Back for its 18th series, the esteemed entrepreneur show on BBC One marks the return of Alan Sugar, Baroness Karren Brady, and Tim Campbell. Viewers can anticipate another captivating season as a new group of aspiring entrepreneurs strive to impress and compete for the chance to become Lord Sugar’s next business partner.

This series will showcase the candidates participating in a range of business-related challenges. The first task will involve organising a luxury corporate hospitality day for clients. Their performance throughout each task will decide their continuation in the series, as they tackle other tasks such as creating a virtual escape room, innovating nutritious cereals for children, a tourism challenge in Budapest, and showcasing their marketing skills in the TV shopping channel challenge.

AERIAL FILMING IN LONDON

Our extensive collaboration with the BBC Creative team spans various projects over the years. Since 2022, we have been working closely with them to capture aerial footage for The Apprentice. The instrumental role played by the GB Helicopters aerial film team’s expertise was evident in producing the aerial footage for Series 18 of The Apprentice.

Similar to the approach taken in Series 16 and 17 of The Apprentice. We engaged in discussions with the production team. During these conversations, they outlined their desires and requirements for the shots. GB Helicopters director and chief pilot Will Banks took flight in one of our twin-engine AS355 helicopters across London and the surrounding areas. Our helicopter was equipped with the state-of-the-art GSS C516 compact lightweight gyro-stabilized gimble and RedEpic camera system. Allowing us to capture the aerial footage to be used within the production of The Apprentice.

Throughout the series, audiences can witness the aerial footage we’ve filmed, seamlessly integrated into transition scenes.

AERIAL FILMING FOR TELEVISION

At GB Helicopters we are no strangers when it comes to Aerial Filming for TV. Our experience includes working on numerous productions, such as Studio Lambert’s compelling psychological competition series, “The Traitors,” spanning both the UK and US productions in series 1 & 2.

We have also been part of the success behind Netflix’s highly popular series “Fool Me Once.” Beyond that, our capabilities extend to helicopter stunts such as skydiving, helicopter jumps, and long-lining (external human underslung). No matter how distinctive your vision may be. Our team at GB Helicopters will work with you to ensure to bring your vision to reality.

Discuss your upcoming production with our specialist operations team and see how you can use our aerial film services. Email them directly at ops@gbhelicopters.com or complete the form below.

The Apprentice is available to watch on BBC One and iPlayer.

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Ten fresh, famous faces are returning to Channel 4 for the show’s fifth series. Celebrities now known as fugitives are on the run for, Stand Up To Cancer’s Celebrity Hunted. Over the years we have worked on numerous projects with Shine TV and have collaborated with them for both Hunted and Celebrity Hunted. Take a look at our involvement in series 4 of Celebrity Hunted.  

For series 5 of Celebrity Hunted, GB Helicopters were called to conduct the aerial filming, while also helping to track the well-known fugitives.

Conducting the aerial filming

For series 5 of Celebrity Hunted, we operated two AS355 twin-engine helicopters’ to conduct the aerial filming.

On board with the pilot was a hunter tracking the fugitives, coordinating with the ground team to track and capture the celebrities.

Rigged to the helicopter was a state-of-the-art GSS C516, a lightweight and compact gyro-stabilised camera system. To capture the shots for series 5 of Celebrity Hunted we paired our GSS with our RED Epic Dragon.

Shropshire was one of the locations we were tasked to fly to, for series 5 of Celebrity Hunted. This was well documented on social media and media outlets on the day of filming since many spotted our aircraft and shared their sightings.

Flying above Shrewsbury prison we captured shots of the celebrity fugitives escaping the former prison. Using the footage were the professional hunters on board, transmitting the footage to the ground team, and keeping track of the fugitives’ locations.

As documented, this was the start of the celebrity fugitives attempting to remain undetected by the former police and intelligence officials.

Celebrity Fugitives Line-up

The celebrity fugitives taking part and paired together for Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted are the following.

• Nik Speakman and Eva Speakman
• Ed Gamble and James Acaster
• Katya Jones and Amiee Fuller
• Saffron Barker and Bobby Seagull
• Nicola Thorp and Nikesh Patel

Permissions Required

We obtained the necessary permissions for the aerial filming of series 5 Celebrity Hunted. We utilised our long-standing low-level permit from the CAA to conduct the aerial filming for this project.

Our operations team and pilots boast a wealth of expertise working with producers and directors for aerial filming projects. Please discuss with our team to make your vision a reality with our aerial filming services. Call us on 0800 030 4105 or complete the contact form below.

Aerial Film Services

Celebrity Hunted is available to watch on Channel 4 and All 4.

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With rising energy bills, Guy Martin aims to discover why electricity is costing so much. The former TT racer hosted a three-part series Guys’ Great British Power Trip, which aired on Sunday 12th February at 9pm on Channel 4.

Learning how renewable energy works, Guy goes behind the scenes at the Drax power station in Yorkshire. Inspecting the mills and boilers used to create electricity from wood pellets.

Exploring the National Grids Control Centre, Guy Martin took flight in their helicopter. The National Grid routinely inspect electricity pylons, every day. Capturing Guy and the National Grids aircraft in action, was our team at GB Helicopters.

PREPARATION FOR AIR-TO-AIR FILMING FOR GUYS’ GREAT BRITISH POWER TRIP

In 2020 North One Television contacted us and we successfully provided aerial film services and picture ships for Guy Martins: Battle of Britain. Following this remarkable production, they approached us again! This time it was to conduct the air-to-air filming for the production of Guys’ Great British Power Trip.

Our team was delighted to be working with North One and Guy again. After corresponding with North One Television producers and coordinators at National Grid. Abi, our operations manager, identified filming locations in order to plan for any refuelling stops.

Before flying out to the Drax power station, one of our AS355 twin-engine helicopters was fitted with our GSS C516 camera system. We paired the GSS camera system with our compact, lightweight Sony P1 camera. The Sony P1 is a high-definition compact camera, with the flexibility to film almost anywhere making it the perfect match for this project.

While Guy and the electrical transmission team were on board the National Grids helicopter conducting power line inspections over Nottinghamshire.  Our experienced pilot followed them, flying in our AS355 helicopter, capturing the aerial footage.

Take a look at some of the aerial shots we took for Guys’ Great British Power Trip.

PERMISSIONS REQUIRED

We obtained the necessary permissions for Guys’ Great British Power Trip, allowing us to perform aerial filming for this project at our long-standing low-level flying permit.

If you are looking for an aerial cinematographer for your next project. Complete the form below and a member of our operations team will be in contact with you shortly. Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 030 4105 or email us at ops@gbhelicopters.com.

Aerial Filming services

Guy’s Great British Power Trip is available to watch on All 4.

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The series began with high expectations from the entrepreneurs as they boarded a cruise ship in Portsmouth. The contestants’ initial task was to create a marketing campaign for an upcoming cruise line.

As the tasks and series progressed we watched the contestants deal with a variety of tasks. The final task before the interview stage, Candidates were required to create and brand, a new baby food, then pitch and sell it to leading retailers.

Last Thursday, we saw Lord Sugar decide who will become his next business partner. Harpreet Kaur and Katheryn Burn were the final candidates, paired with former competitors who returned to assist them in presenting their business ideas. 

GB’s Involvement

Our line pilot Ian Smith took flight in one of our Twin Squirrels. We rigged our helicopter with our GSS C516 nose-mounted camera system. We also used in conjunction with the GSS camera system, our Red Epic Dragon camera and 30-300mm lens.

GB’s contribution to the production of The Apprentice Series 16 was to film aerial shots over London. Popular London landmarks such as The Gherkin are among the aerial shots we filmed for the series. You can watch the aerial footage we filmed in between scenes of Series 16.  

The Apprentice series 16 is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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Former police officers, intelligence agents and military personnel make up the team of hunters who used their expertise to hunt down the celebrity fugitives.

The celebrities who appeared in season 4 were:

Permissions requested

A requirement for this project was to submit a filming application to the National Trust. Successfully obtaining these permissions allowed us to complete the required shots by production teams. The permissions from The National Trust allowed us to film aerially above Formby Beach in Merseyside using one of our Twin Squirrels. 

Our participation

For episode 6 of the series we had a hunter on board our aircraft who was coordinating with the on-ground team, in attempt to track down the fugitives. We followed and captured shots of the Huey Heli taking off and in flight as part of the production had on board hunters on route to track down the celebrity fugitives.

Our Twin Squirrel aircraft was equipped with our nose-mounted GSS C516 camera and a Sony P1 HD camera paired with a 30-300mm lens to film aerial footage of the fugitives. The camera systems were rigged to our aircraft.

Celebrity Hunted Stand Up for Cancer is available to watch on My4.

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Over five days, they will endure rigorous physical and mental tests. Pushed well out of their comfort zone, each recruit will have to complete cold-water events, height tests, claustrophobic challenges and interrogation, alongside demanding trials of strength, stamina and determination.

GB Helicopters was brought in to help carry out the cold-water events and height tests. Producing the incredible footage of the stunts, was drone operator Lec Park.

First up was the ‘Heli Jump’. We performed this stunt recently for Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and on numerous Bear Grylls productions.

Flying low and fast over the waters near Cork, two recruits sit nervously in the back. Accompanying them in the cabin is their course instructor and a camera operator. Ensuring there’s unrestricted movement in the back, both the rear and co-pilot seats have been removed, as have the doors on one side. The camera operator now has the freedom to perfectly capture the raw emotions of each recruit in anticipation of their jump into the cold waters.

The second stunt we carried out is one of our favourites, the ‘Long Line’. Officially termed ‘Human External Cargo’, this stunt involves one or two people being suspended on a long line underneath the helicopter. It is another stunt we’ve done frequently with Bear Grylls. It’s also how we made Harry Styles fly in the music video for his hit single Sign of the Times. No CGI required.

For Ultimate Hell Week, this was performed around the spectacular coastline and cliffs of Mizen Head. We began by flying along the coast before sweeping up to a clifftop, one the recruits had just climbed up. Coming to a hover overhead, two of the recruits were carefully secured to the line below. Once safely attached, we lifted them over the edge of the cliff and out towards the ocean. The incredible vistas making this stunt all the more spectacular. The recruits were then dropped off further down the coast, ready for their next challenge.

For those of you in Ireland, you can watch the whole series on RTE Player.

To find out how these thrilling scenes could be part of your next production, get in touch on 0800 030 4105 or at ops@gbhelicopters.com.

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He is one of the 12 new recruits for the latest series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

One by one each contestant is picked up from the island and taken to the drop point. They are flown in low and fast before quickly coming to a hover, simulating a rapid military insertion. They climb out of the helicopter and onto the skid, before psyching themselves up and blindly dropping into the sea.

The stunt would be carried out in our AS355N twin-squirrel helicopter, flown by GB Helicopters Director and Chief Pilot Will Banks.

As with all our stunt work, special permissions from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) were required. We always work closely with the CAA when carrying out aerial stunt work, and our continued experience and skill in performing stunts for film and TV productions helped us gain this permission.

The third series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins started on Channel 4 on 29th August 2021 and is on at 9PM on Sundays. If you want to catch up on the action, you can do so on All 4.

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The new series shows the immense challenges faced by the North West Ambulance Service during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Taking the viewer to heart of the NHS are the courageous frontline paramedics, as they respond to emergencies across the North West.

Series seven will concentrate in and around the cities of Liverpool and Blackpool. Covering an area of more than 5,400 square miles, they respond to an average 4,000 emergency calls every day. It shows in detail the harsh reality of the shifts of the call-handlers and ambulance dispatchers as they make decisions in the highly pressurised environment of the control room.

While the crews are accompanied by the production team on the ground, we provide a sense of scale from above. Capturing wide aerial shots of the city and iconic landmarks to close tracking shots of the emergency vehicles as they hurtle through the city.

Equipment

For this project we flew one of our AS355NP’s rigged with our GSS C516 gyroscopic camera system. For shooting during the day, we used our RED Epic Dragon camera with the Canon 30-300mm telephoto lens. At night, we switched to the Sony P1.

Produced by Dragonfly Television and the BBC, it was first broadcast on BBC One in 2016. Since then it has proved to be very successful, winning a BAFTA for ‘Best Factual Series’ in 2018 and receiving several National Television Award nominations.

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Our Airbus AS355 twin-squirrel helicopter,  carried out the filming using our GSS C516 camera system. Due to the unpredictable time of day an emergency can happen, we film both day and night shoots. Filming takes place with the Red Epic Dragon during the day and the ARRI Alexa Mini or Sony P1 at night, all fitted with a 30-300 Canon lens.

Following in close proximity to the air ambulance as it lands and takes off from various sites around Yorkshire, including helipads at hospitals, is a key part of the filming for Helicopter ER. The CAA have granted us a long-term certificate for low-level flying permission, which is perfect for productions as it enables us to get closer to the action.

Created by AirTv, Helicopter ER is broadcast on the Discovery Networks channel, Really. The latest series, 6, aired back in January 2021 and is available to watch on the Discovery+ website.

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Produced by Air TV, the first episode of the new series features a WWII Hawker Hurricane. Modified into the world’s only two-seater version of the aircraft. After months of painstaking restoration work, the experienced warbird pilot Anna Walker, flew over the countryside around Biggin Hill with its first passenger. We followed in our AS355 helicopter, equipped with our GSS camera system, capturing the magnificent machine’s return to the skies.

We then had the privilege of filming Guy Martin training and flying this wonderful machine for his new two-part series, Guy Martin’s Battle of Britain. The show would see Guy undergo similar training to RAF pilots before the Battle of Britain.

The Hawker Hurricane is now available for you to experience for yourself down at Biggin Hill. With flight times ranging from 30 to 75 minutes, you can feel the raw power of a historic WWII fighter plane and even take the controls! (if the pilot allows it). You can read more about this on their website.

The fourth episode features the restoration of a 1930’s Morane-Saulnier MS.315. However, it ran out of fuel resulting in an emergency landing on a pebble beach. The plane was taken to a wartime bomber base in Lincolnshire and after the restoration was completed, we were there to film its first 40 minutes test flight.

You can watch the first and second series on the UKTV website.

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The 39-year-old from Grimsby was named after Guy Gibson, a distinguished RAF bomber pilot who became the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron. This squadron led the famous “Dam Busters” raid during WWII, so it is no surprise that he already has a couple of documentaries involving military aircraft. Those being Guy Martin’s Spitfire and Guy Martin: Last Flight of the Vulcan Bomber.

Despite the chaos going on in the world last year, he managed to put together a new ambitious project: Guy Martin’s Battle of Britain. The programme was to see Guy learn to fly a WWII Hurricane against a pursuing enemy aircraft.

Documentaries like this simply cannot be made without aerial filming. Over the years we have become renowned for capturing military aircraft in flight. Our first project filming historical warbirds was the Hollywood blockbuster Dunkirk. Since then, we have worked on some other huge projects such as Spitfire: The Feature Documentary and its upcoming sequel, Lancaster. We have also filmed several episodes of Warbird Workshop and the departure of the Silver Spitfire out of Goodwood, as it started its flight around the world.

Working with warbirds is something we absolutely love doing. So, when we were approached to provide the aerial filming for this project, we jumped at the chance. Capable of a higher top speed, our H125 helicopter would provide the platform for our GSS C516 gyro-stabilised system and Sony P1 camera with a Fujinon 42x lens. This full HD and lightweight setup would be controlled by our expert camera operator Mike Parker.

Flying out of the very familiar Biggin Hill, we would be following and filming two aircraft. The role of the enemy aircraft would be filled by a Buchon ME109 that is carefully and diligently maintained by The Aircraft Restoration Company. It would be flown by its owner, John Romain. Guy Martin would have the chance to fly in the only two-seat Hurricane in the world. The 1942 Hawker Hurricane IIB would be flown by the hugely experienced and talented pilot, Anna Walker. The aircraft is owned and operated by The Heritage Flight at Biggin Hill.

With perfect weather over the former RAF WWII airbase, we took to the air and started filming the Hurricane as it started its engine and taxied to the runway. Once in position and ready to go, Anna throttled-up and the Hurricane tore off down the tarmac. Alongside in the H125, pilot Will Banks put the nose down and accelerated to keep up with the classic warbird. Running perfectly next to the Hurricane, its wheels gently lifted off the ground before it accelerated beyond our top speed.

Once all the aircraft systems checked out, Will rendezvoused with the Hurricane and we began filming the close ups. Flying in close formation at 2,000 ft over Sevenoaks, Kent, we filmed shots of the Hurricane performing various manoeuvres and captured Guy Martin trying his hands at the controls.

As we entered the evening golden hour, Anna and Guy were joined by John in the “enemy” Buchon ME109. Trailing behind the Hurricane, John would now ‘engage’, and Guy would try to lose the Buchon from his tail. The two warbirds accelerated off into the distance as Guy tried to evade and escape the pursuing enemy. They began a dance in the sky, gaining altitude before diving below us, all while Will and Mike filmed from a distance, keeping them both in frame.

When the chase was over and we had completed the shot list, Will followed Guy back to Biggin Hill. With the sun going down, we took advantage of the brilliant light to capture the Hurricane in the warm evening glow. Will then be positioned low at the far end of the runway to capture the Hurricane gracefully touching down to finish off a successful shoot.

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The system fitted with a Red Epic Dragon sensor, has been bespokely calibrated to adapt to both the 30-300mm lens and now the 20×50; both by Canon and encase them within the 16” carbon-fibre gimbal structure. Having initially chosen the GSS system due to its ability to effortlessly interchange payloads. It is ideally suited to task changes whilst on location, catering for dramatic wide shots as well as long range close ups of specific subjects with only minutes of downtime to effect the change.

The two Canon lenses offer the unprecedented quality, flexibility and usability required for shoots in demanding and unpredictable environments. Combining the finest quality optics with a weather-and-shock-proof construction the 20×50 lens is perfect for aerial action shooting, its unrivalled focal length and zooming capabilities capture extremely high-resolution from a distance as well as minuscule details with immaculate definition for close-to-the-action sports work. The lens also maintains the highest quality throughout its impressive zooming range with fast, reactive positional changes. Fitted to the Red Epic Dragon this sensor-lens combination leaves endless possibility for filming requirements.

The C516 as a whole is the lightest most compact system of its type, helping to maintain aircraft operating limitations and endurance whilst maximising payload. GB Helicopters also own and operate an all-weather Air Operators Certificate, which allows the legal carriage of passengers on task; valid throughout the UK and Northern Europe this charter certificate enables a wide operating area of interest. It also allows the ability for the director to watch from the aircraft cabin to ensure that vital sequence has been captured. Simultaneously recording up to 6k R3D files to the Red Epic Dragon or alternatively offering the ability to downlink live images, ensuring any additional viewing requirement can be met on the ground with radio links to the aircraft for direction.

For stabilised footage requirements further afield, the entire system can be packed into five cases, all qualifying under excess baggage, in order to avoid lengthy delays associated with freighting equipment. The C516 can be mounted to multiple types of aircraft, vehicles and marine vessels making it a unit for all occasions.

Alternate camera sensors which we can offer within the C516 platform are the Arri Alexa Mini and the Sony P1.

For further information about the system and for bookings and availability contact the operations team at ops@gbhelicopters.com or call 0800 030 4105.

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