The Man Who Broke Britain

{{Infobox television

| image =

| caption =

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| genre = Drama
Docufiction

| creator =

| writer = {{unbulleted list | Simon Finch | Gabriel Range }}

| director = Gabriel Range

| creative_director =

| developer =

| presenter =

| starring = {{unbulleted list | Will Ashcroft |Dean Knowsley | Amani Zain }}

| voices =

| narrated = Tim Pigott-Smith

| theme_music_composer =

| open_theme =

| end_theme =

| composer = Samuel Sim

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| num_seasons =

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| executive_producer =

| producer = Simon Finch

| cinematography =

| runtime = 90 minutes

| channel = BBC Two

| released = {{Start date|2004|12|09|df=y}}

| related = {{nowrap|The Day Britain Stopped}}

}}

The Man Who Broke Britain is a 2004 BBC Television drama about a financial collapse triggered by a devastating terrorist strike.{{Cite journal |last1=Stewart |first1=Michael |last2=Butt |first2=Richard |date=May 2011 |title=We Had It Coming: Hypothetical Docudrama as Contested Form and Multiple Fantasy |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/913138869 |journal=Critical Studies in Television |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=72–88 |doi=10.7227/CST.6.1.7 |id={{ProQuest|913138869}} |via=ProQuest}}{{Cite news |last=Banks-Smith |first=Nancy |date=10 December 2004 |title=Financial crimes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/dec/10/television.artsfeatures |access-date=2024-12-25 |work=The Guardian}}

Plot

A devastating terrorist strike wipes out much of Saudi Arabia's oil production; the same day a trader of Saudi origin disappears from the fictional UK investment bank Sun First Credit (SFCB). Managers soon discover the missing trader, Samir Badr, has built up crippling debts, multiplied a hundredfold by the attacks in Saudi. SFCB, once the toast of the city, is suddenly heading for bankruptcy, taking a whole raft of other banks with it. The resulting market crash and banking crisis will push Britain and the US into a 21st Century recession: pension funds are slashed, unemployment soars and the housing market collapses. Following the discovery that Badr has committed suicide, a new Al-Qa'eda tape surfaces, in which Osama Bin Laden appears to claim responsibility for the financial turmoil. Suspicion grows that Badr was an Islamic extremist who deliberately sabotaged the bank. As the authorities and the media launch a massive investigation into the apparent Al-Qaeda assault on the pillars of the Western Economy, an alternative explanation emerges. Could greed and incompetence be the real cause of the collapse of Britain's economy?

References

External links

[https://www.walltowall.co.uk/program/the-man-who-broke-britain_82.aspx Production website] at Wall to Wall Media
{{BBC Genome prog|e96cb838fc684a96b963f3d8ec921b82}}
{{FilmLinks}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20190503164609/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8ad7a4d5 The Man Who Broke Britain] at British Film Institute

Category:British docufiction films

Category:BBC television docudramas

Category:Films set in the United Kingdom

Category:2004 television films

Category:2004 films

Category:2004 in British television

Category:British television films

Category:Films about terrorism in Asia

Category:Films about terrorism in Europe

Category:2000s British films