Above and Beyond

4 hours

A WWII event of ingenious and thrilling proportions, Above and Beyond dramatizes the true story of the heroic and inspiring Allied effort in which 20,000 planes were flown across the Atlantic in what Sir Winston Churchill described as 'the greatest unsung contribution to victory'.

1940. The Battle of Britain rages. German U-boats torpedo aircraft shipments mid-Atlantic faster than the Allies can build them. Sir Winston Churchill (JOSS ACKLAND, K-19: The Widowmaker, Henry VIII) is desperate to turn the war around. When press magnate Lord Beaverbrook (KEN WELSH, The Aviator, Hound of the Baskervilles) suggests flying the planes across from Canada the Cabinet laughs. Only Churchill is listening; North Atlantic aviation is in its infancy, winter conditions are untested and notoriously unpredictable and it is doubtful the bombers could even hold enough fuel - but it might just work.

Newfoundland, Canada. Typist Shelagh Emberley's (LIANE BALABAN, New Waterford Girl) life is about to change. She is assigned to Australian flying ace Captain Don Bennett (RICHARD E GRANT, Bright Young Things, Gosford Park), masterminding the daring Allied Plan, and working alongside airport manager and onetime sweetheart Nathan (ALLAN HAWCO, H20). With only weeks to get the first seven Hudson bombers off the ground Shelagh and Bennett appeal for pilots. Young, old, some dutiful, others bored, the experienced flyer and the novice, they have no choice but to accept them all. Few are prepared for Bennett's brutal training programme, but they learn quickly with the help of experienced US pilot Bill (JONATHAN SCARFE, E.R.). When the crew finally face the perilous ten-hour voyage, Shelagh's growing infatuation with Bill makes for an agonizing farewell.

With a star-studded cast including JASON PRIESTLEY (Colditz, Beverly Hills 90210) as Nobel Prize winner Frederick Banting, Above and Beyond brings to television the stuff movies are made of - the miraculous exploits of the Atlantic Ferry Organisation, whose own heroic triumphs became Allied victories.