Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to star in BBC series focusing on her first deployment around the world

The new show will be available on BBC Two and iPlayer, with six 60-minute episodes taking viewers on the £3.5 billion flagship as she sailed around the world in 2021.

The series sees award-winning filmmaker Chris Terrill embedded in the ship’s company for the duration of her maiden deployment. Many of the 1,600 crew were at sea for the first time.

The massive operation saw her make a 20,000 mile round trip from Portsmouth to the South China Sea as part of a taskforce of destroyers, frigates and supply ships. There were also 350 US Marines on board who helped to sustain the ship’s F35 stealth fighters squadron.

The series comes after The News’s extensive coverage of the Portsmouth warship on her first deployment, including exclusive stories on the extent of the Covid-19 outbreak onboard and reporting from her triumphant return after the sometimes ‘frustrating’ operations overseas.

Chris Terrill said it had been a ‘privilege’ to capture a slice of life onboard the cutting-edge vessel.

He added: ‘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.’

Tom Coveney, commissioning editor, specialist factual for the BBC, added: ‘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.’

A statement from the production company said: ‘We meet the officers in command as well as the senior and junior ratings who work round the clock to keep the vast aircraft carrier shipshape and combat ready. Captured on film is the impact of a serious Covid outbreak on-board while port visits in Italy, Cyprus, Guam, and Japan show a very different side to travelling the world with the navy.’

The series is currently scheduled to be broadcast on BBC Two and become available BBC iPlayer at the start of the new year.