Series 1 Episode 1
Survivors - Ep 1/6
Sunday 23rd November 2008 - BBCOne and BBCHD
As the "European Flu" virus spreads throughout the world, governments realise the scale of the problem. In just a few days, hundreds of thousands of people fall ill, including Abby Grant, Jenny Collins and her friend Patricia. The Government Minister in charge of the pandemic, Samantha Willis, is told that at least 90% of the world's population will die. The virus is extremely virulent and kills everyone except for the small percentage of humanity who are either naturally immune or have caught the virus and recovered. Civilisation comes to a stop: broadcast media goes off the air, and the National Grid shuts down, leaving the country in darkness. The final national television broadcast is from Samantha Willis, MP, who addresses the nation and urges the populace to keep calm and to wait for the Government to retake control of the situation. Beneath her calm demeanour, however, she is fully aware of the catastrophic effects of the pandemic worldwide. When Al Sadiq, Greg Preston, Najid Hanif and Tom Price wake, they find everyone around them dead, and struggle to find any fellow survivors. Abby wakes from her illness, to find that her husband David did not survive. She begins her search for her missing son Peter, believing he may also have survived. Eventually, the characters meet and realise they are going to have to stick together to survive.
When the survivors go out for supplies from the local supermarket, they are confronted by armed thugs, led by the violent Dexter, who threaten to kill them if they return. Greg finds a warehouse containing a lifetime stock of food, a young woman called Sarah and her injured companion, Bob. Al and Najid scavenge for supplies at some other shops in the area, where Al accidentally kills a surviving shopkeeper, before they return to the house with some chickens.
Greg and Tom encounter an uninfected family who have been isolated since the onset of the virus. When the family's daughter reaches out to them, they realise with horror that they have exposed her to the virus. They propose taking her with them so that she does not infect her family, but in the end, her father risks infection to keep her with them. In a search for her son, Abby encounters Samantha Willis, the last surviving government minister, who is now in charge of a fledgling community that has hot water, food, light, and power. Initially, the two women bond, but Abby is appalled when she sees the lengths that Samantha will go to if she thinks her community is endangered. In a research lab, scientists are trying to develop a vaccine for the virus.
Abby travels to Waterhouse, a nearby manor, and inadvertently joins a land dispute between an aggressive group of teenage boys and Jimmy Garland, whose family owns the house. Tom, Al, Sarah and Najid find themselves attracted to the comfort and security within Samantha Willis' community, but Al falls foul of Samantha and is ejected. Tom struggles to prove himself to Samantha, a task complicated by his criminal past. Meanwhile, Anya and Greg confront some unwelcome visitors and learn some useful lessons about group solidarity.
Suspicions are aroused when visionary spiritual leader John turns up at the community's door with his ragged group of disciples. When Abby allows Linda, a pregnant woman from John's group, to stay with them until the baby is born, Anya fears that she will be forced to reveal that she is a doctor. After facing her personal demons, particularly over the death of Jenny Collins, she goes on to successfully deliver a breech birth. She becomes concerned for the group's safety after John becomes increasingly erratic. John proves to be a paranoid schizophrenic. In the research facility, the scientists tune in to video messages recorded and broadcast by Samantha's group. One of them features Abby describing how she contracted the virus but survived. The scientists make it a high priority to find Abby and bring her to the facility for research.
Samantha Willis has expanded the scope of her community, employing armed thugs, including the violent Dexter. After Sarah reveals that Anya is a doctor, they kidnap her. Tom rescues her and kills one of Samantha's men, letting another one return to Samantha to bear witness. Abby and the others are forced to abandon their initial settlement, knowing that Samantha's people will come after Tom. Najid goes missing in the city, and the others look for him. While there, he meets Darren, a feral boy, and a community of other children under the protection of Craig and June, a sinister couple of adults. Greg is shot by Dexter, and Abby is kidnapped by a squad of armed men from the Lab. At episode end, a young boy is seen picking up a bag of belongings marked Peter Grant, and a horseback rider is shown looking for him.