Breakout (1997 film)

Breakout is a single British television drama film written by Michael Stewart, first broadcast on BBC1 on 22 April 1997.[1] Directed by Moira Armstrong, the film starred Neil Dudgeon and Samantha Bond as scientists Neil McFarlane and Lisa Temple, who join together to investigate a mysterious death. The film was writer Michael Stewart's second science-based TV project, following ITV's Bliss, which premiered in 1995. According to BFI records, the original working title for the film was "The Lab".[2]

Breakout
Genre	Thriller
Written by	Michael Stewart
Directed by	Moira Armstrong
Starring	Neil Dudgeon Samantha Bond Dermot Crowley Jasper Britton Janet Dale Nigel Clauzel Marius Stanescu
Composer	David Ferguson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	1
Production
Executive producers	Michael Stewart Jo Wright
Producer	Peter Norris
Cinematography	John Kenway
Editor	Robin Graham
Running time	90 minutes
Production company	Quantum Films
Release
Original network	BBC1
Picture format	16:9
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	22 April 1997 (1997-04-22)

The film co-starred Dermot Crowley, Jasper Britton and Janet Dale; with Carolyn Pickles, Hugh Bonneville, Joe Swash and Benedict Wong also amongst the additional cast members. BBC Genome Project records list the original description for the film as; "When a rare illness strikes down three people near a scientific research site, doctors battle against time to discover if a genetically-engineered pesticide, designed only to affect insects, has jumped the species gap during field tests." Notably, the film has never been released on VHS or DVD.[3]