Rogue Heroes is based on the creation of the real Special Air Service during World War II in 1941. SAS Rogue Heroes is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.Alfie Allen, Connor Swindells and Jack O'Connell in as Jock Lewes, David Stirling and Paddy Mayne in 'Rogue Heroes,' which tells the true story of the founding of the British Army's Special Air Service unit during World War II.

Yet Knight told The Telegraph that some of the accounts of the SAS were so unbelievable (despite being true) that he had to “ tone them down” for the series. Such was the attention to detail, Knight also revealed that the cast members underwent formation drills, weaponry training, and even a written test that the real-life officers had to pass. That ended up in the show,” explained Knight. “He told me a story about David Stirling going into a bar and asking some people: ‘ Can we use the snooker table?’ When they said ‘no, we’re on it for the rest of the night’, Stirling took out a real hand-grenade and threw it on the table. In an interview with NME, Knight explained that he met with 102-year-old Mike Sadler, the only officer alive today to get his “seal of approval” on the facts. The narrative focuses on David Sterling (Swindells), Jock Lewes (Allen), and Paddy Mayne (O’Connell), who believe the traditional commando units are insufficient to tackle the war, and vow to do something about it. All this intel helped the author create a heavily detailed account of the events, which in turn allowed Knight to shape a powerful retelling for the screen. While writing his book, Macintyre gained access to never-seen-before footage, confidential files and interviews with the founding members of the specialist service.

His account was the first authorised history of the SAS, and it holds great value. The wartime series is an adaptation of Ben Macintyre’s popular novel of the same name. With an all-star cast led by Sex Education’s Connor Swindells, Skins’ Jack O’Connell, and Game Of Thrones’ Alfie Allen, it’s no wonder the premiere episode, which aired on BBC One on October 30, left fans reeling. The six-part drama uncovers how the covert Specialist Air Services were formed during World War II. Steven Knight, creator and writer of Peaky Blinders, has returned with another talk-worthy BBC series titled SAS Rogue Heroes.

Sas heroes book