Brothers IN ARMS

An action-packed drama tells the true story of the beginnings of the SAS

- SEAN MARLAND

NEW DRAMA

SAS Rogue Heroes

Sun, 9pm, BBC1 (box set, BBC iPlayer)

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight transports us to the deserts of North Africa in his new BBC1 series, which tells the true story of how the SAS was founded during the darkest days of World War Two.

The six-part drama begins in the summer of 1941. Frustrated by their inability to take the fight to the Germans in Libya and Egypt, maverick Army lieutenants David Stirling, Jock Lewes and Paddy Mayne hatch a daring plan to spring a series of surprise attacks on the enemy with a special new unit of elite, parachute-trained soldiers.

‘These guys were all in their early 20s,’ says Knight, who’s adapted the story from the factual book by Ben Macintyre. ‘They were a mixture of all classes and worked together to change the course of the war by stopping fascism in Africa. I hope we can reflect the wildness and humour of these men and do justice to who they were.’

This week’s first episode opens in Cairo, with Stirling (Sex Education’s Connor Swindells) railing against the inaction of his superiors and urging them to let him recruit the toughest, boldest and brightest soldiers for a new undercover unit, L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade.

RADICAL THINKING