The majesty and mystery of the Arctic’s endangered polar bear will be captured up close and personal in a new programme produced by John Downer and co-produced by TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc.) for BBC, Animal Planet and Discovery. Polar Bear – Spy on the Ice, tracks the remarkable journey of a mother and her cubs on their epic seasonal trek across the Arctic using a new generation of specially designed spycams. From the time they emerge from their den on a remote Norwegian island, the family is followed by ‘blizzardcam’, ‘snowcam’ and ‘icebergcam’, the latest in extreme weather, high-definition, stabilising cameras, capturing the bears as they have never been seen before. The captivating programme is produced by Philip Dalton (Bears – Spy in the Woods, Superswarms) and executive produced by John Downer (Pride, Tiger – Spy in the Jungle, Bears – Spy in the Woods, Trek – Spy on the Wildebeest), and is one of BBC’s key natural history titles at this year’s MIPCOM. Said John Downer, managing director of John Downer Productions, “It’s immensely exciting – working with this new technology is allowing us to capture these polar bears in a way we could only have dreamed of previously.” Ikuo Toda, executive producer of TBS said, “We are very pleased to be part of this wonderful project and look forward to its broadcast.” Polar Bear – Spy on the Ice is due to premiere on BBC1 in 2011.