Martin Clunes Islands of America - What channel is it on, when is it on and what's it about?

We take a close look at actor Martin Clunes' new documentary for ITV.
Martin Clunes Islands of AmericaMartin Clunes Islands of America
Martin Clunes Islands of America

When is it on? Martin Clunes Islands of America is Tuesday, February 5 on ITV at 9pm

What is It? Martin Clunes embarks on an epic journey around the coast of America to discover what life is like on the surrounding islands.Why? Following the successful series on the Islands of Britain and Islands of Australia, Martin has developed a fascination for the unique quality and appeal of island life, often in the most remote places on the planet.

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What’s Happening this time? This time, he sets off on a 10,000 mile journey, from the west to the east, to explore the vast swathe of islands which are scattered beyond America’s shores. He travels from Hawaii’s islands of fire and Alaska’s islands of snow and ice, to the playgrounds of presidents off the New England coast.

Martin says: “I wanted to look beyond corporate America and dis-cover the other United States, out past the mainland margins, and what life is like on these unique and diverse islands. On this island journey, I meet men and women who’ve lived through many of nature’s worst extremes. And it seems one thing they all share is a profound wisdom about these challenges.”

Where does he go in the first episode? The first port of call on Martin’s journey is the lush, tropical Hawaii. His exploration looks beyond Hawaii’s image as a tourist paradise, crammed with sun-kissed beaches and world class surfing, and into the havoc wreaked by advancing lava fields and smoking craters.

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What’s happening in the picture? Martin partakes in a traditional greeting with Anakala Pilipo Solatorio in the lush Halawa Valley, Molokai.

Where’s that? The island of Molokai is just a short hop from the bustle of the popular Waikiki Beach, yet it’s a world apart. At its eastern end is Halawa Valley, an isolated spot still sacred to traditional Hawaiians, whose Polynesian ancestors settled here 1,000 years ago. This is one of the oldest continually inhabited human settlements in Hawaii.

Does he go anywhere else in episode one? Leaving Hawaii, Martin flies 2,500 miles north to the islands of Alaska, where the contrast couldn’t have been more extreme. On the biggest of Alaska’s islands, Kodiak, Martin goes in search of the legendary Kodiak bear: the world’s biggest brown bear. Isolated since the last Ice Age they’ve grown bigger than the Grizzly.