World War II

Dermot O’Leary to present World War II special of Saving Lives at Sea

Dermot O'Leary stands in front of an RNLI boat

The special – which marks the RNLI’s bicentenary – celebrates the organisation’s efforts to save lives in some of the most perilous conditions it ever faced. Despite near-impossible circumstances, the RNLI saved no less than 6,376 people.

Volunteer crews were there for the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. In the Saving Lives at Sea special, O’Leary talks to family members of crew members and local historians. Combined with archive footage, the show tells the stories of an extraordinary group of people.