Andrew Scott stars as Group Captain James Stagg, the chief meteorological adviser who played a decisive but little-known role in the success of the D-Day landings, in the new film Pressure. Speaking to the BBC, Scott describes Stagg as an "unsung hero from history" whose accurate weather forecasting allowed General Dwight D Eisenhower to launch the invasion of Normandy, making him an unconventional protagonist compared with more traditional wartime heroes.

Stagg, who was from Dalkeith near Edinburgh, had to manage a team of meteorologists who disagreed publicly while advising Eisenhower, who needed a full moon, low tide and calm weather before ordering the attack on 6 June 1944. Scott, who was interviewed aboard HMS Belfast, says the film – based on David Haig's 2014 stage play and also starring Brendan Fraser as Eisenhower – is ultimately about "the humility of leadership" and the importance of trusting genuine expertise over power.