CO-PILOT: Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.
Alpha-075, I'm declaring a fuel emergency.
MARIA: Alpha-075, how many souls do you have on board
and what's your current fuel status?
CO-PILOT: 295 souls on board.
Current fuel status is half an hour.
We spent too long over France. We won't make Newcastle.
They've had avionics issues since the storm hit.
And then with the situation at Charles de Gaulle...
MAN: Where is he now? - Approaching Northumberland
- but we keep losing him. - Try Newcastle.
He doesn't think he'll get there.
PILOTS IN SPANISH:
MARIA: OK, Alpha-075, I have new vectors for you.
We're sending you to RAF Coningsby.
PILOT: No, we won't make that. ...need to land.
ALARMS WAIL
PILOTS IN SPANISH:
COLLIER: Yeah, look, that's exactly what I said to them.
We don't have the officers or...
Jesus Christ!
A plane just flew over really low but I can't see any lights.
PILOT IN SPANISH:
CO-PILOT IN SPANISH:
CHURCH BELLS TOLL
PHONE CHIMES
- You're smoking. - No.
- Why can't you vape? - Oh, real men don't vape.
Mm. Where's your Protection Officer?
Oh, risk is part of smoking.
Take that out, what have you got?
Lymph nodes?
I called James. He's just coming.
- So, er, can I go to the party? - SHE SCOFFS
As long as we can video you milly-rocking.
You think I don't know what that is, right?
RACHEL: He doesn't, really.
We don't really do parties, anyway.
Oh, really? What do you call them now then?
- Just a few friends coming round. - Yeah.
For tea and biscuits.
Yeah, well, enjoy yourselves, you deserve it.
PHONE RINGS
I love you. Call me later. Bye, Georgia.
STUDENT: Fascist scum! Hey, Sutherland, resign!
Yes. Make that move.
GEORGIA: Bye, Mrs Sutherland!
ANNA: You sure?
Been a long time coming. What about the other issue?
Still waiting for an update from Fraser.
ROBERT: OK, I'm on my way.
OK. I'll call you as soon as I hear anything.
Dan? I want an immediate update if there's any evidence
of panic-buying at the petrol stations.
MALE VOICE: Anna.
You didn't answer my letters.
They didn't deserve an answer.
DOOR OPENS - GIRL: Mum?
Please go.
You don't even want to know what happened?
No.
Mum, who's this guy? Is he hassling you?
It's fine. He's just going.
Come on, come inside. Come on!
DUNBAR: X5.
And another one.
I'll let them know.
PHONE RINGS
- Anna. - FRASER: Multiple X5s.
- Right. Do we know... - And that's all we've got.
But we've gone from moderate to significant threat
and we're informing all Gold Commanders.
I'll tell the Prime Minister.
PHONE RINGS
Anna.
Multiple X5s. We've gone to significant threat.
They could be heading our way.
Convene a full COBRA for the morning.
MUSIC: "It's Strange" by Louis The Child
♪ It's strange but I don't need space from you ♪
♪ And every single thing you do, I like ♪
♪ And I've been chaste ♪
♪ Maybe I just knew I had to wait for you ♪
So, shall I be Mum?
I've never done it like this before.
Oh, it's cool.
You know, I might just drop a couple of downers.
No, no, later, babe, honestly.
Trust me, it's like you're riding down a river on a swan.
THEY GIGGLE
It just takes the edge off everything.
Here.
Cheers.
ELLIE: Oh... - THEY CHUCKLE
- Dominic Knight's on the way. - Great, thanks.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Hey, Anna, you wanted to see me?
- It wasn't me. - It was you.
- I didn't... - You did.
I did an interview a while back.
"What's the most important function
of being the PM's Chief of Staff?"
Do you know what I was tempted to say?
Knowing where the nearest toilet is at all times.
Sure, there's the strategic input
the diary management, controlling access
but really it comes down to making sure he always
has somewhere to take a piss.
You don't get to choose your level of loyalty
when you work at this address.
We have a COBRA on the solar threat at 11.
And you have until the end of the day
to draft your resignation letter.
You cannot... That is outrageous.
You're quite right.
You don't need all day for such a short letter.
Two hours should be plenty. Er, have it done by lunch.
The civil servants are waiting, we should be going.
Oh, and Dominic...
You can leave by the public entrance.
Queen takes Knight.
We should expect a counter-attack.
Don't worry, got the next move all planned out.
Peter will brief the press
that the threat level's been raised to significant.
All the petrol stations seem to be working.
There's no sign of panic yet.
That's cos people don't know what to panic about.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Morning, Archie.
Fuck that!
Have you just sacked Dominic Knight?
Shouldn't it be, "Fuck that, Prime Minister"?
You should have talked to me first.
I really don't think that's part of
my constitutional obligations, actually.
You know how it looks. Dom's closely identified with me.
Don't go there, Archie
or I'm gonna be forced to ask who gave him the nod
to brief against a policy he helped devise.
They're ready for us now.
Oh, I'm sorry, Lady Macbeth
I didn't spot you lurking there for one delightful moment.
That might work, if I was his wife.
Never too late.
So which virtue-signalling ponce
has been lined up to replace him?
I have a couple of ideas.
Francine Bridge was one thought that occurred to me.
We'll have to chat about that one.
Now... As you are already aware
this morning, the threat from extreme space weather
was raised from moderate to significant.
There is some uncertainty as to the impact zone
but the UK is certainly at risk.
I'll now hand over to the Chief Scientific Officer.
Er, yes, as I briefed the Director
of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat last night
the Met Office has been seeing fairly significant activity
on the eastern side of the sun.
But we've planned for all this though.
There was the seminar you did at the Home Office.
What was it called again, the last bad one
- a couple of centuries back? - The Carrington Event.
And a few telegraph operators got singed eyebrows, right?
The point is though, Home Secretary
as I am sure you'll recall from my presentation
that our technologies are much more sophisticated now.
The impact of a similar-sized storm
will be considerably worse.
OK, but it's not a great big meteorite
or the sun suddenly blowing up.
It's neither of those scenarios
and I shall be making the press very aware of that later.
Be great if we could all stay on message on this one.
Well, I have a bottle of Lagavulin
with the Foreign Secretary
this will all go the way it normally does.
I am sure we are all hugely reassured by that, Archie.
Now, perhaps we could pick up the thread in terms of
practical implications
just in case the shark actually is in the water.
Like the last time.
FRASER: Of course, Prime Minister.
Stage One of a bad solar storm would knock out satellites
potentially destabilising all transport
and navigational systems.
I understand that aviation is the biggest concern?
FRASER: Yes. There are real worries over flight safety
after a serious particle blizzard.
DUNBAR: But Stage Two is potentially
the most disruptive part.
The storm will almost certainly
release several blasts of plasma into space.
And if one of these reaches Earth
it could cause huge damage to the power supply
through voltage instability
and transformer damage on the network.
Some areas could be without power for months.
ARCHIE: The National Grid begs to differ.
They think it could be restricted to a couple of
remote areas.
And it could. We just don't really know
and neither do they.
But even one day without power
is enough to drive most people insane
and do huge damage to the economy.
Think of the impact of weeks or even months.
When are we gonna know whether all or any of this
is gonna happen?
DUNBAR: We expect to see more large flares
on the visible face of the sun.
The Met Office are monitoring for plasma launches.
But even then, it would have to come our way
and even then there would still be one critical variable left.
Does the incoming plasma field
have a north or south magnetic orientation?
Which is the one we don't want?
Hot South, bad. Frozen North, harmless.
The probability is absolutely 50/50.
The plasma eruption could have very little impact at all
or it could be extremely serious.
When do we know? For certain?
So once released, it could take up to two days
to cover the 90 million miles from sun to Earth.
But we'll only know if we're Hot South
when it passes our satellite at the L1 point.
That's about one million miles from Earth.
Do the math, Archie.
Last time I tried that in public
Eddie Mair made a bit of a twat out of me.
THEY LAUGH - Half an hour.
Correct.
There will be just 30 minutes before we know
if this storm will fuse a few kettles
or send us back to the Stone Age.
ROBERT: Archie's face was a picture
when you told that brilliant joke
about Francine Bridge as the new head of the policy unit.
Great timing as well
just before we go into the briefing room
leaving him no time to respond to your hilarious quip.
I believe that expression is called "what the actual fuck"
by the young people who have abandoned our party
in their droves.
- You weren't joking, were you? - No.
What the actual fuck, Anna?
She's brilliant. She's unemployed.
- Did I mention young people? - She was a Labour MP.
ANNA: Yes, but...
ROBERT: Why does everybody assume all people under 20
are transgender vegans who only care about tuition fees?
ANNA: If you only ever take one piece of advice from me
it is never make jokes about gender.
People literally lose their shit over it.
- How about vegans? - Stick to what you know.
Can we not just start moving
replacement transformers in advance?
Have you ever seen a transformer?
They're not small, you know.
- OK. In awe at the size of... - Absolute unit.
PETER: The sun is not going to explode.
There are no fireballs or meteorites.
It is an invisible geomagnetic storm that could disrupt things.
We have measures in place.
Please, please, please, please, please...
Pretty fucking please...
Report this responsibly.
So what time exactly does the sun explode?
I will brief you again if the threat level moves to serious.
Move the security meeting with The Crab
back to 11:30, please.
Well, they stockpiled CS gas and baton rounds
for the last false alarm.
Wait, Ed, don't hang up, I've got Dom Knight calling.
Dom? Oh, for God's sake.
Are you there, Dom?
Ah, good, never trust this hold and accept malarkey.
Oh, you bet we'll meet later.
Don't worry, I'm not taking this lying down.
Look, my daughter spends most of her time
signing petitions on social media
and my son sings that stupid lefty chant in the bath.
To them, we're still the nasty party.
We hate animals and refugees whilst favouring tax dodgers.
Our party does contain people like that
we can't just wish them away
or Archie would not be Home Secretary
Which brings me to Francine Bridge.
She isn't a member of her party any longer.
She even resigned her seat in parliament.
OK, but there's still one massive problem.
- I know what you're gonna say. - No, you don't.
You're going to say, none of this matters
because she won't accept.
OK, that is what I was gonna say.
It's a problem, it's not an insurmountable one.
Leave it with me. I'm meeting her for a drink later.
KNOCK AT DOOR - Met Office has just seen
a massive solar flare with multiple plasma launches.
We need to raise the threat level to serious
and recall COBRA immediately.
So, having analysed the data, we can now confirm
that a high-speed plasma eruption
is heading straight for us.
When does it arrive?
It depends on whether it maintains current speed
so we can't say for certain.
They're currently estimating sometime late tomorrow afternoon
with a margin for error of about five hours.
Meantime, we do already have an immediate impact on planes.
We're getting reports of avionics issues
like false warnings
and autopilots suddenly disconnecting.
Isn't that why we still have real pilots on board?
It is, Home Secretary, although
when an Air France crew faced a similar scenario some years ago
they hit the ocean 15 minutes later.
"The glide paths at two French airports have failed.
They need to divert traffic our way."
Can't they go to their pals in Germany?
You voted to leave the EU, Archie, not the human race.
Well, it's fairly obvious what the issue is here.
Do we ground all flights?
That would have a very high cost, both human and financial.
Department of Biz is opposed.
I trust you all remember the ash cloud.
ARCHIE: If the situation in the air is manageable
and its Frozen North, then this is as bad as it gets.
In which case, we should just wait until morning.
Grounding all flights has real human impacts
and indirect danger to life.
This is a hard decision, but we do have to decide
as there's no middle ground here.
INDISTINCT MURMURS
Flights will remain operational until we have more information.
It's the right decision.
INDISTINCT MURMURS
FRASER: Keep me updated on the plasma eruption.
I'm gonna stay here until we know if it's North or South
so you guys should probably just...
JAMES: We'll stay, too.
We'll take it in turns to sleep.
FRASER: OK, well, we could be here for a while, so...
I need to pop out for an hour.
Need to make sure Mabel's OK.
It's my dad's dog. Cockapoo.
Staying with me while he's in the care home.
How is the old man?
Well, he thinks the Home Secretary
should lead the country so possible early stage dementia.
I need to speak to the hospital social worker
but I haven't had a second.
Do you need anything?
- Get some food in a bit later? - Pizza or curry?
Pizza. Something with loads of anchovies.
- I thought for a minute... - Me too.
- Did you ever meet his ex-wife? - Uh-uh.
More Dobermann than Cockapoo. He's better off with Mabel.
R&B MUSIC PLAYS - INDISTINCT CHATTER
- So, will you do it? - FRANCINE: Of course I won't.
Doesn't have to be Policy and Research.
You can have any job title you please.
Er, Chief Adviser to the Duchy of Narnia.
ANNA LAUGHS
What do we really disagree on?
Corporation tax. Public services.
The unquestionable superiority of Western values.
- I've seen the alternatives. - Also, you're not your party.
And you would answer only to me.
I can't.
I got badly burned in the split. I just want...
What all normal people want. Respect. Trust. Decency.
And a bit of help with the school fees, of course.
Just... Universal Credit doesn't cover that, right?
You are such an operator.
You still getting flak for going private?
Yes.
I didn't change my principles, Anna.
He got threatened with bloody acid
by kids who weren't messing about.
You don't have to convince me. I believe in choice, remember?
Yeah, but I don't really.
Plus it's not choice, it's purchasing power.
That's part of choice once you've paid your tax.
See, I don't need us to agree on everything.
I just want somebody who's not an arsehole
and that I can trust.
Ever think you might have chosen the wrong career?
No.
Don't be fooled, Mabel. I hate and despise you.
The sooner I'm on my own again the better.
DOG WHINES
Heather, it's me.
You've probably seen on the news about the possible
power complications.
Take them seriously.
Get yourself a wind-up radio...
plenty of food and water, extra fuel for the car.
In spite of your successful attempts
to destroy my relationship with the kids
I love them very much.
Might be difficult over the next few weeks
so prepare yourselves.
BOSS: The situation in Paris is causing chaos.
They're sending more and more our way.
We're running out of slots.
A couple of flights have declared fuel emergencies.
DISTORTED VOICE OVER THE RADIO
...five... I don't know where I am...
They're still getting false alerts and losing comms.
Some of them are getting so confused, they don't even know
- where they are anymore. - Try and prioritise.
It's all we can do.
COLLIER: We're treating this as a rising tide level
of emergency, insofar as we have a level of advance warning
of the threat involved.
But at the same time
I'm afraid we also have very little guidance from London
as to what, if anything
is actually going to happen tomorrow.
If the worst does happen, and we are without power
for a lengthy period of time
I'll chair and host Gold Command
from the Royal Northumberland Hospital near Hexham.
Our main priorities will be maintaining healthcare
ensuring protection for the vulnerable
safeguarding key sites and essential fuel supplies
while maintaining law and order.
Perhaps our biggest challenge
will be getting vital staff to their places of work.
Now, you all have a copy of the civil emergencies guidelines
but I imagine you will also have some questions?
ALL CLAMOUR - One at a time, please.
FRANCINE: How real is the threat from the solar storm?
ANNA: Oh, it's real.
FRANCINE: They've convened my Local Resilience Forum
for the morning.
ANNA: Might only cause minor disruption.
Good chance of nothing at all.
So, funny thing has happened.
Funny ha-ha or funny peculiar?
When I was reporting in Bosnia, there was a local translator
working for the UN forces around Tuzla.
His sister was in Visegrad
and when the local Serbs took that town
that was not a good place to be a young woman.
Nowhere is during war.
Visegrad was hell.
Stuff went on there that...
It's why I can't tolerate people who take what we have
for granted.
So, what happened?
He went to look for her and he just vanished.
I never saw him again.
Until now.
- He's turned up? - Literally on my doorstep.
Did he find his sister?
I don't know.
We haven't spoken properly.
But you're going to, right?
It was so long ago.
Oh, come and work with me. What larks!
Yeah, that is not going to happen.
There will categorically be no larks.
- Yes, there will! - THEY LAUGH
FRASER: I want a secure video link to all police
Gold Commanders.
We also need to ensure that all essential staff
can be brought to places of work.
I'll get back to you.
Uh, Air Traffic Control are reporting a mayday
from a diverted flight from Malaga to Oslo.
Up until ten minutes ago, it had contact
but now they've lost all comms.
OK, well, where was this plane re-routed to?
Newcastle. They're assuming it's close to...
Let's not make assumptions when it comes to large
metal objects full of jet fuel.
That's the problem though. It's not full of jet fuel.
They think he's running on fumes.
Get me Bob Jones at NATS.
Patch him over to the briefing room.
OK, Alpha-075, do you want to divert?
RADIO STATIC
Please respond, Alpha-075.
CO-PILOT: I'm declaring a fuel emergency.
I repeat. A fuel emergency.
Alpha-075, how many souls do you have on board
and what's your current fuel status?
CO-PILOT: 295 souls on board.
Current fuel status is half an hour.
We spent too long over France. We won't make Newcastle.
Believe me, Dominic, I did everything in my power.
I begged him not to do it.
I told him it would come back to haunt him.
DOMINIC: Oh, it will.
Served deep-frozen.
And that total bitch, Anna Marshall.
Well, they were both in the Tory Reform Group at Balliol.
You were at Christ Church, weren't you?
No, I was at Oriel.
ARCHIE: Rumours they had a bit of a thing once.
I mean, let's be fair, she's a handsome woman.
- I mean, you definitely would. - LAUGHS Well...
PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
So, who are they replacing me with?
She mentioned Francine Bridge.
You've got to be fucking kidding me.
I'd be surprised if even Robert lets her go ahead with that one.
When are you gonna make your move, Archie?
Well, you know what they say about shooting the king...
MARIA: We've picked him up again. He's over Lincolnshire.
He won't make it to Newcastle now.
There must be somewhere he can land?
One of the RAF bases. Coningsby if necessary.
How about Coningsby?
OK, Alpha-075, I have new vectors for you.
We're sending you to RAF Coningsby.
PILOT: No, we won't make that... need to land...
PILOTS IN SPANISH:
COLLIER: Yeah, look, that's exactly what I said to them.
We don't have the officers...
Jesus Christ!
A plane just went over really low but I can't see any lights.
PILOT IN SPANISH:
CO-PILOT IN SPANISH:
MARIA: Oh, my God.
I think he crashed into the motorway.
Fuck.
INDISTINCT SHOUTS
This is Chief Constable Collier.
We've got an emergency on the A1 just past Newton Aycliffe.
A plane has crashed on the road.
OK, we need to declare a major incident.
DISTANT WAILS
WOMAN: Help, please! - Sir...
Sir, help's on its way, OK? Help's coming.
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES - CAR ALARMS WAIL
DISTANT SCREAMS
BABY CRIES
WOMAN SHOUTS IN SPANISH
COLLIER: Ma'am, help is coming.
- Help is on its way, OK? - My baby!
Your baby? I'll find her, don't worry.
BABY CRIES - WOMAN: Por favor!
HE GROANS
BABY CRIES
WOMAN SHOUTS - ELECTRICITY ZAPS
WOMAN SHOUTS IN SPANISH
Where is she? Where is she? Do you know?
I'll find her, don't worry.
Don't worry, I'm gonna find her, OK?
It's gonna be OK.
I can hear her, I can hear her, it's OK.
BABY WAILS
SHE MUTTERS
- Right, I can see her! - BABY CRIES
It's OK. I've got her down! She's OK!
WOMAN SOBS
WOMAN: Please... please...
BABY CRIES
WOMAN SHOUTS
My baby, please!
She's here.
SIRENS WAIL IN DISTANCE
SIRENS WAIL
ANNA: OK, thanks. Where in Portugal?
That's good of you. I really appreciate it.
Yeah, bye.
What does "Tuzla" mean?
Tuzla. It's in Bosnia.
Yeah, just you... Go ahead.
ANNA CHUCKLES - Mm, not bad.
This was my favourite thing.
Oh, that tastes of being young.
So, is the sun gonna blow up?
No. Dad's flight's been diverted to Portugal.
- Then what? - Then... I don't know.
He'll have to wait until it's safe to fly again, I suppose.
Funny how it all happens when you lot
- fall behind in the polls again. - Hello to you, too.
Actually, it's because we're about to invade Venezuela.
You won't read about that in the mainstream media.
They've got oil.
Yeah, they're also eating dead cats.
Look, I might have to stay up in town a few nights this week
just until this fake news blows over.
PHONE RINGS
Spoon!
Yep.
Oh, God. Where?
- Are there any survivors? - Dad?
No, it's fine, it's not his plane.
Yep, go on.
So they're bringing the rest of the planes
to the nearest available landing points.
So far, no further incidents.
If only we'd grounded the planes...
It would have made no difference at all.
The plane was already in the air.
It crashed because the sun took out the glide paths in France
or it would've landed safely.
You made the right decision for the right reasons.
Funny feeling that's not how others will see it.
Well, we're not others though, are we?
We're the ones who have to make the decisions
while others talk about them in pubs.
Keep me updated on casualties.
PHONE RINGS
- Hi, darling. - Mum!
Mum, it's Georgia, I'm at the hospital
and they can't bring her round, Mum.
She's not breathing, it's a nightmare!
Ellie, Ellie, just calm down, calm down.
What happened?
We've been up all night, Mum, we were taking stuff...
What are you talking about? What kind of stuff?
Oh, God, Mum, it's all my fault!
SHE SOBS Mum, it's all my fault.
RACHEL Robert! Ellie, listen to me.
You need to keep it together
and I don't want you to speak to anyone.
- OK. - Alright, sweetheart?
I love you and I'll be there as soon as I can.
OK. I love you, bye.
God...
SHE SIGHS
ROBERT: What's happened?
Ellie's friend Georgia is in a coma.
- What? - Drugs.
They've been up all night doing drugs after graduation.
Christ. She's OK though? Ellie's not...?
- She's in bits. - Oh, God, poor kid.
PHONE CHIMES
The Met Office say the CME's trajectory
is faster than anticipated.
I don't have a fucking clue what that means.
It means I have to reconvene COBRA.
Our daughter is in trouble, Robert! We...
Look.
We've got a plane crashed on the A1...
we have a solar storm that could wipe out our power supply.
I just don't have time for this.
OK, I'll go and get her. Leave it with me, go on.
I'll text you with any news.
I'll have Peter Mott come first thing in the morning.
He has to be across this.
Yeah, that would be a really good idea.
Leave it with us. It'll be OK.
It'll be OK.
ELLIE SOBS
NEWSREADER: Accident investigators are a t the site
of yesterday's tragedy on the A1.
There has been speculation that the crash was caused
by a particle blizzard, associated with the solar storm
and fears are mounting that it is just the start
of the full blown chaos...
COLLIER: OK, so we're going to set up the strategic
command centre at the hospital.
A lot of ghouls are trying to get to the site
and blocking B roads.
What's the status with the survivors?
The pilot did pretty well and saved the majority.
Er, current fatality count is 25.
That's expected to rise but not significantly.
We have 17 in intensive care, six of them are touch and go.
The rest are mostly multiple fractures.
We have three burns victims from cars the plane hit.
I, er...
I picked a baby out of the wreckage.
The dad is in an induced coma
and his mum's about to have an operation on her back
to see if they can stop her from being paralysed.
It really wouldn't be a great time to lose power right now.
OK, Stuart.
OK, first things first
tell her not to say a word to anybody
until I've spoken to her. Right?
Going the wrong way, aren't you, Peter?
Always, Archie.
I'm on my way.
ARCHIE: Stuart Collier's the Police Gold in Hexham.
FRASER: Mm, he's good. Young, but level-headed.
The main problem is getting the medical staff
around the road blockage caused by the plane.
OK.
I'm not spying
I just don't want him signing petitions online.
Yep.
Where's the Prime Minister?
He's on his way over from No 10.
A word to the wise, Anna.
As you know, I have the highest admiration for you.
Get on with it.
I don't care how far you two go back
or how much you feel the party needs a makeover.
Put Francine Bridge in the Policy Unit
even making the coffee
and I will give you a lesson in payback
you will not forget in a hurry.
Thanks, Archie, and in similar spirit
get your hand off my arm and back the fuck off.
I'm not some little volunteer you can get handsy with
on the battle bus.
You just crossed a line, Anna.
When he goes
which will be sooner than you think
he will at least be able to do some lucrative
after-dinner speaking. You, on the other hand
won't be able to get yourself arrested.
I am feeling both positive and patriotic this morning.
I've got a feeling I'm gonna be a bottle of Scotch to the good
by the end of this meeting.
Better find out, hadn't we?
There are two possible impacts on the grid when the storm hits.
The first is voltage instability.
Now, we need that to stay running at 50 hertz.
If it goes a couple of points above or below
we'll start getting trips.
The other problem is burn-out damage to transformers
if the power from the storm surges into the network.
OK, Prime Minister, we're pretty close to getting
the orientation now.
We're getting the data from the satellite position at L1.
I'm afraid the news is not
what we were hoping for, Prime Minister.
We can expect a massive geomagnetic storm surge
in the coming hours.
It's Hot South.
DISTANT GROANS
There goes my Lagavulin.
Upgrade threat level to Critical...
- Here comes the sun. - ...and get me Evan Milligan
from the Grid.
INDISTINCT MUTTERS
ANNOUNCER: A major incident has been declared
at this hospital.
We are receiving multiple casualties.
Non-urgent cases will not be seen
and you should await instructions
on transfers to other sites.
Thank you for your patience.
Bollocks.
That's not good.
The emergency generators are detecting
the voltage instability.
Do we have a direct link to the National Grid command centre?
FRASER: I think they're just a little bit busy
down there right now.
OK, uh, early evidence is that coastal areas
have taken a massive hit and this is just the start.
The surges will just keep coming like tsunamis.
What about the rest of the world?
No clear picture as yet
although early reports say that
France and Spain are almost totally blacked out.
Three transformers are out already and that's set to rise.
The entire system is on the brink of collapse
and blackouts are now imminent across all major cities.
I'm sorry to say that the power of this storm
is far worse than even our most pessimistic forecast.
I will now speak to the Palace
so that Her Majesty can authorise the necessary powers
under the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act.
This is now a national emergency
and COBRA will remain active till its conclusion.
MUSIC: "My Blood" by AlunaGeorge
FRANCINE: Anna, it's me.
I've been giving it some thought. Call me back.
♪ If you want my love, oh ♪
♪ You better come see me ♪
♪ You better come see me... ♪
MUSIC DISTORTS AND STOPS
CROWD GASPS