As Raleigh’s fireship approaches we find ourselves onboard a Spanish galleon in state of panic. Anchor cables are cut, burning spars clutter the stern, fire lick up the sails, debris crashes down and amid the chaos two horses rear and circle on the deck. As it’s a scene involving animals it’s not a quick shot to take – safety, both for the animals, the stuntmen and the handlers around the horses, is paramount and the long technical preparations give Shekhar the time to run over to ‘J’ to direct Raleigh in the Tower of London and, after that, the part of the hanging of Francis Throckmorton that we didn’t pick up in Winchester. Directing on two stages at once is a feat akin to juggling with sheds, but with only five days left on the schedule, time is now of the essence.