Sean Bean narrates this hard-hitting new ITV4 series which tells the increcible true stories of some of the greatest escapes in history.
Meet the prisoners who refused to surrender to incarceration as the series introduces some of the most elaborate and unimaginable prison breaks, featuring dramatic reconstructions and interviews with those involved.
The first episode details the mass break-out of the IRA, a court room massacre in Atlanta, and a love-struck girlfriend who took a helicopter pilot hostage so that she could free her imprisoned lover in Australia.
During the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland, the British government was forced to build a new high security prison for captured IRA members. In 1983 Her Majesty's Prison, The Maze was opened. During the prison's operation, 30 officers were shot dead and 50 committed suicide.
In total 38 of The Maze’s prisoners were deemed high risk and consequently a special cell block was built to house them, designated “H Block”, which consisted of escape-proof cells and corridors and huge coils of barbed wire surrounding the outside walls.
This particular prison housed a central control room where one button could shut down all 38 cells, as well as two central crossing corridors which meant that all four on-duty prison guards could see each other at all times. Over time these 38 prisoners befriended the prison guards, which was the first step of their cunning escape plan. Their plan was for one cell-mate to take over the central control room and release all the other prisoners; they would then hijack the delivery truck and drive out of the prison gates unnoticed.
A simple plan… but did they succeed?
Real Prison Breaks: Sundays at 9pm, only on ITV4.
