Plymouth

Around the coast of Britain are cities where the sea shapes people’s lives. Rob Bell discovers the stories of people who live and work around Plymouth, doing jobs that touch us all.

We meet the lifters and shifters, engineers and riggers, the skippers and pilots, fishermen and entrepreneurs, and the old hands.

Meet Plymouth entrepreneur Ben Squire who needs a good summer season to make ends meet. Alongside his fishing operation Ben runs boat trips for tourists, sport angling trips and a cafe - but keeping everything going is a real challenge.

Lost fishing gear and new staff to train up all test Ben’s skill at spinning plates and staying solvent.

Plymouth is home to half of the Royal Navy’s frigates. It’s a testing time for the new ship’s company of HMS Sutherland; the personnel need to prove they are up to the job before it can re-join active service.

The ship’s company must learn how to deal with missile attacks at sea, and practise how it would assist civilians in a simulated natural disaster on dry land.

The learning curve is steep and the Navy’s frontline training team put the company under concerted pressure.

Meanwhile scientist Dan Smale sends out a cry for kelp, as he studies the impact of a new species of seaweed on Plymouth’s marine environment.