Watch Episode Three Of Penguins - Spy In The Huddle on BBC One Tonight

The final episode of Penguins - Spy In The Huddle narrated by David Tennant will be shown on BBC One this evening. Episode 3, Growing Up, follows the young chicks of three species of penguin as they grow towards adulthood and begin to leave the protection of their parents. Programme makers John Downer Productions used hidden cameras to capture close up footage of Humboldt, Rockhopper and Emperor penguins to give some never-before-seen insights into the lives of the birds.


Alison Graham of the Radio Times says:

Last week we watched baby penguins, little more than tumbling bundles of fur, take their first unsteady steps towards independent lives. Here we see them growing ever more confident as they begin to totter away from their parents. There is much to learn and the birds are becoming bolder. But the dangers are omnipresent, such as the hungry vampire bats that target the Humboldts. Still, life has to be tackled head-on as we watch emperor chicks skate and rockhopper chicks perfect their crucial jumping skills.

Penguin life proper starts at sea, and the chicks head out to the water. It will be many years before they return to breed. 


Programme summary

The emperor penguins are swamped by hungry imposters as they try to feed their chicks, the humboldts are left in their burrows as the adults head for a beach swarming with cormorants, and the rockhopper youngsters practise their jumping skills. Eventually, having grown up and become independent, all the penguins leave for the sea, tackling the same hazards as their parents before them. David Tennant narrates. Last in the series.


Watch Penguins - Spy In The Huddle  from 9pm on BBC One tonight

Visit the John Downer Productions website for more information