Britain’s Biggest Warship

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most advanced warship ever constructed in Britain. This three-part series for BBC Two follows the ultra-modern super aircraft carrier as she is taken to sea for the first time on gruelling and risky sea trials that push ship and crew to breaking point.

Taking viewers on an epic voyage of discovery, from construction in the building yard to the rigorous trials in which everything is tested for the first time – Britain’s Biggest Warship tells the extraordinary story of a super-carrier that will be in service for the next 50 years.

Embedded within the ship’s company of 700 sailors, award-winning filmmaker Chris Terrill captures an intimate and personal portrait of life on board as the men and women learn the intricacies of a warship that will change the way Britain goes to war.

In this first episode, sailors begin to arrive in Rosyth dockyard in Scotland where the ship is still in construction. It is early 2016 and HMS Queen Elizabeth is nearing completion. Captain Jerry Kyd and his 700 sailors are assembling. Their mission? To take the prototype warship to sea for the first time.

Although leaving the dockyard and getting out to sea will be no easy task. Before sailing, the crew have to undergo rigorous fire and flood training, but suddenly they are faced with the real thing. Has the training paid off? How will they get the super carrier out of the dockyard sea gate with only 30 centimetres clearance either side? And how will they sail her under the Forth road and rail bridges? HMS Queen Elizabeth is taller than both.

With unprecedented access, this series – three years in the making – tells the behind the-scenes story of what makes HMS Queen Elizabeth so unique and how her crew are working together to breathe life into Britain's Biggest Warship.