Britain's Treasure Island

Britain has its own penguin colonies. A sweltering tropical paradise. Towns destroyed by volcanic flows. Pristine coral reefs..

Over three quarters of our land lies scattered around the globe – the British Overseas Territories – stretching from the Antarctic to the tropics and across all Seven Seas. And only one person in history has visited all fourteen territories – presenting our series is intrepid explorer and naturalist Stewart McPherson.

By the time Stewart has completed the final shoot early in 2014, he’ll be the first person in history to have visited all the Territories, giving him a unique perspective in telling the little-known stories of these unique places. But Britain’s Secret Treasure Islands is more than just a natural history spectacle. Britain’s history comes alive as we follow in the footsteps of Captain Bligh and the mutineers on HMS Bounty, Shackleton and Darwin, as well as Christopher Columbus and Napoleon Bonaparte.

The series will be an exciting mix of new natural history, intriguing human history, travel and adventure. The project has received unprecedented co-operation from the self-governing territories as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This includes the first ever permission to film on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, a British and American military base, which has protected a vast and diverse coral reef, unsurpassed anywhere else on Earth.