Spotting planes not trains, Ewan tells the story of The Real Battle of Britain, March 5 on Discovery World HD

There are few occasions in history when it can be said that the actions of a few changed the destiny of not just a country but of the world.

The 1940 Battle of Britain is one of those defining moments. Actor Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Star Wars) joins his brother Colin in THE REAL BATTLE OF BRITAIN to mark the 70th Anniversary of this historic event.

Premiering on Discovery World HD on Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT, this 90-minute special revisits this famous chapter in Britain’s history and reveals the story ofthe Royal Air Force (RAF) and Britain’s “finest hour.”

Colin is an RAF veteran of 20 years’ service; his brother Ewan is a hero of the big screen and fledgling pilothimself. Together they honour the heroes of 1940 both on the ground and in the air, bringing the story of the Battle of Britain to a new generation. During the special, Ewan is treated to a flying display by the only existing Hurricane in the world that actually flew during the Battle of Britain and is joined by RAF veteran Bob Foster who flew the Hurricane during the Battle 70 years ago. Then, Colin gives his brother the surprise of his life as Ewan gets to fly in a Spitfire over the White Cliffs of Dover. To learn to fly the iconic Spitfire, the men complete three days of training in aTiger Moth.

As they fly historic planes, meet the veterans and explore the tactics and technology, Colin and Ewan discover the importance of the Battle and the surviving legacy of the 1940s’ campaign for the modern RAF. Together, they honour what is arguably the most important event in modern British history and the only aerial war in world history.

EWAN MCGREGOR’S PIPES DREAM

EWAN is teaching himself to play bagpipes after failing to get a note out of them live on US telly.

My Ewan, practising while filming in the Far East.

A source said: “He was left red faced when Ellen DeGeneres produced a set of bagpipes on her show and he couldn’t play them at all.”

ABOVE: Ewan McGregor is teaching himself to play bagpipes

Controversy

Ewan, caused controversy for his interview!

Ewan is in hot water with his first boss - after claiming he worked in hell's kitchen.

Stewart Ross was aghast after the actor branded the chefs he worked with in his teens as "horrible b******s".

Ewan, who was a kitchen porter, made the claim as he prepared to play a Gordon Ramsay style cook in new movie Perfect Sense.

He said: "I knew how a kitchen worked and I knew, mainly through my experience, that chefs were complete b******s. "They're always horrible... I don't know why that is."

The Sunday Mail tracked down ex head chef Stewart, who now lives in Kirkwall, Orkney.

He denied giving the actor a hard time when they worked togther in the Murraypark hotel in Crieff in Perthshire in the late 80s.

Stewart, 50, said: "I would say he is giving us a bad write-up here.

"That statement is not strictly true. There was occasionally shouting in our kitchen if things weren't going to plan, there was a bit of frustration.

"The kitchen could get a bit tense when it was busy, and back then it was a very busy hotel - it was the top hotel in Crieff at the time.

"That didn't really have an impact on Ewan's job, but he might have had to catch the flying pots possibly.

"I was never a Gordon Ramsay type - that's not in my character. At least, I don't think it is."

Stewart, who lives with his wife Gina, 50, has not spoken to the star since he left the area in 1989 but remembers him well.

He said: "Ewan was my kitchen porter so he was mainly on the dishes, and cleaning, and sometimes a bit of a vegetable preperation.

"I haven't heard from him since I left the hotel, but I have followed his career and watched his films.

"That's my claim to fame - I'm always telling my colleagues that he used to be my KP."

Ewan, who grew up in Crieff, says his experiences of the kitchen in the Murraypark Hotel gave him the grounding for the character. He said: "I used to be a dishwasher, in Crieff, where I grew up.

"There's a hotel called the Murraypark and I used to work there from the age of 14.

"I was a dishwasher and then I became a waiter and a barman, but I was washing dishes for about two years."

Perfect Sense, which was filmed in the west end of Glasgow, premiered at the prestigious Sundance Festival in America last week.

Ewan's character, Michael, falls in love with Susan - played by former Bond girl Eva Green - just as the world is ending.

And the kitchen scenes were shot in some of Scotland's top restaurants.

Ewan admitted that he still needed some on-the-job training, despite his previous experience in kitchens.

He said: "I like good food but I'm not a gastronome.

"So I had to learn about cooking or at least to learn to look like I knew how to cook. That was my job, really.

"I haven't cooked since. I haven't become a great cook because of the film."

The film reunites Ewan with Ewen Bremner, who played Spud in Trainspotting, and his uncle Denis Lawson, who originally inspired him to take up acting.

Perfect Sense is directed by David Mackenzie, the Scot who made Young Adam with Ewan and Tilda Swinton, which was also set in Glasgow.