SAS Rogue Heroes returns for its second series in January

Actor Connor Swindells has spoken about the challenges of filming the second series of SAS Rogue Heroes, which included losing “a lot of weight”. The drama, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, will follow rebel Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) as he takes control of the SAS and attempts to prove that the regiment remains essential to the war, after the former leader David Stirling (Swindells) is captured.

Swindells said his problem-solving skills were “descending into madness” in his cell, both “thirsty and malnourished.” “I lost a lot of weight for this show,” the Sex Education star said of the new Stephen Woolfenden-directed series. “I knew when I read the scripts that I was going to have to do it and it was a big challenge because it was something I had never done before.

“I felt like I had to do this to get to this place, I had to try to live as much like David as possible. Feeling the hunger of “I have to get out of here.” I didn’t realize how helpful losing weight would be for a project like this, but it was definitely helpful.

The new series is based in Sicily, but filmed over 81 days in Croatia, Italy, England and Scotland. Swindells said, much like his character, he had to come to terms with “missing all the fun” because his cast mates were “filming in very wonderful conditions and I was in a cave”.

Prison filming locations included an old WWII barracks with its performance involving “a lot of crawling on hands and knees” with “a few rats that I had the great privilege of working with in some scenes” . “It was a challenge to film at times, but ultimately it was a great joy and an honor,” he said.

Meanwhile, O’Connell described it as “the best job in the world”. “You have to dig deep in this business, you’re faced with it,” the British actor said. “It’s an ambitious story and to achieve it you have to go for it and try hard, which is good because it must be difficult; if it was too easy, it wouldn’t really be an enjoyable drama to watch.

“I think anything with SAS in it won’t be cups of tea, a dressing gown and slippers, sitting pretty.” Lady Chatterley’s Lover star O’Connell said “it was a relief” to find out the actors would be reprising their roles in the drama, describing Knight’s storyline as “striking”.

The new series will also feature new characters, including Bohemian Rhapsody actor Gwilym Lee as diplomat Bill Stirling, who comes aboard to save the regiment while his younger brother David was a prisoner of war. “I loved being hosted by them, it’s a really special job,” he said.

“It can be tricky going into a second series with a really established cast of actors and a great crew, because there’s fear of ruffling feathers or breaking into a clique, but there’s none of that . It was with open arms from day one.

Crown star Dominic West, who reprises his role as Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Wrangel Clarke in the series, said he had not seen Lee since starring alongside him in a production of Othello from Shakespeare ten years ago. Adapted from Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, the series offers a dramatized account of how the SAS was formed during the Second World War, after gaining access to the SAS’s secret archives.

Knight said: “The fact is that the true story of the SAS is a better piece of drama than anyone in fiction could come up with. The characters are incredible, but for the most part in the show, they are real.

The first series ended in December 2022. The second season of SAS Rogue Heroes is broadcast on BBC One from 9 p.m. on January 1st.