Piper Alpha TV drama is invasion of our familys deepest wounds

Families of the men killed in the world’s worst oil rig disaster have branded plans to make a television drama out of the tragedy ‘an invasion of our deepest wounds’.

In all, 167 men died when a gas leak set off explosions that ripped apart the Piper Alpha platform 120 miles off the Aberdeenshire coast in July 1988.

Those left behind say the ‘catastrophic impact’ of the tragedy, which remains the deadliest offshore accident in history, still haunts them 36 years on.

The BBC and STV Studios are looking to make a factual drama to retell the events of that night. But families of workers who died say their loss should not be ‘trivialised into a plot for entertainment’.

Incredibly 61 men survived but of the 167 who died, 30 bodies were never recovered.

BBC and STV are in process of developing a TV drama on the Piper Alpha disaster, which killed 167 men when the oil platform exploded in 1988

Paul Sparks, who was just one when his grandfather Alexander Duncan, 51, perished in the disaster, said: ‘I know it’s an important piece of history – but the thought of a dramatisation of it is jarring. It feels like an invasion of our family’s deepest wounds.

‘The loss of my grandfather had a catastrophic impact on our entire family and this loss shouldn’t be trivialised into a plot point for entertainment – it’s a painful reality for our family.

‘I’ve heard the stories and the ripple effect it has had on families since then is huge.’

He said it should be ‘remembered within historical truth and handled with dignity’, adding: ‘It should not be exploited for a creative project or for profits.’

His grandfather, who was a steward, had swapped shifts to cover for another worker.

Patrick McLaughlin’s father Charles, an electrician, also died in the disaster, aged just 46.

Mr McLaughlin said: ‘To have actors who could be portraying someone who was killed that night doesn’t feel right. I know if there was someone playing my father I wouldn’t be happy. Families have been through enough.’

His younger brother Paul took his own life when he was just 33, which the family believe stemmed from losing his father.

Mr McLaughlin, 60, said: ‘After dad went away he was never the same. Families are still struggling, especially my mother who is now 84. If they do this, people are going to be haunted again.’

Paul Sparks, whose grandfather Alexander Duncan died in the disaster, said the thought of his familys tragedy being dramatised was jarring

Sources say screenwriter James Wood and the STV team are working closely with a number of survivors and families and are managing the project with the ‘utmost care and sensitivity’.

Survivor Ed Punchard, who has been speaking to producers, said: ‘The more that people in the industry know how easily health and safety can go down the pan, the less likely it will.’

The TV project is still in the research phase and sources say it has yet to get the go-ahead.