Line of Duty star's 'emotional' 2-part drama based on true story finds new home


After airing on the BBC back in 2013, Amazon Prime is now airing The Crash, an emotional two-part drama that fans called to be made "compulsory" viewing in schools


Three female characters in The Crash© BBC
Matthew MooreSenior Evening Writer
3 hours ago
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Viewers were left emotional in 2013 when BBC 3 aired The Crash, a two-part drama that, while telling a fictional story, was inspired by heartbreaking interviews with families who had lost children in car accidents.

The synopsis for the series reads: "A compelling story inspired by a real-life car crash involving young people in the prime of their lives: school leavers with bright futures ahead of them.

"Packed with twists and turns, this powerful story pieces together the chain of events that led up to the crash and reveals how the devastating effects of the accident tore through the lives of the teenagers, their friends, and their families."

13 years after the series first aired, it has now been acquired by Amazon Prime, who added the BAFTA-nominated programme to their extensive library at the start of the week.

Who stars in The Crash?

The Crash stars the likes of Sacha Parkinson (Mr Selfridge), Georgia Henshaw (Call the Midwife), Lewis Rainer (Dracula), Lily Loveless (Skins), Martin Walsh (Beautiful Thing) and Cathy Sara (The Woman in Black).

© BBC
The series was led by its young cast

They're also joined by Brian McCardie (Line of Duty), Christopher Colquhoun (Casualty), Josh Bolt (Last Tango in Halifax), Gilly Gilchrist (Rob Roy), Daniela Nardini (This Life) and James Burrows (All Creatures Great and Small).

Fan reaction

Fan reception to the show was overwhelmingly positive, with one saying: "This should be compulsory for all 16 and above kids at school. It shows how sensible kids can make mistakes and the outcomes of those mistakes and how it can affect families, friends, schools and everything in general. It depicts the feelings of uselessness that there is nothing you can do to fix things after that momentary loss of concentration."

A second added: "The Crash was an absolutely excellent watch. It was the most emotional and compelling drama I have ever watched," while a third wrote: "This series really touched me. I thought about it for days after watching it. I also cried A LOT while watching, again, the acting was great. This kind of thing happens every day in real life, and I had never seen a film before that focused on this matter, or at least entirely on this matter."

© BBC
Fans hailed the emotional series

However, in a negative review for Metro, Keith Watson called it a "curious mix of teen soap and public service information film". Criticising the flashback that took viewers six months before the crash, he continued: "It was so riddled with clichés and annoying brats, my only minor interest was choosing who I wanted to survive."

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