​                              The Sea In Their Blood 
 

This package of six 30 minute programs "The Sea In Their Blood" was described in the London Television Service sales brochure as six programs  “about a nation with the seas as its lifeblood”. To live on an island is to be a child of the sea. For the British the sea surrounding them has been both a stern father and a loving mother. Thus series of programs shows how the sea has shaped their character and their way of life.”  
 
The group of six programs is a good example of Film Division’s ability to produce programs that weave together positive “information” messages on ship building in Britain together with scientific exploration of the sea, with entertaining material about the geography of Britain’s coastline and treasure-trove. 
 
Some indication of the quality of the programs flows from awards to the series from the New York International Film Festival and the Setmana International Film Festival in Barcelona. 
 
 The six programs in the series were produced in 1985: they were 
  
Beside The Sea that looked at the 6000 mile long British coastline with its 300 seaside resorts and over 3000 beach huts. This quirky film displays the British coast as would a pop up book of seaside wonders. 
It was an impressionistic montage of shots of the sea, the shore, fishing boats, estuaries, harbours and villages.  Producer Annabel Olivier Wright Director: Peter Greenaway  
 
The Seafarers  A nation whose capital city is dominated by a giant statue of Admiral Nelson, whose earliest literature includes a poem called The Seafarers, whose national heroes number the sailors Darke, Raleigh and Chichester, must look to the sea as its history. Whole communities around the coast live and breath the sea, as much today as any of these great men have done. We meet one community in Cornwall where the whole village revolves around the lifeboat and another where men risk their lives on the English Channel, just for the pleasure of sailing. Producer: Annabel Olivier- Wright 
 
The Seas and Science All life evolved from water. We call our planet earth though it is three -quarters ocean. The most extensive surface areas still unexplored are, of course, the seas. Only now through remote sensing satellites  are some of the mysterious movements of the sea being seen or starting to be understood. Producer: Annabel Olivier-Wright 
 
To the Seas In Ships If you want to get a ship, get it built by people who sail - traditionally the British have been a nation of shipbuilders. We visit some of the huge shipyards in Scotland and the North of England where ships are being built and get the designer's view of what it takes to create a ship. Producer: Annabel Olivier-Wright  
 
Treasure in the Deep  Around British shores lie no fewer than a quarter of a million wrecks that have foundered on the approaches to these islands. Craft from Viking long boats to Second world War battleships encircle Britain as a treasure-house of still largely undisturbed archaeological sites. This film explores the sea bed around Britain and visits the dive to lift the Mary Rose Henry VIII great battleship.  Producer: Annabel Olivier-Wright  
 
The Sea Gives Us A Living to seek for resources beyond  the limits of its shores and the North Sea has long been a provider of both food and energy: oil, coal, natural gas and fish are there in abundance but the North Sea does not yield up its treasures easily: it is one of the most hazardous environments in the world. We meet the men who earn their living from the sea and recognise it as their master.  Producer: Annabel Olivier-Wright  
 

This mix of entertainment and together with information, in a series of six 30 minute programs was very saleable to television stations, providing good value for the Overseas Information Services budget.