Stacey Dooley: Ready for War?

Stacey Dooley follows a squad of Ukrainian civilians from the moment they land on British soil for five weeks of gruelling training, designed to give them the skills they will need to “survive and to be lethal” in the war against Russia.

Hidden in a secret location in England, Stacey has exclusive access to the British Army’s combat programme turning raw recruits into frontline soldiers. 

Pasha is a welder who was living in Belgium when Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine last year.   He swam against the tide of refugees leaving the country, to return and defend his homeland.  An unlikely soldier, he doesn’t have long to get to grips with the reality facing him on his return. 

Artem has left his partner and 6-year-old son behind near the border with Russia.  Before the war he had a thriving business making jewellery, but over the five weeks of the course he is transformed into a professional soldier.  But the change puts a great deal of pressure on his relationships with those he loves.

Mykola is a florist who dreams of getting back to his garden and girlfriend.  Scoring the highest possible mark on the rifle range, he is determined to reclaim occupied land from the Russian troops “centimetre by centimetre.”

Amid learning how to operate an AK-47, repel attacks and survive brutal combat in trenches reminiscent of World War I, Stacey gets to know this group of recruits, gaining first-hand insight in to the psychological transformation needed to face the kill or be killed reality of war.

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RUNTIME:
58 Minutes

PRODUCER:
Blanca Munoz

DIRECTOR:
Almudena Garcia-Parrado

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
Brian Woods

RELEASED:
2023

Stacey Dooley: Ready for War? is a True Vision East/Little Dooley Co-Production

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Awards

International Current Affairs Documentary - Nominee
AIB Awards

Presenter of the Year - Nominee
AIB Awards

Reviews

“This was the closest we will ever have to a glimpse of what our grandfathers and great-grand-fathers must have experienced, ordinary lads marching off in village brigades to the slaughtering fields of Flanders in 1914.”
Christopher Stevens - Daily Mail

“You can see why Putin was wrong-footed by the sheer courage and resilience of these people.”
Carol Midgey - The Times

"Dooley again proved to be the thinking viewer's Gary Lineker. Routinely breaking BBC News rules - often seeming to be fighting back tears during distressing interviews - she, unlike Lineker, has good journalistic instincts and a story with an emotional core can suit her rejection of traditional editorial neutrality"
Private Eye

“these men are in an extraordinary situation and we can see for ourselves what is extraordinary about it. But by patiently getting to know individuals from the new cohort, Dooley finds the moments that make it hit hard.”
Jack Seale - The Guardian

“He was proud of the speed at which he’d acquired skills that usually take British Army recruits six months to learn. But you could also see the despair swilling behind his gentle blue eyes.”
Helen Brown - The Telegraph

"Dooley is not a war reporter but she is naturally empathetic and this is as much a film about the people and the lives they have left behind as it is about the regime."
Joe Clay - The Times

"Dooley is a strong presence, but has an undeniable knack for building rapport with people, fast, and that’s on display here; it’s an alternative, more personal insight to the lives of those changed forever by one man’s relentless cruelty."
Poppie Platt - Daily Telegraph

"Stacey Dooley has made some gritty documentaries, but Ready For War? has really hit home."
Katie Archer - Daily Express

“She’s just become a mum for the first time but intrepid intreviewer Stacey Dooley is about to do battle in a tough documentary”
Daily Star

“we are playing a vital role in training the everyday men being sent to the frontline”
The Sun

“The new BBC Three documentary… was granted unprecedented access to the UK-Ukraine training programme, known as Operation Interflex.”
BBC

“it’s a sobering watch”
Sunday Mirror

“With exclusive and unprecedented access to the British Army’s training mission, the recruits will learn to survive and to be lethal, as they prepare for deployment to the frontline fighting against Russia.”
Pippa Considine - Televisual

“Stacey says making the hour-long film made her feel connected to the brave soldiers.”
Nicola Methven & Mark Jefferies - Square Eyes

“After leaving behind their lives as florists, jewellers and welders in Ukraine, ordinary men are being trained in the UK for something extraordinary.”
Frances Taylor - Radio Times

“An emotional yet uplifitng watch”
TV Times

“it’s a sobering watch, as Stacey explains, “It’s literally like your own boyfriend or brother being asked to step up and fight the Russian Army on the frontline.”
New Magazine

“In this deeply affecting documentary, Stacey Dooley meets ordinary Ukrainian men who are undertaking intensive training with the British army to prepare them to fight on the front line.”
Radio Times Ten Best Shows

“Stacey Dooley follows a group of Ukrainian civilians as they arrive in the UK to begin five weeks of intensive army training”
TV & Satellite Week

“Stacey Dooley will follow a group of Ukrainian nationals as they earn how to attack and survive on the frontline against Russia for a new BBC documentary”
Ella Christian-Sims - Royal Television Society

“Stacey Dooley’s latest documentary is an emotional watch”
Closer

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