From the makers of Exile and Single Father, BBC One’s new three-part drama Blackout stars Christopher Eccleston, Dervla Kirwan and Ewen Bremner, alongside Andrew Scott, Lyndsey Marshal, Rebecca Callard, MyAnna Buring and Branka Katic.
Episode 1
Monday 2nd July 2012, 9pm
Daniel is a mess. He’s drinking so much he’s having blackouts. He has also been passing council contract details to businessman Henry Pulis. When a row between the pair gets out of hand, an alcohol-fuelled Daniel beats Pulis brutally, leaving him in a coma. Desperate for help, Daniel seeks out his sister Lucy, a lawyer.
Lucy is representing Nelson Venner, a young man speaking out against drug gangs. Lucy and Venner are giving a press statement when a car slows and a gun appears from the window. Daniel impulsively throws himself in front of Venner, taking the bullet.
When Daniel wakes in hospital, he is unaware his impulsive act is all over the news, and a nurse, Donna, explains he’s being lauded as a hero. Daniel is lucky to have cheated death. It’s a wake-up call. Maybe he has a chance to be a better man.
Elsewhere, Henry Pulis lies in intensive care. Daniel is wracked with guilt and desperate to pay for his sins. When political consultant Jerry Durrans visits Daniel to suggest he could be a viable candidate in the city’s first mayoral election, Daniel is sceptical. Yet the seed of an idea has been planted and he has been set on the unlikely path to being elected his city’s first political mayor. But Daniel remains a man with the blackest of secrets, desperate to make a stab at redemption.
Episode 2
Monday 9th July 2012, 9pm
Daniel is elected mayor and begins his quest for redemption. But how long can he keep his dark secret from Alex?A desperate Sylvie reaches out to Daniel as she struggles to deal with trouble at home.
Ruth begins to piece together the truth about her father – a hunt that leads her dangerously close to Daniel. Detective Bevan questions the integrity of the Pulis investigation and is drawn into a web of deception, in which no one can be trusted.
Episode 3
Monday 16th July 2012, 9pm
Daniel faces a stark dilemma. Does he confront the dark forces at work in the political machine and risk his family’s safety, or play the game and live with the consequences? Sylvie is forced to face up to reality, while Bevan’s life hangs in the balance.
Daniel learns more about the extent of the cover-up, and Ruth makes some shocking discoveries of her own. But with his career, reputation and family on the line, will Daniel ever truly pay for his sins?
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