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 2023. A total of 28 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in November 2024.
Last episode
Saving Lives at Sea
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.
Catching up on Saving Lives at Sea?
Don't want to miss an episode anymore? Set up a free alarm and receive an email when new episodes are available. Handy!
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.
October 2024
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.
The volunteers of the RNLI race to save a surfer at the mercy of Storm Brendan and a paddleboarder who’s being swept out to sea - and away from his young children.
August 2024
The RNLI volunteers race to save a teenage paddleboarder being swept out to sea, a sinking cargo ship and a yacht being battered by an Atlantic storm.
July 2024
The volunteers of the RNLI race to save a stricken fishing boat in a force-eight gale, a yacht trapped on a weir in Loch Ness and a puppy that has swallowed a fishing hook.
On the coast of south Wales, Penarth crew member Tom is called up for his first ever shout when a female paddleboarder is caught out by the tide.
On Ireland’s north west coast, the RNLI crew at Bundoran race to the rescue of a teenage girl who has been swept out to sea.
In Thurso, Scotland’s most northerly mainland station, the crew race to the rescue of an ocean-going rower who has run into trouble 40 miles out to sea.
The lifeboat volunteers pluck a fallen climber out of the sea in Wales, and in Scotland they rescue a 170-ton fishing boat that’s perilously close to the rocks in gale force winds.
June 2024
In Lyme Regis, the crew face a frantic search for three fishermen whose boat has capsized in the River Axe. Meanwhile, the Kinsale crew help a skipper attempting to sail across the Atlantic.
In Porthcawl, on the south west coast of Wales, the crew receive a call about a swimmer who’s been swept out to sea in a rip current as his wife and son watch on helplessly.
May 2024
On the north Somerset coast, the Minehead crew come close to disaster in a challenging rescue of two walkers cut off by the tide.
In Mudeford, on the Dorset coast, a search for a missing kayaker quickly escalates when it emerges that there are six more kayaks unaccounted for.
The volunteers of the RNLI race to rescue a paddleboarder being blown out to sea, a man overboard and two teenage girls trapped on a sandbank and at risk of drowning.
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.
In Humber, the crew must work closely together to pull off the dangerous medivac of a fisherman with a spinal injury.
In Queensferry, on the east coast of Scotland, an American visitor is caught out by the tide and is barely conscious when the RNLI crew drag him out of the water.
April 2024
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.
In Porthcawl, a fisherman has been dragged lifeless out of the sea by bystanders. The lifeboat crew race to the beach and join the desperate attempts to resuscitate him.