Donal MacIntyre, Five’s very own Robin Cook, will take a look at Britain’s CCTV camera network this summer as part of an eight part series for the TV channel.

The show will be called CCTV Cities and as part of the series Donal has talked to CCTV operators who often find what they see, frightening and disturbing.

He said: “Many of the people manning the cameras are council employees who have to witness some really horrific things, whether it is domestic violence or suicide, and these people can predict behaviour.

“If they get a call about a possible suicide they can track someone down and follow them through 90 cameras in a control room.”

Chris Shaw, Five’s news, current affairs and documentaries commissioner, added: “What differentiates this show from others about CCTV is that for the first time we get up close and personal with the people operating this equipment.

“It is very dramatic and tense but Britain is also the most watched country in the world and it’s very important – cameras really are taking over policing, using it to monitor but also to prosecute.”