'Spotlight On The Troubles' to air tonight

Tonight, viewers will have a chance to watch the first of a seven part investigative series into lesser known details of the troubles.

'Spotlight On The Troubles' has already received significant media attention, due to its unearthing of video footage of Martin McGuinness' early days as part of the IRA, and it's claims that Ian Paisley helped partly finance UVF crimes during the 1960s.

The documentary has been commissioned to mark the 50-year anniversary of the arrival of the British Army in Northern Ireland - on August 14 following the Battle of the Bogside. This was widely regarded as being the starting point of the troubles.

In the seven part series, a team of investigative journalists set about uncovering secrets about the decades-long conflict that claimed more than 3,700 lives. According to the creators, the series will contain interviews with around 100 people, as well as archive material that has never been shown before.

A synopsis for the first episode reads:

"Reporter Darragh MacIntyre opens the series, discovering an array of new evidence, including previously classified documents, unseen film and fresh testimony from key new witnesses to the origins of the Troubles. It throws light on the formation of the Provisional Irish Republican Army as well as the parts played by radicals who became elder statesmen like Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.

"In this episode, the Spotlight team traces how, in the 1960s, suspicion led to unrest between unionists and nationalists, undermining Northern Ireland’s government. The arrival of the British Army in August 1969 brought a respite, and the soldiers were enthusiastically greeted as protectors by many nationalists. That relationship was soured by fatal errors and calculated acts of violence. New information about Martin McGuinness’s role at that time is brought to light, and the episode concludes with the destruction of the Northern Ireland government, a moment when IRA members believed they were about to force the British Army out of Northern Ireland."

The first episode will air at 8.30pm on BBC Four & BBC One Northern Ireland, and will also be available to view on BBC’s iPlayer service shortly afterwards.