My Grandparents' War

In the first episode, actress Helena Bonham Carter goes in search of the truth behind her relatives' involvement in the war. Both sets of Helena's grandparents, one set in France and one set in England, were not conventional war heroes as they did not fight in any battles, but she discovers that they did save countless lives during the conflict.

Actor and peace campaigner Mark Rylance finds out what happened to his grandfather Osmond Skinner during the Second World War, a man who spent almost four years as a Japanese prisoner of war. Mark uncovers how his grandfather bravely joined the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Force with no military training, before being shot on Christmas Day and taken as a prisoner of war. Throughout the programme, Rylance find his views on war tested as he uncovers the real and shocking truth about his grandfather's wartime experience.

The actress discovers what happened to her grandfather, William, who served as a commanding officer in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Kristin uncovers how he saved thousands of fellow soldiers at Dunkirk, and endured the horrors of the Russian Arctic convoys. Throughout the programme, Kristin meets the families of people her grandfather saved during the war, as well as veterans who served alongside him.

Carey Mulligan learns how her grandfather fought the Japanese in the final months of World War II, and lost his closest friends from a kamikaze attack at sea.