From Herring and mackerel to sugary doughnuts

WILD ISLES

Sir David Attenborough introduces us to the colourful underwater world of Britain and Ireland’s oceans. This episode will take viewers below the waves to uncover the stories of the animals that live along 22,000 miles of our coastline.

In winter, clear evidence of the sea’s abundance can be seen on a beach in Norfolk. Thousands of grey seals congregate on the shoreline to give birth. The British Isles are home to 40% of the world’s population of grey seals, and the number being born on our shores rises every year.

Beyond the beach, the vibrant shallows contain several important habitats. Rich beds of sea grass act as important carbon storage areas, as well as providing home for seahorses. When night falls, tiny algae produce bright flashes of light when disturbed. This bioluminescence allows nearby cuttlefish to see their moving prey in the darkness.

On the shallow seabed, the spider crab undergoes a mass migration of epic scale. For just a few days every year, hordes of crabs march together as one. Others, like the slow-moving royal flush sea slug have a more mysterious way of migrating. They use the water currents to carry them to new areas, using their bodies like wings to swim up into a water column, hanging in the water like dancing fairies.

Where the water is forced through narrow gaps along the coast, powerful currents are created. The most awe-inspiring is the Corryvreckan Whirlpool on the Scottish west coast – the third largest whirlpool on the planet. Here, rising nutrients and penetrating sunbeams fuel a fresh blossoming of life, and our waters become a rich soup of tiny floating algae. The algae provide food for a group of alien-like animals called zooplankton, which in turn feed our largest fish, the basking shark. This gentle giant can grow to more than the length of a double decker bus, and it filters the water, open-mouthed, feeding on the tiny zooplankton.

Herring and mackerel form huge swirling shoals as they feed on plankton, and this attracts the attention of aerial hunters. Our seas support 68% of the world’s population of northern gannets and in summer, huge numbers of another seabird, the Manx shearwater, rely on our shores. In a touching piece to camera, Sir David Attenborough bids a fledgling chick farewell as it starts its journey many thousands of miles across the oceans to South America. There is no better example of how important the abundant seas of Britain and Ireland are to the survival of wildlife worldwide.

BBC One, 7pm

TEMPTING FORTUNE

Channel 4 has a bumper weekend of movies and repeats, but there are a few ‘new’ shows in the schedule if you look closely including this tempting offering.

Paddy McGuinness presents as 12 strangers give up all luxuries to endure a gruelling 18-day trek across the South African wilderness, to reach a shared £300,000 prize at the finish line. The competitors are given only the most basic equipment and rations to help them on their tortuous journey. But there’s a catch: along the way, they face a series of incredible temptations designed to entice them into spending their collective prize money on their innermost desires.

Who will give in?

It’s the penultimate episode. The prize fund has taken some hits, and much of the group isn’t happy. But will the bad feeling stop any of them from spending more cash on sugary doughnuts and a trip to a cocktail bar?

Channel 4, 9pm

FASHION REIMAGINED

Fashion designer Amy Powney of cult label Mother of Pearl is a rising star in the London fashion scene.

Raised off-the-grid in rural England by activist parents, Amy has always felt uneasy about the devastating environmental impact of her industry. When she wins the coveted Vogue award for the Best Young Designer of the Year, which comes with a big cash prize, Amy decides to use the money to create a sustainable collection from field to finished garment and transform her entire business.

Over the following three years, her own personal revolution becomes the precursor of a much bigger, societal change.

SKY Documentaries, 9pm

BEHIND THE SCREENS

This Easter, the multi-award-winning Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway will give viewers an exclusive look into what goes on behind the scenes in making one of television’s biggest Entertainment shows in a specially commissioned fly-on-the-wall documentary.

Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway: Behind the Screens will be an exclusive TV special that will go deep behind the scenes to reveal what goes into making the happiest ninety minutes of the week.

ITV1/STV, 7pm