A second series of Warbird Workshop is heading to Yesterday, UKTV’s history-focused factual channel, next month.
The series follows planes that have all played a significant part in military history but are now in need of drastic repairs, engineering expertise and time-consuming and costly restoration, from the workshop to the runway and, hopefully, back into the air.
Series one featured a Spitfire, a Douglas C47 and a Westland Wessex that all challenged their mechanics, owners and pilots to their limits in order to get airborne again.
The new run features a Hawker Hurricane that (along with the Spitfire) helped to win the Battle of Britain, a US Navy N3N Biplane in which a former US president learnt to fly, a Waterbird Seaplane that’s the exact replica of a plane personally championed by Winston Churchill, and a Westland Sea King helicopter that has saved thousands of lives.
But will these magnificent warbirds make it back into the skies? The series is once again voiced by Martin Shaw.
Warbird Workshop has been recommissioned for UKTV by deputy director of commissioning Hilary Rosen and ordered by Yesterday channel director, Gerald Casey. Kirsty Hanson is the executive producer for UKTV.
The series is produced by Air TV and the executive producer is Ian Cundall and the series producer is Matt Richards.
Hanson said: “The fascinating history, the dramatic stories and the skilled and passionate people behind these machines and their journey back to life are just wonderful.
“These are the stories we look to tell in a Yesterday commission and I’m so pleased Air TV have brought us more of them.”
Air TV’s Ian Cundall added: “We’re excited to be bringing some more amazing old warplanes back to life on Yesterday.
“From the iconic Hurricane to the extraordinary Waterbird Seaplane these aircraft have helped to write history. Several of the production team are pilots ourselves and we hope our passion shines through in the show.”