TX - Nightmare scenario.

Surprisingly, BBC 2's Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon, a starkly realistic docu-drama examining the likely consequences of a major bio-terrorism attack in the US, was made before 11 September 2001.'It seemed ironic that we were talking about vast acts of terrorism when suddenly it had happened for real. We felt like our fiction was coming home to roost,' says director Daniel Percival.Initially the thought had been to ditch the project entirely but it soon became apparent that, if anything, there was an even greater need for the film than before.Several reshoots were necessary, however. A number of shots featured the Twin Towers skyline, while some of the actors' dialogue had to be adapted to include references to the attacks.The biggest challenge throughout was to establish the authentic feel of the piece. 'Pulling that off was the most demanding aspect,' says Percival.'I always believed that if there were any crack in the plausibility of the film, the whole edifice would come crumbling down.'Five months of research was carried out before a script was even begun and a forensic-like attention to detail was maintained. The actors, who were given real titles of genuine bio-terrorist experts, were interviewed instead of auditioned, to test whether they could carry off the style of the docudrama. In the end, their words were entirely ad-libbed and improvised, based loosely on the script.The smallpox make-up, too, was thoroughly researched. Claire Ford, the designer, scoured photos of real-life victims, hospital records and medical books and experimented with numerous processes. 'I also went to see Wally Schneiderman, the special FX make-up artist who did The Elephant Man,' she adds. 'I wanted to make sure that I was using the most up-to-date techniques. It had to look perfect since we were using real-life footage - I would have let the whole film down if it hadn't worked.'The use of mocked-up front covers of national broadsheets and seemingly real broadcasts by Sky News, CNN and BBC News 24 was plain-sailing legally.Simon Chinn, the producer, comments: 'They were all very happy to take part. They recognised this was an important programme that was clearly signposted as a drama because it was set in the future, so there were no legal issues.'Any problems that might have occurred from using archive footage of body bags, people rioting and mass graves were averted by blurring the faces of those who appeared on screen.In total, however, only around 20 per cent of the film uses archive footage - the rest is shot for real, partly because of the expense of using archive.The core concept of a docu-drama had sprung from a desire to aid the embattled BBC current affairs deparment to pioneer a new kind of television.'We wanted to come up with an innovative form of television to explore news events that hadn't happened.' adds Chinn. By weaving fact and fiction together so convincingly, Wall to Wall could be accused of producing unnecessarily scaremongering television. But the company insists their aim was honourable rather than commercial: to trigger an urgent national debate.'The film has enormous dignity and is not sensational,' says Percival.'It was commissioned with the agenda of challenging our awareness and preparedness for a bio-terrorist attack and is rooted firmly in public service broadcasting - it was a BBC current affairs commission, not a drama commission.'Wall to Wall claims that Newsnight is already considering a follow-up debate the night Smallpox 2002 is broadcast, while G7 is holding a meeting on bio-terrorism preparedness at its next summit as a result of the film.SMALLPOX 2002: SILENT WEAPONBroadcaster: BBC 2Producer: Wall to Wall for BBC current affairs, The Learning Channel and Granada InternationalStart: 21.00, 5 February Length: 1 x 90-minutes Commissioned by: Peter HorrocksPRODUCTION CREDITSExecutive producer: Jonathan HewesDirector: Daniel PercivalProducer: Simon ChinnEditor: Jason SavageLine producer: Helen TaitProduction coordinator: Alexa HarrisMake-up design: Claire Ford.