A Suffolk military base is to star in a new BBC SAS drama from the creators of Peaky Blinders.

SAS Rogue Heroes, an adaption of a book by Ben Macintyre by Steven Knight, the writer of the Birmingham-based drama, about the creation of the special forces unit.

It will star Jack O'Connell and Dominic West and is expected to air on the BBC later this year.

The series will see RAF Bentwaters, near Tunstall, used for plane shots, a desert camp and Jeep attacks during the North African Campaign in the Second World War.

It comes after the series creators went to the Norfolk Military Vehicle Group for historical advice and to acquire authentic period vehicles.

One member Ian Clark, of North Walsham, received a call from the SAS headquarters in London telling him about the TV series and informing him the BBC needed his help to ensure the programme was accurate.

Mr Clark said: "I got the call from the SAS in London about two years ago and they told me all about the series and said the producers were looking for advice on Jeeps, trucks and colours, and things like that.

"They were also looking for two or three Jeeps and a truck.

"One member of the group, Paul Lincoln, has six of them so he sold them the Jeeps and then we helped to find them a truck.

"They then painted them in desert colours and another member, John Morter, found them a command car they were looking for."

The Elveden Estate in Norfolk will also feature – doubling as a Cairo hospital.

Mr Clark said he hoped to see the locations and the association's vehicles on screen in early November.

He added: "Norfolk Military Vehicle Group helped with it quite a lot.

"My teacher was in the SAS so it's a really interesting subject for me, he didn't say anything until he was 77, you tend to find that with the veterans who did the most, they don't tend to say a lot about it.

"We're not sure when it'll be shown, but according to the latest whispers we hope to see it in early November."