On June 20, 2025, Sergei Skripal (Wayne Swann) and his daughter, Yulia (Jill Winternitz), were poisoned with Novichok, a Russian nerve agent in the quiet, sleepy town of Salisbury, England. The attack took place just months before Russia hosted the World Cup, an event overshadowed by the international crisis, and sawRussian diplomats expelledand numerous world leaders weighing in. Fear and paranoia were heightened to a level few had seen in a long time, as it appeared a nuclear power — Russia —had committed a chemical attack on a fellow atomic power— Britain — to assassinate a former Russian spy. Yet, for the people who directly suffered as a result, these emotions were more devastating than anyone could imagine, and that is exactly what the three-part miniseries,The Salisbury Poisonings, portrays so poignantly.
ThroughThe Salisbury Poisonings, we primarily follow Tracy (Anne-Marie Duff), the head of public health for Salisbury and wider Wiltshire, and Nick Bailey (Rafe Spall), a police officer who accidentally became exposed to the nerve agent whilst investigating. Not only does this miniseries show just how large of a task was undertaken to prevent further contamination, but the focus on Bailey, Tracy, and other victims such as Dawn Sturgess (MyAnna Buring) empathetically portrays the sufferingordinary people faced in a far larger geopolitical gamethat governments and world leaders, on both sides, seemed somewhat unfazed by.
‘The Salisbury Poisonings’ Uses the Stories of Average People to Portray Devastation
What can always be difficult inweaving a narrative through real-world eventsis making the audience care about something when they know the outcome. Many might not know about the Novichok poisonings, but they do know there hasn’t been a war between Russia and the UK, so it can be argued, that on the international level, the stakes aren’t high for the viewer. That is where the genius ofThe Salisbury Poisoningsshines through, as ituses individuals' stories to make us feel the emotional stakesof fear, loss, and paranoia.
Through Nick’s poisoning and recovery, we see how his family are put through an emotional wringer, constantly terrified of losing their husband and father as well as being shown Nick’s horrifying symptoms, such as driving a car before blacking out for a few seconds, which the real-lifeBailey told an inquiry made him feel like his life was “in frames.“Furthermore, the subplot of Dawn’s struggles as a mother in shared accommodation builds our connection to this woman who only wants a better life for her and her daughter, only to be killed when, in the most unlikely of circumstances, she comes into contact with the nerve agent. It’s heartbreaking because we see these people, with their own lives, families, and dreams, become dragged into a geopolitical conflict they had no intention of ever joining. They weren’t killed because they did something wrong. They were killed by accident ascollateral damage by people who didn’t care who else got hurt.
‘The Salisbury Poisonings’ Shows Unsung Heroes Who Deserve the Most Credit
With all the tragedy, one could be forgiven for refusing to watchThe Salisbury Poisoningsbecause they worry it would beoverwhelmingly depressing. However, the strength of our protagonist, Tracy, and her willpower in the search for the source of Novichok andher commitment to making Salisbury safe again for its inhabitants is key to giving us a character who we can admireand root for. Far from being an archetypal detective/investigator, Tracy is not some kind of confident veteran, nor does she have some kind of dark past where she is fighting inner demons. She is just someone trying to do the best she can.
In the show, she admits she has never done anything like this before and might not be qualified, reminding us of thescale of the issue. Working to decontaminate the sites identified by Tracy, where Novichok was found, took so long to clear thatofficers got hyperthermia. Scenes such as Tracy having to brace herself in front of a mirror before giving briefings or her constant fidgeting remind us of how this is a normal human being with flaws and anxieties of her own. Yet,this only makes the character more likable, and the final scene, where it is stated and reaffirmed that she is a hero, makes for thoroughly satisfying moments where we can choose to still believe in humanity, even after what has happened.
‘The Salisbury Poisonings’ Focus Means It Slightly Downplays Government Failings
By focusing on the victims rather than turning this into ageopolitical thriller,The Salisbury Poisoningsemphasizes the personal human cost of the attack. By doing so, they engage audiences on a far more emotional level. However, for those who might not do their own research,the show does not truly cover the ways governments responded nor the failings that occurred. On the latter, both in the case of the Skripals and Sturgess poisonings, theUK government certainly failed to act as it should have. Speaking at a2024 inquiry into the matter, it was heard that police investigating the incident found that counter-terrorism was “dismissive” of claims that a Russian spy had been poisoned, and they even told them there was no Russian spy living in that area.
Furthermore, in the case of Dawn Sturgess,The Salisbury Poisoningsdisplays how members of Whitehall, a government agency, are mostly focused on reducing panic and moving on from the incident, and in real life,people were not given a warning to not pick updiscarded waste, despite health officials at the time considering this be done. ThoughThe Salisbury Poisoningsacknowledges these failings through its portrayal of Whitehall characters,it could have delved deeper into the government’s shortcomings.
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Going beyond the UK government’s response,The Salisbury Poisoningsalso put limited focus on Russia or other allies' responsesto the incident. We are only told via radio and news channel clips, and we are shown Americans heavily sympathizing, while Russia reportedly denies it. Putin did not only deny involvement, however, but alsocalled Sergei Skripal a “scumbag” and a “traitor”, highlighting the animosity held and showing why it was so likely civilians like Yulia, Nick, and Dawn would become victims.The Salisbury Poisoningstried to present the West as united in its opposition against Russia. However, the then-president,Donald Trump, greatly downplayed the significance of the incident.According to the BBC, at a meeting in Chequers, Trump and Theresa May’s team “were arguing about how bad and destabilizing that was – he asked why” and when the point was made it was chemical warfare between two nuclear powers, Trump only quipped “I didn’t know the UK had nuclear weapons.”
This isn’t to say thatThe Salisbury Poisoningsfailed in its mission. It succeeded in what it set out to do. This was to make people understand the human suffering that occurred because of an international incident, displaying how civilians live every day with the fear they may be accidentally targeted in a far larger game than they even know is at play.The Salisbury Poisoningsdisplay the victims and heroes of the ground level brilliantly, and that makes this a show more than worthy of a watch to truly understand what happened in Salisbury that fateful day. However, it’s crucial for viewers to understand the wider context surrounding these events. Thetension between English local and national services, as well as international enemies and allies, skyrocketed in the wake of these poisonings, and in all of this lies the innocent victimswe witness suffer because of this tension.
