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For the younger generation, Threads is simply the name of the new social media platform launching this week in response to Twitter’s turbulent fortunes under new owner Elon Musk. For those old enough to remember, especially anyone who grew up in Sheffield, it is enough to conjure up terrifying flashbacks from the BBC television drama of the same name which terrified the nation back in 1984.

The harrowing show still haunts the nightmares of many a soul who watched as a nuclear explosion tore through the city in all too believable fashion at a time during the Cold War when the threat of a genuine attack was very real. Shot on location around the city and featuring many Sheffield residents as extras, it has been named as one of the top 100 BBC shows of all time.

Responding to the news that Meta was naming its new ‘text-based conversation app’ Threads, Jonathan Pie, the fictional reporter portrayed by satirist Tom Walker, commented on Twitter: “This could be interesting, but ‘Threads’ is just an unfortunate name. That film still gives me the heebie-jeebies.” Another Twitter user replied: “Even more horrifying when you’re from Sheffield.”

The 1984 BBC drama Threads, which depicts a nuclear attack on Sheffield, still conjures up nightmares for many people who watched it when it was first aired during the Cold War. Photo: BBC

Written by Barry Hines and directed and produced by Mick Jackson, Threads was a dramatic account of nuclear war and its effects in Britain. It centred on two families as a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union erupted.

Threads: New Twitter rival's name brings back nightmares for people in Sheffield who remember BBC drama