Dundee-born director Michael Keillor on new BBC Lockerbie drama

The Courier

16-05-2025

Michael Keillor has vivid memories of the Lockerbie bombing.
The Dundee-born film director, then a 15-year-old pupil at Monifieth High School, was on his way to Austria for a ski trip with his classmates on the night of the terrorist attack.
'We had to drive down the east coast of Scotland rather than the west coast to get to Luton Airport,' he recalls.
'And we drove past the scene [on the way home] just a few days after.'
Michael adds: 'Looking back, it was such a big event in my life. It was such a shock.
'These were things you saw in the news all over the world, but to happen in Scotland was a huge thing.'
On 21 December 1988, flight Pan Am 103 was en route from Heathrow to JFK when a bomb exploded in its hold over Lockerbie, killing 270 people, including 43 British citizens and 190 Americans.
It was the worst ever terror attack on British soil and the first major act of terrorism against US citizens.
Michael, whose shows include Roadkill, Chimerica and Line of Duty, has wanted to share the story on the big screen for many years.
So his latest project – the forthcoming factual drama The Bombing of Pan Am 103 – is something of a milestone.
The six-part BBC series, co-produced with Netflix, is based on the bombing of a passenger flight and the quest to bring its perpetrators to justice.
Michael, who directed his first show in 2004, is known for his bold and ambitious projects which push boundaries.
The 51-year-old, who lives between Angus and London, has been working on The Bombing of Pan Am 103 'non-stop' for two years.
Speaking to me on the phone from the capital, he tells me he was asked to direct the series, written by Jonathan Lee, by the BBC in 2023.
'Once it came to me there's no way I couldn't do it, because it's such a big Scottish story, and I'm always pushing to tell the most relevant Scottish stories I can,' he says.
Not only is the show – filmed in three countries over 19 weeks in spring 2024 – Michael's biggest project yet, it is also one of BBC Scotland's largest-ever productions.
The team shot 15 weeks in Scotland, two weeks in Malta (where the story goes to) and two weeks in Canada (which is used as a replacement for Washington DC, where the FBI were based).
Michael says: 'There's only certain people who would be able to do it, just because of the logistics of it.
'This is a complex thing, so I'm kind of lucky enough to be at that stage of my career, and it's nice to be asked.'
Filming in Scotland took place in Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Livingston and Bathgate, all picked for their '1980s and 70s feel'.
When it came to casting, Michael was keen to recruit a 'good cross-section of Scottish people', with the likes of Tony Curran and Peter Mullan cast in police officer roles.
Big stars included Connor Swindells from Sex Education and Patrick J. Adams, well-known from American TV drama Suits.
It's clear Michael felt a great deal of responsibility to honour the victims and tell their story as truthfully as possible.
It's one reason he liaised with their families before filming took place, including at a town hall meeting in Lockerbie.
He says: 'The idea was to get everyone on board as early as possible.
'[The families] gave us an authenticity as well, because they often came to us with stories and facts that weren't written down anywhere.'
He adds: 'Most of the families that we work with have seen it already, and were happy.'
On a more practical level, the toughest challenge he faced was dealing with the 'sh*t' Scottish weather.
The blustery conditions made shooting the aftermath of the crash – 'a street on fire at night for three or four days with hundreds of crew, hundreds of extras and multiple cameras' – even hairier than you might imagine.
Michael, who bought his home near Carnoustie shortly before he took on The Bombing of Pan Am 103, is now ready for a period of reflection.
He says: 'Right now, my plan is to come to Scotland and work in the house, sit on the beach and walk the dog.
'I don't know what's next, but [The Bombing of Pan Am 103] has certainly inspired me to work more in Scotland and find more stories to tell up here.
'London can be quite intense and quite work-focused, so it's nice to spend time at home.
'Also, I like being in Scotland – Scottish culture has always been quite inspiring.
'If you are looking for stories, then it's always nice to be nearby to see what's going on.'
It turns out Michael is a fan of flipping through The Courier for ideas as well.
Laughing, he says: 'There is always something crazy happening in Dundee!'
The move north also means being closer to family, with his mum, his sister and her four children all in Broughty Ferry.
But it is a big change for Michael, who relocated to London after graduating from Dundee University with a law degree in his early twenties.
'When I first started out, you had to do everything in London,' he says.
'But more and more, a lot more that's remote, and a lot of the filming isn't in London as well.
'So it kind of matters less where you live so much.
'Still – the creative nerve centre is London.'
But the Scottish film industry is on a better footing these days, he says.
'There was nothing like The Bombing of Pan Am 103 being shot when I was just entering the film industry,' he says.
'The film industry in Scotland was much smaller, so there weren't opportunities to work on these big productions.
'It was exciting for me now to have all the runners and assistants and juniors able to work on a big show like this.
'They'll be the filmmakers of the future coming through.
'So maybe, they won't have to go to London to further their careers.'
Dundee has also enjoyed a 'cultural shift' since his student days.
While Michael was inspired to carve out a career in film after watching movies at The Steps Theatre in the Wellgate Centre (Trainspotting and Charlotte Gray opened his eyes to the fact that movies could be made in Scotland), the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA) opened up after he graduated.
'It was a huge thing when that opened up,' Michael says.
'That sense of having art right in the Perth Road – and that it was okay to watch cool films – was massive.'
He adds: 'And of course, the V&A opening as well, I think has just added to that.
'It's given Dundee a cultural renaissance.
'Having been away for a long time and coming back – I just feel like Dundee is culturally alive again.'
Brian Cox's return to Dundee Rep in July to star in Make it Happen is further evidence of this.
But like most of us, Michael wasn't able to get his hands on tickets for the sold-out show.
He says: 'The fact that James Graham, who is a massive playwright and big TV writer, would launch a play in Dundee – that is a big thing.
'That is exciting.
'So it's nice to be around all that as well'.