ITV’s upcoming documentary Terror In The Skies: The Liquid Bomb Plot uses AI to recreate key scenes from a real-life terrorist plot that forever changed global air travel.
The Exposure series, which airs on ITV1 this Sunday (July 26), uses AI to recreate the actors and key events of the 2006 liquid bomb conspiracy.
Producers of ITV News/ITN’s Terror In The Skies: The Liquid Bomb Plot have teamed up with Twinnin, a UK-based startup that allows individuals to upload, license and monetize their likenesses and voices for use in AI.
Twinnin solicited performers who agreed to take part in the project and receive end-title credits. AI VFX artist and editor Andrew Evans used images of the actors to build the AI characters featured in the documentary.
The poster’s facial features, body shape, and physique were transformed using AI prompts to create a stylized character, rather than a direct digital copy of the poster.
AI has also been used to reconstruct locations that are too dangerous or remote to photograph, such as the area formerly known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in northwestern Pakistan, where al-Qaeda ran training camps in the early 2000s.
Tim Maynard, senior producer and director at ITV News, said: “AI provided us with a stylized, impressionistic way to bring key moments of the plot to life, setting us apart from archival footage and traditional drama.
“This allowed us to create sequences that felt cinematic, while supporting the factual storytelling at the heart of the film. This story has been told before in traditional ways, using real actors. We wanted something compelling, groundbreaking, and fresh.”
“While we didn’t have to use actors, we are aware that there is a debate across the film and television industry, particularly in drama and film, about the use of AI in production.
“As part of our responsible use of AI, we wanted to include actors in the production rather than completely removing humans from the creative process.”
Katrien Grobler, CEO and Founder of Twinnin, said: “Twinnin is the world’s first platform where you can verify that people are human, license your AI likeness, and protect your AI from those who use it without your consent. Joining the ITV project is a huge milestone.”
Executive producer Natalie Hill added: “AI is rapidly evolving and there is growing interest across the industry in how it can be used responsibly. Working with AI editors, we have developed our own guidelines to encourage good practices.”
“It may become part of the documentary toolkit, but editorial judgment, transparency and human oversight remain essential.”
Terror in the Skies: The Liquid Bomb Plan, presented by ITV News Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo, tells the story of how a group of British terrorists came close to smuggling liquid explosives onto several transatlantic airliners in August 2006.
They planned to destroy the plane and kill thousands of passengers over the Atlantic Ocean or over North American cities. Had it not been thwarted, this plot could have killed more people than the September 11 terrorist attacks.
As the threat intensifies, MI5, counterterrorism police, and the CIA find themselves in a desperate race against time, deploying spies, secret surveillance teams, and unprecedented resources to prevent catastrophe.
Featuring exclusive interviews with current MI5, counterterrorism police and CIA officials, as well as government ministers at the center of the operation, this documentary reveals the secret story behind the conspiracy that changed air travel forever.
(AI-generated image. Credit: ITV)
john creamer
share this story
