BBC Factual today announces a brand 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.
Featuring dramatic and aggressive encounters with hostile navies, a royal visit from the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and access to all areas of the giant aircraft carrier - the series tells the raw and intimate story of a gruelling seven month voyage to the other side of an increasingly troubled world.
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.
With no-holds-barred access to the ship and ship’s company, viewers will witness the tasks, triumphs, and tribulations of officers and ratings alike. The average age on board is just 24 and for many - like Helayna from the Wirral and ex drum n bass DJ Ronnie from Essex - this is their first time at sea. Through them and many others we experience the peril of life on the high seas as well as the fun and friendship that can be the reward of close-quarter living in a high-pressure, high-risk environment.
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.
I shall be looking out for that … 
