Spy In The Ocean is the latest series from the team behind Spy In The Wild, but this time we're a long way from dry land.
A new batch of incredibly realistic "spy creatures", equipped with state-of-the-art cameras, are being deployed into the seas to give us an unprecedented glimpse at life in the water, and the way that marine creatures interact with each other.
Here's everything we know about the series so far...
Spy In The Ocean release date
Spy In The Ocean launches on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday, June 4 at 7pm.
Spy In The Ocean — the spy creatures
The creatures designed for this series include spy octopus, who forms a close friendship with a real coconut octopus in the first episode, spy whale — which is the same size as a newborn whale calf — and spy cuttlefish, which has a flexible screen on its back in order to mimic the distinctive skin markings that cuttlefish use to communicate with each other.
"Male cuttlefish compete quite aggressively for females, and they communicate through the colours of their skin," says producer Huw Williams.
"The males will do this banding pattern throughout their body to say to other males, 'look, this is my female, back off', and then the females are more of a kind of mottled colour. Our spy could switch between this male strobing and the more passive female colouring, and it got different reactions based on what patterns were being played out on the flexible screen."
Other creatures to watch out for across the series include spy pig, spy macaque, spy hermit crab, spy dolphin, spy frigate and spy pufferfish — and long-term fans of the various Spy... series will notice the return of a few old favourites, including the trusty Boulder Cam!
Spy In The Ocean filming locations
Filming for the series was a long and complicated process, and took place in a variety of locations across the globe.
"The sperm whale was shot in Mauritius, and the humpback whales sequence was filmed in Tahiti," says executive producer Philip Dalton.
"The fur seal sequence was in New Zealand, and we shot a lot in Baja Mexico and also Indonesia, because that's probably one of the most diverse regions on the planet. We did multiple species in Galapagos, and we went to Colombia for the sharks. We went to Australia for surfing dolphins and spider crabs, Belize was a good location for the manatees and the hermit crabs. Borneo was a good location for the other fish like the saddleback clownfish, and we did the elephant seals in South Georgia!"
Who is the Spy In The Ocean narrator?
The documentary sees David Tennant return to the series, providing his brilliant insight into the world of lifelike animatronic 'spy creatures'.
Spy In The Ocean episode guide
Episode 1 — Deep Thinkers (June 4): The first episode sees the spies searching for intelligent life, and begins as the largest, most ambitious spy creature ever built gets up close to the owners of the largest brains on the planet: sperm whales. Elsewhere, spy octopus builds a relationship with a coconut octopus, a creature which has a central brain and an additional brain in each of its arms. Spy pufferfish attempts to assist the male Japanese pufferfish in creating an exquisite sand sculpture to attract a mate, and in the Caribbean, spy hermit crab loses its shell to a real hermit crab during a house swap.
Episode 2 — Deep Feelings (June 11): The spy creatures befriend real underwater creatures to get an insight into their innermost feelings. Spy dolphin joins a pod as they surf waves and captures their euphoria, while spy cuttlefish — the most sophisticated spy ever made — communicates with the real thing using an integrated screen on its back that mimics their distinctive skin patterns. Spy whale makes a return in French Polynesia — this time as a humpback whale — and in the coral reefs of the Caribbean, spy manatee gets a manatee kiss...
Episode 3 — Deep Friendships (June 18): The spies explore the extraordinary relationships that exist among ocean creatures. While spider crabs shed their protective shells, becoming a target for stingrays, spy crab offers protection to the vulnerable — and in response, a defensive tower of crabs saves it from destruction! Meanwhile, spy hammerhead joins a gathering of hammerheads as they get their teeth cleaned by obliging fish, and spy iguana encounters a community of damselfish who work together to meticulously maintain their algae lawns and remove trespassers using collective force...
Episode 4 — Deep Trouble (June 25): The final episode explores the challenges that ocean dwellers must overcome to ensure their survival. Spy whale is joined by spy dolphin as thy meet a humpback whale calf in danger of drowning as rival males attempt to woo its mother. On South Georgia, an elephant seal pup is separated from its mother and must find her amid the masses of other seals on the same beach. Spy crab meets the peacock mantis shrimp and comes a cropper as it ends up on the wrong end of the strongest punch in nature, and when spy octopus runs into trouble in the currents of stormy waters, it's rescued by its old friend, the coconut octopus!
Is there a trailer for Spy In The Ocean?
Yes, it is only very brief, but David Tennant can be heard narrating the show as we meet the amazing spy cam animals...
