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Nuclear drama so terrifyingly real it 'f****d childhoods' not aired on BBC since 2003
Vladimir Putin and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov dropping veiled threats about a potential nuclear confrontation over Ukraine, half-forgotten Cold War fears are starting to resurface for many people. For Eighties kids, those fears could be summed up in one single TV show: Threads.The night the showed first aired on BBC Two - September 23, 1984 - was referred to as "the night Britain didn't sleep", so harrowing was the show's portrayal of nuclear war's effects on Britain.The terrifying show was shown on the BBC once again the following year, before the tape was locked away until a BBC Four airing 18 years later.It was released on DVD and received a semi-cult status online, but there is no record of it airing anywhere on British TV since UKTV showed it for a final time in April 2005.And with nuclear war fears growing, BritBox quickly pulled it from their service last month after it was slammed for a poorly-timed release as tensions brewed in Ukraine.A new generation have been able to pick up on the show, though – posting clips to TikTok that they “can’t believe” were ever broadcast on TV.One upsetting scene was captioned “who as a kid had nightmares after watching this?” and a comment on another Threads excerpt read: “And to think they showed this in schools in the Eighties.
