World on Fire
The story of World War II told through the intertwining fates of ordinary people from all sides of this global conflict as they grapple with the effect of the war on their everyday lives.
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Long-running series are normally researched at episode level rather than forced into one broad historical placement.
- Type
- series
- Historical relation
- —
- Accuracy
- Not rated
- Seasons
- 2
- Episodes
- 13
- Episode coverage
- 0/13
- Historical links
- 0
Seasons & episodes
Series 1
Series 1 tells the story of the first year of the war, starting with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and ending with the Battle of Britain.
Episode 1
When war breaks, translator Harry Chase vows to help his Polish lover Kasia flee Warsaw, but how will he explain this to his sweetheart Lois, waiting for him at home in Manchester?
60 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 2
A month after the outbreak of war, Warsaw is unrecognisable, while Manchester, on the surface, appears very much the same. Will there be a warm welcome home for Harry?
60 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 3
December 1939, and Tom fights for his life on board the HMS Exeter at the Battle of River Plate. Meanwhile, Harry and Lois have a more personal battle to fight.
60 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 4
Harry’s courage is tested at Louvain as he comes face to face with a German sniper, and Kasia’s resistance activity in Warsaw intensifies.
60 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 5
Harry leads his unit on the route to Dunkirk as they fight to make it onto the beach and aboard a ship. Grzegorz and Tom also struggle to survive the chaos of the evacuation.
60 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 6
June 1940. The Nazis have taken Paris with not a bullet fired. Webster and Albert's life in the city they love will never be the same again.
60 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 7
On a Polish mission as part of the SOE, Harry grasps a second chance at saving Kasia from the horrors of Warsaw, while Lois looks set for happiness with new love, Vernon. Season finale.
60 min · Open episode profile →Series 2
Series two takes viewers from the streets of Britain into occupied France, Nazi Germany, and to the sands of the North African desert, where British troops struggle alongside Indian Sappers and Australian Diggers to adapt to a very different kind of combat.
Episode 1
The war reaches the sands of the Egyptian desert while bombs fall on Manchester, and Harry introduces an explosive force into Robina’s household, leaving her reeling.
58 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 2
As Harry struggles to adapt to the reality of desert combat, Lois still longs to leave home. In Paris, Henriette is in grave danger, and a mysterious stranger arrives at Robina’s.
57 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 3
As Stan and Rajib make a hasty retreat across the desert, Marga reasserts her commitment to the führer. Meanwhile, David is in peril in the skies over France.
58 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 4
As Kasia takes on her first assignment as an agent, Rajib’s military values are tested. Meanwhile, a familiar face comes to David’s aid
57 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 5
Tragedy strikes at the heart of Harry’s unit as the siege drags on in Tobruk. In Manchester, Kasia is confronted by more of the horrors of the war. In France, romance blossoms between David and Henriette.
58 min · Open episode profile →
Episode 6
Harry returns to Manchester, but Kasia is determined to leave. In Europe, Marga and Henriette must each make their escape, while north Africa becomes even more brutal for Rajib.
58 min · Open episode profile →
