Portsmouth, 1794. Under thundery skies and in lashing rain, 17-year-old midshipman Horatio Hornblower takes the first tentative steps of his naval career, but a feud with a shipmate causes complications.

• Meridian Broadcasting Ltd
• Ioan Gruffudd
• Robert Lindsay
• Dorian Healy
• Michael Byrne
• Robert Bathurst
• Duncan Bell
• Paul Copley
• Sean Gilder