BBC Radio Manchester and BBC Sounds announce ‘Coded Warning’, a powerful new series marking 30 years since the Manchester IRA bomb.
BBC Radio Manchester has commissioned Coded Warning, a major new five-part series presented by Joel Mitchell to mark the 30th anniversary of the Manchester IRA bombing on 15th June 1996.
Coded warning is about how the bomb affected local communities
At the heart of the series is Joel’s personal journey. He wasn’t alive when the bomb went off but now lives and works in the local community that was shaped by it.
In Coded Warning, he sets out to understand the truth of what really happened that day in depth, and how its legacy still defines Manchester now.
BBC Radio Manchester is rooted in local communities, many of whom experienced the event as it unfolded. Blending immersive storytelling, archive audio and powerful first-hand testimony, the series reconstructs the events of that sunny Saturday morning in real time.
A bomb in a van, a code word, and a race against time
More than 80,000 people filled the city centre, unaware that a coded warning had just triggered one of the largest peacetime evacuations in UK history.
At 9.20am, a van carrying 3,000lb of explosive was parked on Corporation Street. Just 23 minutes later, a warning was phoned in using a recognised IRA codeword.
What followed was a race against time: police, security guards and emergency services worked urgently to clear the city before the bomb detonated.
Guided by Joel, Coded Warning unfolds minute by minute across five episodes:
- From the ordinary, sunlit start to a busy weekend
- A growing realisation this was no hoax
- The devastating explosion at the heart of the city
- An aftermath that would reshape Manchester forever
- The rebuilding of the city since
Along the way, Joel hears from the people who lived through that morning; a bride on her way to her wedding; a young family caught in the chaos; shop workers; first responders and eyewitnesses – all to piece together a story he never experienced himself.
Massive destruction but no one was killed
Despite the scale of destruction, with a third of the city centre damaged and £700 million in losses, the Manchester IRA bombing remains extraordinary for one defining reason: no one was killed.
Through Joel’s eyes, Coded Warning explores what this moment means to a generation with no memory of it. This series is more than a retelling, it’s a personal attempt to connect with a past Joel never lived through, and to understand the resilience that continues to define the city he calls home.
Coded Warning launches on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Manchester on Friday 12 June.
BBC Local provides impartial and distinctive output rooted in the communities of England like BBC Radio Manchester which is one of 39 local radio stations, along with online news and digital output, market-leading regional news bulletins on BBC One and unrivalled local sports coverage.
A press release by Thomas Watts of BBC Local Communications.
