Barnaby Taylor

Archival footage, hidden documents, and personal records reveal one of the greatest environmental crimes of the 20th century: the secret and illegal slaughter of hundreds of thousands of whales by the Soviet Union and Japan during the Cold War.

This landmark series explores a vast ocean that stretches nearly 10,000 miles, from Arctic to Antarctic and from sun-drenched tropical reefs to crushing abyssal depths. Over three programmes it reveals the amazing, surprising and resilient inhabitants of the Atlantic, both animals and people, as they pit themselves against the world’s wildest ocean.

A journey that follows the Ganges from its source deep within the Himalayas through to the fertile Bengal delta, exploring the natural and spiritual worlds of this sacred river.

Two young North Korean gymnasts prepare for an unprecedented competition in this documentary that offers a rare look into the communist society and the daily lives of North Korean families. For more than eight months, film crews follow 13-year-old Pak Hyon Sun and 11-year-old Kim Song Yun and their families as the girls train for the Mass Games, a spectacular nationalist celebration.

Traveling from the deserts of Namibia to the forests of the Amazon, this documentary provides an up-close view of the snake world in all it scaly glory. Cameras mounted on serpents' backs allow viewers a snake's-eye view of their habits and habitats. The resulting footage reveals how they mate, give birth, hunt, feed and make their way through the world. Cobras, thread snakes and desert horned vipers and are just a few of the creatures featured.