THE man behind Liberty Steel in Newport, Sanjeev Gupta, will star in a documentary this month exploring the global steel industry.

Mr Gupta, the head of the Liberty Group, bought the former Alpha Steel plant in Newport and has since invested hundreds of millions into acquiring steel plants in the UK.

This included signing an agreement with Tata Steel to buy its Speciality Steels division, which employs 1,700 people in Yorkshire, the West Midlands and China.

A documentary on the figure - 'Man of Steel' - is set to screen on BBC One, providing an insight into the public and private life of the global billionaire who moved to Wales with his family.

Against the backdrop of closing steel plants and redundancies, the documentary will explore the global entrepreneur's impact on the industry and his business decisions in buying plants.

A show synopsis states: "Sanjeev has been quietly acquiring business and was a background player until his attempt to buy the TATA steel plant in Port Talbot pushed him into the limelight.

"Before that, the billionaire had been busy turning troubled steel plants into efficient and profitable industries, from steelworks in Newport and Tredegar, to mothballed sites across the UK.

"To show his commitment to the project, he uprooted his family from Dubai and relocated to Newport, South Wales, where he has set about making his one-man rescue mission a truly international enterprise."

The synopsis adds: "This insightful and intimate film follows Sanjeev over the course of an extraordinary period in his life, as the energy trader strategically manoeuvres himself as a saviour of the Welsh, Scottish and English steel industries and heads for global steel status.

"It’s a rollercoaster ride with the newly dubbed 'white knight' in shining steel armour.

"But will the gamble of his life, to reignite a dying industry, end up in smoke?".

Newport's Liberty plant re-opened in 2015 and currently processes steel into hot rolled coil for the UK domestic market.

It also has the capacity also to melt steel on site.

To watch the 'Man of Steel' documentary or find our more, tune into BBC One and iPlayer at 10.40pm on On Tuesday, November 28.