WACO UNTOLD: DOCUMENTARY SERIES TO AIR ON ITV1 THIS AUTUMN

This new two-part documentary series goes inside the Waco siege to explore the stories of the 23 British people who died when US enforcement agencies stormed the compound run by cult leader David Koresh.

Marking 30 years since the siege, this programme speaks to British survivors, relatives of those who died, the local sheriff, US law enforcement officers, experts on religious groups and journalists who were at the scene to paint a vivid picture of events.

Using new testimony and reconstructions, the documentary series depicts how Koresh travelled to Britain to recruit Seventh Day Adventists to his sect the Branch Davidians and explores why, transfixed by his claim he was the son of God, they travelled to his compound of Mount Carmel in Texas.

As well as secret FBI audio recordings during the negotiations, the programme features rare camcorder footage of UK residents inside the compound for the first time on British television.

The series also delves into how authorities realised something was badly wrong there, and why the resulting 51-day stand-off unfolded and culminated in a blaze that in total killed 86 people, marking one of America’s most controversial and deadliest sieges.

Transmission details will be announced in due course.