German troops occupied Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney & Sark from June 1940 until May 1945 with residents enduring years of oppression, terror, collaboration and near starvation.
Nettles, who wrote as well as presents the series, has researched the German occupation of the islands ever since he first arrived on Jersey in 1981 to film Bergerac and says the islanders’ attitude towards the occupation remains “a potent mixture of revulsion and fascination”.
The actor and presenter also explores the extent to which Channel Islanders actively helped their Germans occupiers and visits parts of the islands which still bear witness to the war.
Channel Islands at War airs across three nights from June 28th at 10pm on Yesterday and is the third in a series of programmes commissioned by the channel to commemorate the ‘Spirit of 1940’ in this 70th anniversary year.