Spy creatures go undercover into the animal world!

In one of the most innovative natural history series ever presented, Spy in the Wild deployed over 30 ultra-realistic animatronic Spy Creatures to go undercover into the animal world. This 5 x 60’ BBC One series captures unique animal behaviour closer than ever before.

Using special “spy cameras” invented by film maker John Downer’s team at John Downer Productions, the viewer is plunged into the very heart of the extraordinary lives of over thirty fascinating animals across the world, including langurs, orangutans, meerkats and crocodiles, revealing behaviour that is remarkably like our own. 

Explore more about these robotic look-alikes that inspired the Disney Pixar film 'Hoppers', as they make all the right moves to not only be accepted by animals but also interact with them, providing revelatory insights into their world.

Then in 2020 Spy in the Wild returned for one of the most innovative natural history series ever presented. This time it deployed over 50 ultra-realistic animatronic Spy Creatures to go undercover across every region of the world. The 4 x 60 BBC One series captured some of the most extraordinary animal behaviour ever seen, filmed from inside the animal world.

Using special state-of-the-art 4k resolution “Spy Creatures” the viewer is plunged into the very heart of the extraordinary lives of over 40 remarkable animals. They reveal previously unseen behaviour as animals gather, feed, fight and breed in among some of the greatest wildlife gatherings ever witnessed. This team of hyper-real Spy Creatures not only look like the animals they film, they behave like them too. Accepted by the families, these robotic look-alikes can not only film from an intimate perspective they also interact with the animals in order to gain revelatory insights into their worlds.

Each episode explores a different climatic region of the world and is packed with its own menagerie of animatronic Spy Creatures and extraordinary animal subjects. They discover how the animals have adapted their behaviour to not only cope, but often flourish, wherever they live. At times, their subjects occur in incredible numbers creating astonishing gatherings, found nowhere else on earth. From the hot and humid Tropics, to the freezing Poles, the seasonal North and the world’s most spectacular Islands, Spy in the Wild 2 transports the audience deeper into the animal world than ever thought possible.

More recently the Spy Creatures then undertook their most epic and exciting challenge to date, taking us deep into the world of oceans. They explored the most magical and dynamic environments on earth, revealing the surprising and hidden lives of some of the most bizarre and extraordinary creatures on the planet.

From beautiful coral reefs and golden beaches to rocky coasts, icy waters and open ocean, the Spies took us on a truly global adventure to meet the animals who call these extraordinary places home.

Each episode hosts a new generation of hyperreal Spies that explores a different aspect of the oceans’ animals – from intelligence to relationships, extraordinary abilities and bad behaviour. They venture into the unexpected emotional realm of some of the oceans most peculiar inhabitants, something rarely explored, bringing their stories to life in a completely fresh and unique way.

As the Spies push the boundaries of what they can do there were near-misses, unexpected encounters and the occasional casualty in their ocean breaking quest. Spy in the Ocean is an epic adventure full of excitement, humour, variety, absolute beauty, mysteries, magic and wonder…expect the unexpected!