Mark Milsome: Cameraman's death on set of BBC and Netflix drama 'should have been impossible' family tells inquest

Mark Milsome died after being hit by a Land Rover Defender performing a stunt in Ghana for series Black Earth Rising
Irwin Mitchell/Family handout
John Dunne @jhdunne20 October 2020

The family of a cameraman who died when a stunt went wrong on a top BBC and Netflix drama insisted today his death should have been “impossible” if safety guidelines had been rigorously followed.

Cameraman Mark Milsome, who previously worked on Game of Thrones and Saving Private Ryan, died after being hit by a Land Rover Defender performing a stunt in Ghana for series Black Earth Rising.

Mr Milsome, 54, was filming the car at night as it drove up a ramp, but it ended up colliding with him and his camera during the stunt in November 2017.

His sister Sarah Harrison told the inquest: “Something went very wrong that night Mark’s death should have been impossible. Even after three years the shock is still devastating.”

She said her brother was “funny, caring, smart and funny.”

Mark Milsome (left) was killed while filming in Ghana (courtesy of Mark Milsome Foundation via PrinceStone )
courtesy of Mark Milsome Foundation via PrinceStone

His father Dougie has been in the film business for 63 years and worked with celebrated director Stanley Kubrick. He called for a “public announcement” to help with safety on film sets in the future.

Black Earth Rising starred Michaela Coel as a legal investigator and US actor John Goodman as a barrister, in a show that went out on BBC Two and Netflix.

In a 30-year career, Mr Milsome worked in films including James Bond feature Quantum Of Solace and Oscar-winner The Theory Of Everything. His TV credits included episodes of Game Of Thrones for HBO and Sherlock for the BBC as well as Downton Abbey.

An earlier inquest hearing was told that crew members in Ghana were not as qualified as they should have been and the drivers were inexperienced.

Counsel for the family requested the inquest look into possible cost-cutting measures that might have resulted in his death.

But Dominic Kay, QC, for the production company Forgiving Earth Limited, said at the review: “I am not aware of any financial or commercial concerns by those who have been advising me. I understand there are rumours, but I do not see that is part of evidence.

“We would highly refute the suggestion that cost cutting is any reason that would have led to Mr Milsome’s death.”

The inquest, which is scheduled to finish on Friday, continues.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in