THE BBC has released images of a new docu-drama that tells the story of the sinking of the Titanic in real time.
Titanic Sinks Tonight is a four-part series that relives the Titanic story through the experiences and personal testimony of the passengers and crew who were there.
The programme pieces together the events, minute by minute, to reveal exactly what happened to the 2,208 passengers and crew on the night of April 14, 1912.
A look behind the scenes on the Titanic Sinks Tonight set (Image: BBC)Constructed by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Titanic departed the city on April 2, 1912 as the most famous ship in the world.
Registered in Liverpool, she began her maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10, bound for New York by way of Cherbourg in France and Cobh in Co. Cork.
Four days into the voyage, the 'unsinkable ship' hit an iceberg in the icy waters of the Atlantic.
From the crucial seconds before the ship hit the iceberg to the final moments when the hull sank beneath the waves, the new series charts the unfolding disaster in real time.
Rhys Mannion as Jack Thayer (Image; BBC)Unearthed from a vast archive of eyewitness testimony, the cast portray vivid first-hand accounts that will put viewers 'in the moment', revealing what individuals on the ship saw, felt and did that night.
The series features Irish actor Rhys Mannion as First Class passenger Jack Thayer, Saipan star Matthew Cassidy as Officer Fred Fleet and Vicky Allen as First Class stewardess Violet Jessop.
Gerry O'Brien, who starred in Veronica Guerin and Reign of Fire, stars as Captain Edward Smith.
Vicky Allen as Violet Jessop (Image: BBC)Titanic Sinks Tonight, which was filmed in Northern Ireland, also features analysis from a range of contributors including historian Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and author Jeanette Winterson.
The series has been produced by Stellify Media, a Sony Pictures Television (SPT) company.
It is coming to the BBC soon, while SPT is handling international sales for the series.
