In 1995, two women who had lost children in the disaster asked Jimmy McGovern if he would write their story. He began by interviewing the families of the victims and became so angry at the unfolding story that he brought in writer Katy Jones to verify that his writing was not skewed in any way.
Jimmy McGovern had previously wanted to cover the Hillsborough disaster on Brookside (1982). When the producers refused, he quit the show. He had previously explored the tragedy in the Cracker (1993) storyline "To Be a Somebody".
Christopher Eccleston and Ricky Tomlinson had previously appeared in Jimmy McGovern's Cracker (1993).