UK indie FirstLookTV is currently in production with a three-part factual series Castles SOS (W/T) (3 x 60’), exploring Britain’s most extraordinary castles and the royal lives, secrets and struggles hidden within their walls.
Presented by Rick Edwards (River Hunters, Impossible!), the series has been acquired by Daniel Korn, VP of Programming at Hearst Networks for Sky HISTORY in the UK and Ireland.
Castles SOS is made with support from The National Lottery, and the series will highlight the vital work that happens thanks to National Lottery players. The castle restoration funding, which comes via The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is protecting, preserving, and sustaining the UK’s heritage, and the series aims to shine a light on that.
Available for delivery in Q1 2026, the series is being distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus.
Filmed across Norwich, Lincoln, Gwrych, Lews, Hay, Fyvie, Astley, Lowther and Muncaster, Castles SOS uncovers the stories of royalty, ruin and rescue. Each castle reveals the human side of the crown and the modern-day efforts to keep these monumental survivors standing. Viewers will discover the boy-king who nearly died at Fyvie, the queen who cheered carriage races at Lowther, and the king who starved his enemies at Hay – stories of power and passion echoing through time.
The series is a visual treat, sweeping drone shots over turrets and moats, candlelit interiors alive with detail, and intimate interviews filmed in the very rooms where history unfolded. Alongside this, actuality sequences follow conservators, stonemasons and gardeners as they fight to preserve these places for future generations.
Will Hanrahan, Editor in Chief at FirstLookTV comments, “We are thrilled to unveil our new history project with The National Lottery who have been very supportive partners and to be working again with Sky HISTORY and Sphere Abacus. While we are best known around the world for our true crime series, history is fast becoming one of the key genres on global screens, and it’s a subject close to our hearts, particularly from our base in Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon.”
Sam Taplin – Series Producer adds, “Some of Britain’s greatest castles are on the brink of ruin, but this series showcases their stunning locations and the brilliant people battling to preserve them for everybody to enjoy.”
Daniel Korn adds, “We’re delighted to be back working with FirstLookTV and Rick Edwards on this uniquely exciting project. Britain’s castles and historical monuments are the staging posts of her rich and turbulent history. To see first-hand how, through the support of The National Lottery, these incredible structures are being renovated and repaired with painstaking craftsmanship and detail, is a joy to behold.”
