BBC Factual has ordered a new six-part series for BBC Two and iPlayer, The Warship: Tour Of Duty, following the Royal Navy’s biggest warship HMS Queen Elizabeth on her first-ever operational voyage.
The new landmark series, filmed and directed by filmmaker Chris Terrill, “lets viewers see what it’s like to serve on a state of the art warship on active operations.” Terrill was deeply embedded in the ship’s company for the entire deployment and given “unprecedented” freedom of access.
The films follow HMS Queen Elizabeth on a 20,000 mile round trip from Portsmouth to the South China Sea as part of a ten-strong taskforce of destroyers, frigates and supply ships. Joining the Queen Elizabeth’s ship’s company are 350 US Marines who help sustain the ship’s squadrons of F35 stealth fighters.
Chris Terrill says: “I have made many films on board Royal Navy warships but this series was the most exciting, surprising, challenging, and rewarding of my career. None of us on board returned home the same person who left. It has been my privilege to capture this life changing deployment to share with viewers.”
Tom Coveney, Commissioning Editor, Specialist Factual for the BBC, says: “With war raging on our doorstep, it’s never been more important to understand the lives of the young people serving in our frontline armed forces. The extraordinary access in this series will show viewers both the challenges and triumphs faced by the women and men of the Royal Navy like never before.”
The series is currently scheduled to start early next year on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. The international distribution of the series will be handled by All3Media International.
The Warship: Tour Of Duty, a 6×60’ series for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, is made by Uppercut Films and Two Rivers Media. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The Executive Producers are Alan Clements and Christine Hall, and the Commissioning Editors are Tom Coveney, Head of Commissioning, Science and Emma Hindley.
Jon Creamer
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