Deadly Pole to Pole
Adventurer Steve Backshall circumnavigates the planet, tracking down the world’s greatest predators.
Deadly Pole to Pole
From Sunday 18 October at 16:15
bbc-earth
Series previews
About the series
Deadly just got deadlier
For the first time ever in a Deadly series, adventurer Steve Backshall circumnavigates the planet, tracking down the world’s greatest predators.
Starting at the top of the world, Steve ventures into one of the most inhospitable places on earth – the Arctic. From here he explores the frozen north in search of polar bears, walrus, Arctic foxes and seals.
Steve then embarks on a 20,000-kilometre journey that sees him pass through Central and South America. Experiencing new countries and new adventures, Steve discovers animals like the lobster-munching goliath groupers of Cuba, the much feared and respected oceanic white tip shark, and the world’s only carnivorous caterpillars.
Multiple cameras capture every aspect of the action, while groundbreaking time slice technology reveals the world of sharks and birds of prey as never seen before on Deadly. And there’s a final, new Deadly twist.
For the first time ever it’s not just the animals that are deadly – so is the planet. Steve looks at some of the earth’s deadly forces of nature; red hot molten lava, unexplored underwater caves, exploding supervolcanoes and mighty glaciers.
Gallery
Host
Steve Backshall
Steve’s passion for the wild world started from an early age. He was brought up on a smallholding surrounded by rescue animals, and his childhood pals included an asthmatic donkey and grass snakes in the manure heap!
His extensive solo travels landed him a job as a Rough Guides author on Indonesia and Asia. Armed with a video camera and an idea for a television series, Steve then headed off to the jungles of Columbia and sold the pilot to the National Geographic Channel, afterwards becoming their adventurer in residence for five years.
A move to the BBC saw him presenting The Really Wild Show until it ended in 2006. He then joined the BBC Natural History Unit’s expedition team, presenting series like Lost Land of the Jaguar, Lost Land of the Volcano and Expedition Alaska, where he was nearly swallowed by humpback whales.
Steve now presents the BBC series Deadly 60, a children’s show that sees him travelling the world in search of the most deadly predators.
When he isn’t coming face to face with deadly animals, Steve enjoys rock climbing and mountaineering. He’s qualified as an advanced Himalayan Expedition leader from India’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering and has led the first ascents of peaks in Borneo and Venezuela.
Steve is not a man to be messed with – after graduating from the University of Exeter he spent a year living and studying martial arts in Japan, earning himself a black belt in judo and a brown belt in karate.
He is also an experienced BCU 4 Star sea and white water kayaker and has competed in numerous triathlons, adventure races and fell running events.