ITV1 commissions car crash 'event drama'

ITV1 director of television Peter Fincham has commissioned a new "event" drama based around a car crash.

The serial of five hour-long instalments will feature "the largest collision ever shot in the UK" and centre on a group of people thrown together by the smash.

Collision is penned by Foyle's War writer Anthony Horowitz, with Mike Walker (Does God Play Football?), and is scheduled to air in February.

"Beyond the crumpled cars and the beleaguered emergency services are a series of invisible dramas that are rarely told, from Government cover-ups and smuggling, to embezzlement and murder," said an ITV preview.

"The serial ends with a devastating twist that will show all this death and mayhem was caused by the tiniest and most insignificant detail."

The programme is the first drama commission from an independent producer for Fincham, who joined ITV in May.

"This is a high octane event drama that combines creative and original thinking with mass appeal," he said. "It promises to be both provocative and engaging."