Nukes, Subs & Secrets

For 45 years after the Second World War the Soviet Union and the West were deadly enemies. So what did Scotland do?

Presenter Jenna Watt’s own family worked at the Faslane nuclear submarine base, she wrote and performed an award winning play about the Scottish based nuclear deterrent. In this documentary she travels the length of the country unearthing our amazing Cold War stories. From the school boy who blagged his way into a missile launch, to the priest in South Uist who encouraged his parishoners to build roadside shrines to keep the weapons out, from the mother who raised her kids in a peace camp, to the young woman from Dunoon who found love with an American sailor during the Cuban Missile Crisis, from the scientists who tested biological weapons on monkeys, to the soldiers who parked their nuclear load in a layby so they could stop for a cup of tea, from the top secret nuclear bunker the Soviets probably knew about, to the top top secret customized ferry that they definitely didn’t, these are our war stories, our cold war stories, dark, sometimes funny and always surprising. Find out about a past you never knew you had.

‘Cold war struck at the heart of every Scottish community’ Read Jenna Watt’s article in The Times here.

Nukes, Subs & Secrets will screen on BBC Scotland Channel Tuesday 5 November 22:00 and iplayer

Executive Producer: John Archer, Producer/Director: Brian Ross, Presenter: Jenna Watt, Editor: Vito Milazzo, Director of Photography: Cal Hallows