The man who saved Kate Winslet to be filming in Minorca

Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd, who played the fifth officer and the man who saved Kate Winslet in Titanic, is to return to star as Horatio Hornblower in the new two-part drama series which is being filmed in Minorca at the end of this month. Being produced by United Film and Television productions for Meridian Broadcasting, the new two, two-hour episodes follow on from the four previous parts shot and screened in the United Kingdom on ITV last year. The mini series, which won Emmy Awards for best mini series and editing, was well received by viewers, with audiences of around eight million, hence why Hornblower is set to return this year. The next two parts, which follow the hugely popular books by C. S. Forester, pick up with a newly promoted Lieutenant Hornblower and also star Robert Lindsay. New galleons are already being built, as the Great Turk built for the first series is “historically outdated” and Minorca will provide the perfect backdrop for Hornblower's exploits and battles against the French and the Spanish. The production will be shooting on location in Minorca for six weeks before returning to London for the final six weeks filming and the mini series is expected to be broadcast in the UK later this year.