Iran to Cuba • 2020 • episode "S1E3" • Joanna Lumley’s Unseen Adventures

89:00

This special episode sees Michael revisit his fifth travel series – Himalaya. For Michael, this epic journey across the world’s highest mountain range is the fulfilment of boyhood dreams inspired by the 1953 ascent of Everest by Hillary and Tensing. Beginning in the famous Khyber Pass, he travels through Pakistan and India and ascends into Nepal and Tibet to reach Everest base camp itself, before venturing into the mountain kingdom of Bhutan. But Michael’s journey isn’t all about scaling peaks – it’s also about finding out what life is like for the people who live in some of the harshest environments on Earth. He is curious to see countries that were cut off by the mountains for centuries and that have developed their own distinct cultures and ways of survival, to discover the different ways that religion influences society here, and to meet the hardy inhabitants of the mountains.

2020 • Travel

46:36

Martin Clunes visits the lush, tropical island of Hawaii to investigate the state's status as a tourist paradise, and the islands of Alaska.

S1E1 • Martin Clunes: Islands of America • 2019 • Travel

47:32

Levison meets nomadic shepherds and dangerous dogs in the Gobustan desert, climbs to a castle halfway up a cliff, visits Stalin's birthplace and meets a hermit monk who lives atop a 45-metre monolith.

S1E3 • From Russia to Iran: Crossing the Wild Frontier with Levison Wood • 2017 • Travel

134:03

Information Alexander Armstrong's amazing journey into the extraordinary world that is South Korea. Chapter 1: Seoul Alexander journeys across South Korea, one of the most influential and successful countries on earth, known for its manufacturing strength and cultural exports. He arrives late at night in bustling downtown Seoul, and kicks off his epic Korean adventure in Gangnam, the fabled district immortalised by Psy's Gangnam Style video. Helping to keep modern Korea on the global map are its YouTube stars, and Alexander wolfs down noodles with Heebab, a record-breaking Mukhbang 'bulk-eater', and meets Korean Billy, whose English accent impersonations are an online sensation. Chapter 2: Ulsan Alexander continues his exploration of the bustling capital Seoul, where he marvels at the splendour of the 14th century Gyeongbokgung Palace and takes in the colourful changing of the guard ceremony, before heading to the famous Yangnyeongsi herbal medicine market. Later, he takes a quick detour away from Seoul to the country's industrial capital Ulsan, where visits the cultural museum to find out the origins of South Korea's international hit series, Squid Game. Chapter 3: Busan On the last leg of his South Korean adventure, Alexander heads to the bustling port of Busan, where South Korea's biggest fish market is to be found. Alexander gets to try some of the weirdest seafood he has ever seen, fresh from the sea, including a couple of sea creatures that are so fresh they are still moving as he bites into them. Later, travels 180 miles across the Korea Strait from Busan to the island of Jeju, where he embarks on an exhilarating climb up an extinct volcano known as Sunrise Peak.

2022 • Travel

44:00

China is a nation of contrasts, and nowhere is it more evident than along its dynamic coastline. This aerial journey takes us from the north's icy Chagan Lake to the tropical Hainan province's southern volcanoes, and from the nation's most populated cities in the east to an abandoned fishermen's village off Shanghai's coast. It's a spectacular voyage highlighting the country's diverse environments, evolving cultures, and growing prosperity.

S1E3 • China from Above • 2018 • Travel

59:07

This leg takes Ade across central Africa, from the coast of Gabon, through the giant Democratic Republic of Congo, and on to Uganda. He starts off the coast of Gabon looking for humpback whales. It is one of Africa's best spots for seeing them, thanks to Gabon's vast marine sanctuaries. The country is an eco-paradise, not just in the water, but on land as well where 80% of it is forested. But the country has recently introduced one of the most destructive agri-businesses in the tropics - palm oil farming. Ade discovers how Gabon hopes to do it sustainably. The country has impressive environmental credentials, but on a tour of its divided capital Ade hears that some people are skeptical. One critic suggests it is a way for the country's autocratic ruler Ali Bongo Ondimba to curry favour with the international community. Next up is perhaps the most chaotic and corrupt country in Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ade discovers first-hand how everyone from the traffic police to the country's top politicians are on the take. He also spends time with some of Kinshasa's musicians and ‘sapeurs' – people who get kitted out in the finest haute couture in one of the poorest countries on the planet. In DRC's far east, he finds out what lies at the heart of the country's problems: a never-ending conflict amongst local militia, fuelled by foreign countries who want to get their hands on the DRC's vast resources. After going on a tank patrol with the UN, he meets Kibomango, a champion boxer who is helping to rehabilitate some of the country's 30,000 child soldiers. Travelling into one of the most famous national parks in the world, Virunga, Ade discovers that few areas of the country have been left unscarred by the violence. And the impact on the wildlife has been extreme, as Ade encounters some of the world's few remaining mountain gorillas. His final stop on this trip is Uganda where he meets Bobi Wine, one of Africa's most outspoken political campaigners. Bobi was recently arrested and beaten, and his driver killed, after his protests drew the attention of long-serving autocratic ruler Yoweri Museveni. Ade meets a defiant man who will not give up, no matter what threats are made on his life. He is part of a new generation of Africans who are fighting to take back control from the post-colonial leaders who have done so much to wreck the continent.

S1E2 • Africa with Ade Adepitan • 2019 • Travel