Dermot O’Leary looks at the events of Dunkirk, Somme, and Waterloo for Channel 4

Channel 4 have commissioned a three-part history series presented by Dermot O’Leary.

‘I have always been a huge history fan,  for me it’s always been about ordinary people put in extraordinary circumstances. It has been such an honour to be able to explore such important events in British history from a fresh perspective. To immerse oneself in these stories, and see how these events, even with so much time passed,  have shaped the world we live in today’ – Dermot O’Leary 

Dermot teams up with former Royal Marine Arthur Williams & military historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson to explore a pivotal 48 hours that led to the conclusion of three of the most famous historic moments in British history: Dunkirk, Somme, and Waterloo.

As Dermot, Arthur and Lucy put these iconic battles under the microscope they get their hands-on personal artefacts and records revealing secrets and untold stories of these critical hours – full of the triumph and tragedy of war. Arthur flies his plane over the battlefields to gain an aerial perspective and Lucy is on the ground as they deep dive into the tactics, technologies, tricks, and resources that both sides used. Dermot meets descendants and experts, and gets his hands on fascinating archive as he tells the untold stories of extraordinary heroes.

‘The scale of these historical events is huge.  By focussing in on a 48 hour period it allows us to examine the time when a battle was won and lost and in that time share personal stories and particular perspectives that aren’t always highlighted but are emblematic of the wider war. Dermot, Lucy and Arthur do a brilliant job of bringing this detailed history to life.’ – Sacha Mirzoeff, Commissioning Editor 

48 Hours to Victory airs on Saturday 4 December at 9pm on Channel 4