Disaster at Sea: The Piper Alpha Story: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

On the night of 6 July 1988, 120 miles off the coast of Aberdeen, a devastating series of explosions ripped through Piper Alpha, one of the North Sea's flagship oil platforms. By the time dawn broke, Piper Alpha was in ruins. 167 men would die, only 61 survived.

Six months later a Public Inquiry was launched, led by Lord Cullen. It revealed that behind the disaster was a flawed safety culture within the main US owned operator, Occidental, and in the North Sea more widely. But no criminal charges were brought. It remains the world's deadliest offshore oil and gas disaster.

Now, 37 years later, Disaster at Sea: The Piper Alpha Story will revisit the events of that night and the months beyond, to reveal a bigger, untold story of the rush for North Sea ‘black gold', the working families shattered by Piper Alpha and the legacy of the disaster on industry and individuals for decades to come.

At the heart of the series will be the unique and compelling testimony heard in the Cullen Inquiry. Revoiced by actors, the words of the men who lived through that night tell a remarkable human story, one that speaks to tragedy, heroism, and an uncompromising quest to uncover the truth.

Series details

• Title: Disaster at Sea: The Piper Alpha Story
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Genres: History
• Premiere date: 2025-08-24
• Final broadcast date listed: 2025-08-24
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Web channel listed by TVmaze: BBC iPlayer
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 58 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 85999
• TVDB ID: 466943

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2025-08-24; final listed air date 2025-08-24; episode order: 3.

Source and licence

Adapted from Disaster at Sea: The Piper Alpha Story on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.