28th February 2008

Five has commissioned Granada Factual North to produce Warship, an six-part observational documentary filmed aboard HMS Illustrious during a rare four month deployment, it was announced today (TUES).

As well as documenting the often dangerous and stressful professional lives of the crew, Warship also follows the very personal stories of the young men and women - some as young as 18 - who are thousands of miles from home.

As one of only two aircraft carriers in the Naval fleet, large deployments only happen every two to three years. With a rise in the threat of maritime terrorism, the Navy is key in protecting global trade routes and policing areas of heightened criminal activity such as people trafficking, piracy, drug and weapons smuggling.

They also ensure the security of major oil pipelines. Over 90 per cent of international trade is done via global sea routes and HMS Illustrious and her sister ship HMS Ark Royal are on the frontline in protecting them.

At any time during the deployment HMS Illustrious may be called to assist in search and rescues, go to the aid of ships in distress or carry out major evacuations such as that of Tsunami survivors and refugees from the Lebanon in 2005.

Five's Senior Programme Controller, Chris Shaw, said: "HMS Illustrious is an enormous floating community where the citizens are training for warfare. It's a very intense and claustrophobic environment and will make a fascinating television series."

Sarah Caplin, Head of Features at Granada Factual North said: "The incredible commitment, hard work and dedication of the Navy staff aboard HMS Illustrious deserves to recognised and celebrated. I think viewers will be really impressed with the candid footage we are getting."

Warship is due to transmit in April 2008