Saving Lives at Sea
Saving Lives at Sea is a documentary on BBC1. Ordinary people, extraordinary bravery. From trawlers in peril to struggling swimmers, meet the army of RNLI volunteers working to save those in danger - whatever the weather. The program has been available since 2025. A total of 25 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in March 2026.
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Saving Lives at Sea
In Trearddur Bay, the RNLI crew battle through a force 10 gale and huge waves to try to rescue a surfer - watched by their worried families back on shore.
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In Walmer, the crew respond to reports of a major incident involving a small boat in the Channel. On arrival, they are faced with mass casualties in the freezing water.
February 2026
In Humber, the crew must work closely together to pull off the dangerous medivac of a fisherman with a spinal injury.
January 2026
In Portrush, Northern Ireland, the crew race to rescue a boy who has gotten into difficulties while jumping off rocks - and one of the crew volunteers enters the water to save him.
In Castletownbere, crew member Donagh faces a baptism of fire on his first shout as the crew carry out a dramatic rescue of a fisherman who has suffered a suspected stroke.
December 2025
The RNLI volunteers face a search in one of the worst storms in living memory, race to save three people caught in a rip current and two men stuck on an oil rig's anchor chain.
November 2025
The volunteers of the RNLI race to save a family trapped in their car, slowly being engulfed by the sea, two kayakers close to drowning, and a fossil hunter cut off by the tide.
In St Agnes, the crew are involved in a race against time to rescue two young men. They are reported to be struggling in the water near a notorious headland known as Tubby’s Head.
October 2025
The RNLI volunteers race against time to try and save three people in the water in the Bristol Channel, a father and son trapped against a cliff face and a badly injured sailor.
On Ireland’s south-east coast, the three RNLI crews at Dunmore East, Kilmore Quay and Rosslare battle to save a cargo ship that’s lost all power and is drifting towards rocks.
Dermot O’Leary uncovers the story of the RNLI’s heroic efforts in the Second World War as its crews were called to serve in the most perilous of conditions, saving 6,376 lives.
In Plymouth, the crew respond to a mayday call - the highest level of emergency at sea - for a diver who has lost consciousness during a 30-metre dive to a shipwreck.
The Blackpool crew receive reports of a man struggling in the water at midnight. It’s vital to get him urgent medical attention.
September 2025
A frantic mother alerts the lifeguards after six teenagers are cut off by the tide in Watergate Bay, north Cornwall.
A kayaker has called a mayday after getting into trouble; although he’s able to communicate via his VHF radio, it’s a race against time to find him.
In Portaferry, Northern Ireland, the crew face an increasingly urgent search for two kayakers who have been blown out to sea in 50mph winds.
A 999 call comes in from the young son of a windsurfer in trouble; the Mudeford crew battle 80mph winds in an increasingly desperate search.
August 2025
The Newhaven crew make a desperate attempt to rescue a yachtsman before his vessel is smashed on the rocks.
With a storm battering the south coast of England, a windsurfer is in trouble. The Portsmouth crew have to decide whether it’s even safe for them to launch.
A ten-year-old boy has been swept out to sea on a paddleboard. The North Berwick crew race to his rescue.