Cairo, 1941: a bored, hospital-bound Scottish aristocrat called David Stirling sketches a plan for a parachute raiding force that will slip behind Axis lines and stay there. What follows is the unruly genesis of the Special Air Service, told across two six-part series that sprint from North African dunes to Italian mountainsides. Steven Knight scripts every episode, keeping the tone closer to a barracks scrap than a war museum lecture: soldiers bicker over whisky, nicknamed jeeps explode in slow motion, and the chain of command is treated as a polite suggestion. Connor Swindells plays Stirling with louche charm, while Jack O'Connell’s Paddy Mayne supplies the brute aggression that turns theory into results; Dominic West cameos as the sand-sprinkled fantasist Dudley Clarke who signs the cheques. Series one, shot in Morocco, traces the unit’s first chaotic raids and ends with its official christening. Series two, filmed across Croatia, Italy and Scotland, follows the rebranded regiment into Sicily and mainland Europe as the war widens and the stakes flatten entire villages. Each episode runs just under an hour, just enough time for a plan to unravel, a desert storm to roll in, and a crate of stolen gin to vanish. The show was renewed for a third run in September 2025, promising more unauthorised sorties and more very expensive explosions.
Production Details
BBC One Epix MGM+ / 2 Seasons / 12 Episodes / 2022
Created by: Steven Knight
Writer(s): Steven Knight
Main Cast
**[Main
Connor Swindells](/tag/main-connor-swindells)** as Lieutenant Colonel David Stirling
Jack O'Connell as Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Mayne
Alfie Allen as Lieutenant Jock Lewes (series 1)
Jacob Ifan as Sergeant Pat Riley
Amir El-Masry as Dr. Gamal (series 1)
Corin Silva as Staff Sergeant Jim Almonds
Sofia Boutella as Eve Mansour
Theo Barklem-Biggs as Sergeant Reg Seekings
Stuart Campbell as Second Lieutenant Bill Fraser
Jacob McCarthy as Lance Corporal Johnny Cooper
Bobby Schofield as Corporal Dave Kershaw
Dominic West as Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clarke (series 1; guest series 2)
