Based on the book by the late Stephen E Ambrose, the series depicts the epic journey made by the paratrooper unit from their training camp in Georgia, right through to their D-Day triumph.

The paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines in 1944 and fight numerous battles across Europe until they eventually capture Hitler's mountain eyrie at Berchtesgarden.

When Tom Hanks read Stephen E Ambrose's true history of Easy Company, he immediately felt that it would make an outstanding TV series.

Hanks teamed up with Steven Spielberg, with whom he'd just made Saving Private Ryan. This formidably talented pair went to industry-leading, US TV company, HBO to try and get Band of Brothers off the ground. Confronted by the multi-Oscar award-winning duo, HBO at once agreed to back the project to the tune of $120m, making it the most expensive TV series ever produced.

British actor Dexter Fletcher (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Rachel Papers, Press Gang) plays Sergeant John W Martin, one of the soldiers who fought so heroically for Easy Company during the Second World War. The actor was thrilled to be involved in Band of Brothers.

''The drama reminds our generation that a lot of young men made a huge sacrifice,'' Fletcher declared.

''As a man of 20, I don't know if I'd have been able to do it. It's hard for people of our generation to imagine what it must have been like, but hopefully this series captures some of it and will make people today think 'could I have handled that?'

Another British actor Damian Lewis, best known for his lead role in the award-winning Warriors, plus Hearts and Bones and The Forsyte Saga, played the role of Captain Richard Winters; ''Band of Brothers shows us the horror of war and demonstrates the effect it has on a group of young men'', he reiterated.

''History doesn't have much impact if you just issue a bunch of dates and military manoeuvres. It is most effective when it features drama between real people, and when the real human cost is evident.''