The series which unearths the history and anecdotes behind cult British Sunday night dramas looks at the 1970s seafaring saga The Onedin Line, which followed the fortunes of James Onedin and his flagship, the Charlotte Rhodes.

Its theme music, Khachaturian's Spartacus, became forever associated with the sea, and Peter Gilmore's sideburns became objects of desire. But if it wasn't for German viewers The Onedin Line would have run aground after a single series. A massive 60,000 pounds over budget, producer Peter Graham Scott was being shunned in the BBC canteen before the sale of the series to Germany wiped out the overspend.

The programme reveals the reasons behind Philip Bond's premature departure from the series; tells exactly how the storm-at-sea sequences were filmed; uncovers the impact of Peter Gilmore's struggle to remember his lines; and shows how The Onedin Line was directly responsible for Jane Seymour being cast as Solitaire in the Bond film Live and Let Die. Show less