she really loved me.
We always liked doing things.
Going to the cathedral
to light a candle.
Making friendship bracelets.
This is one she made for me.
And listening to music and dancing.
We liked to video ourselves
doing that.
So I just want everybody to know
..she was a really good mum.
She was the best.
That was wonderful.
That was wonderful.
What are you doing here?
Have you read this?
Charlie Rowley gave an interview.
He's saying the perfume
was wrapped in hard plastic.
If he's right, then
Tracy, we did a fingertip search
of everywhere it could have been.
We did our job.
That first day you rang me,
I thought, "This is it,
"this is it, Trace.
"This is the important thing you're
supposed to do with your life.
"This is the reason
you went through all"
Through all?
I had three kids
by the time I was 20.
My girls.
They're all grown-up, working
..but when they were little,
I was a single mum
with no money
and no qualifications to speak of.
I had no idea. It sounds like
such a cliche, but I thought,
"I'm going to be something
for them."
So I studied nights and weekends
..got my degree, got a job.
Eventually!
I ended up here.
I'd made it.
And now this has happened.
Right, listen to me.
How many fatalities
since you got put on this job?
Eh?
I'll say it. One.
And that is deeply, incredibly sad.
But it could have been dozens.
It could have been hundreds.
And you're going
to see this through.
And so am I,
no matter what it takes.
Bye! Bye, Mum.
..have enough evidence,
they think, to charge the men
See you.
..Salisbury in March.
Lucinda Adams has more.
We now know the faces
of the two Russian men
accused of the Novichok poisonings.
It's understood British police
may know their true identities,
but CCTV shows them arriving
in the UK
under the names Alexander Petrov
and Ruslan Boshirov.
They're seen travelling
to Salisbury,
where it's believe they used
this fake perfume bottle
to deploy the Novichok nerve agent,
which would later kill Dawn Sturgess
and contaminate her partner,
Charlie Rowley.
Theresa May said
months of investigation
The Salisbury suspects say
their weekend trip was for tourism
and not
for an assassination attempt,
according to the channel's
own translation.
Who are you?
We are those who were
shown to you in the pictures,
Ruslan Boshirov
and Alexander Petrov.
Are those your real names?
Yes,
they are our real names.
Just two young men with an interest
in the cathedral, they said,
and so they crossed
the continent to see it.
Stan, what are you doing?
I want to know the truth.
It's the only thing I can do.
We deserve to know.
There's the famous
Salisbury Cathedral,
famous not only in Europe
but in the whole world.
It's famous for its 123-metre spire.
It's famous for its clock -
one of the first
Truth isn't for people like us.
They said they cut short
their sightseeing trip
because of the bad weather
in the town,
and it certainly was a cold weekend.
We were going there
to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum
and the cathedral.
That's good. Come towards me a bit
more. Come towards me. That's good.
Left shoulder in. Left shoulder
in towards me. That's good.
Excellent. Big smile.
Don't forget the smile.
All right, mate?
Hey, the hero returns.
Dress blues and everything, eh.
For the photograph, I think
Come here.
It's good to have you back.
Welcome back, Nick.
Welcome back.
Good to have you back, Nick.
Good to see you back, Nick.
DI Mant, on my way.
Nick, are you up for this?
Do you want to come?
They said that I should just
take a few more months off.
I never wanted to be
anything else but a copper.
All these people
..you know, calling me a hero.
I'm not a hero,
I just opened a door Nick.
I know that I'm not the same man
that you married.
I just wish I could go back.
I can't.
It's not right.
It's not. It's not right.
What am I supposed to do now?
It's too soon.
That's all. You
You have to give it some time.
Hi, darling.
How was school? Good.
What did you get up to?
We're reading a new book.
And what's the book?
Goodnight Mister Tom.
That's a good book.
Cheers.
Tracy? Caroline.
Thank you. Thank you for this.
Thanks for coming.
You took a massive dose, Nick.
Your cholinesterase levels
were almost non-existent.
Every single one
of your major organs
was fighting an independent battle
to stay functioning.
And normally in that situation,
you lose consciousness,
so we waited for the crash.
But the thing was,
you never lost consciousness.
I still don't know how you did it.
None of us do.
I've seen a lot of sick people,
Nick
..but I've never seen anyone
fight as hard as you did.
Have you done your homework?
Yeah, I've done it.
Watch out. There.
Smells delicious.
Can I have ketchup? In stew?!
Mrs Montague was talking
about you today.
Oh, no. What have I done now?
She said you were a hero.
Oh, don't be daft.
She told my whole class
that if it weren't for you,
lots of people might have got sick.
No. There were masses of people
involved - hundreds of us.
I just helped. Yes, it's true.
That's cool.
Here.
Thank you.
Couscous, Tobes?
Here you are.
Salad?
I love
..spag bol.
Well, is it an improvement?
"No, Mum. It's not." I'll say.