FORMER Underbelly star Les Hill has been filming his new series Rescue Special Ops in the Hunter Valley, just days before the show premieres on television.
Hill and co-stars, including Gigi Edgley, filmed the episode yesterday at the Wynella property at Pokolbin.
The episode, which is number 11 in the series, is based around the Special Ops team undertaking a hot air balloon rescue mission.
The job is expected to be routine find a bride in a hot air balloon and bring her down safely, but it turns to disaster when the balloon is sabotaged.
Hill plays Dean Gallagher, an experienced paramedic in top physical condition on the new show, which premieres on Sunday at 8.30pm on NBN.
A fitness conscious Hill was already attending the gym 10 to 12 times a week before he landed the role.
He performs many of his own stunts on the show including abseiling and climbing scenes and all episodes are shot on location.
"There's no studio days. It makes it a lot easier to be absorbed in the role," Hill said yesterday.
It's a far cry from the gun-toting underworld figure of Jason Moran, which he portrayed on the first series of Underbelly.
"I spoke a lot with real-life rescue paramedics for this role," he said.
Rescue Special Ops also stars Peter Phelps and Libby Tanner as well as guest appearances from Hill's former Underbelly colleagues Damian Walshe Howling and Gyton Grantley.
The show has drawn comparisons to the long-running 1990s ABC drama Police Rescue, but Hill says his show has "a very different feel".
Rescue Special Ops is unique because it highlights the ups and downs of being a rescuer, he said.
"You need to have a sense of humour when you're doing this sort of job, dealing with life and death, and you're not always going to win, you're not always going to come out on top," Hill says.
"And that's something we explore. Some of the characters have to deal with the other side of the job." with AAP
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