BBCs Spy in the Ocean: how the incredible animatronic animals evolved, why theyre so effective

Now, the next stage in the spies’ evolution puts the BBC’s secret agents way out to sea.

Four-part series Spy in the Ocean stars the next generation of undercover agents, featuring an animatronic dolphin, octopus, marine iguana, cuttlefish, seal – even a baby sperm whale.

“That’s our top end!” jokes producer Huw Williams during a video call from Bristol, England, as he explains that development costs have unavoidably risen in proportion to creature sophistication.

“Yes, prices have been going up as our spies have evolved,” adds fellow producer Matthew Gordon. “Some of the smaller creatures, like the hermit crab, might cost a few thousand pounds, although the average price is into the tens of thousands. But when you get to the spy whale…”

The Idol: celebrity satire starring Lily-Rose Depp is ironically shallow

Considering the spies are sufficiently lifelike to be accepted by their real counterparts, while also being motorised and concealing cameras about their bodies, the high cost is hardly surprising.

It is the ability to blend in that gives the robotic interlopers access to ocean scenes rarely, if ever, captured by camera. Whales and dolphins are filmed frolicking together; tuna crab armies millions strong emerge from the deep to devour plankton; and the emotional responses of cuttlefish to each other are highlighted by the special-effects light show that runs across their skin.

But this immediacy also provokes a viewer response that might help preserve the planet’s wildlife.

“More and more people are recognising [a connection] and that’s what we love to do, highlight the animals’ emotions, because if a viewer can relate to animals’ behaviour, they start caring for the wildlife,” Gordon says.

“That’s one reason why ‘sperm whale and calf and spy’ is the opening sequence: you get that perspective [where] you’re breaking down that barrier to communication between them and us. When the whale turns and clocks our spy, it’s like an alien world being opened up. That makes you feel empathy and that’s crucial.”

Did the series’ makers have favourite spies?

“The spy manatee is unbelievably cute,” Gordon says. “The way it moves through the water, it feels like you’re seeing the real thing. But my favourite is the cuttlefish for the insights we got.”

On occasion, undercover mammals and birds supplemented the aquatic spy ranks.

Some spies were autonomous, some were radio-controlled by a watching operator, some sent back live pictures. But whatever the branch of the imitation animal kingdom, most required the daily retrieval of a memory card and the downloading of innumerable images.

Perhaps the animals’ creators had the toughest jobs, however.

“The animals were totally bespoke,” Williams says. “No one had ever done this before, so it was a hell of a task for the engineers. Making them is a worldwide endeavour, but we have an engineer in Tokyo who built a lot of them.

“Some of our smaller spy creatures are incredibly intricate and there’s a lot more complexity to filming underwater: you have to waterproof them all, make them a certain size, make them work at depth, under pressure, and get the buoyancy correct.”

It’s an amazing sign of how technology has changed, with the BBC’s menagerie of motorised creatures having evolved from a simple rock.

“It started more than 20 years ago with our boss, John Downer, who wanted to have a spy camera to infiltrate a pride of lions for our first series, Lions – A Spy in the Den,” Gordon says.

“It was one camera inside a boulder-looking device. It had to be accepted by the pride to give really intimate shots and once we saw their power, we knew we had to develop different kinds of remote cameras.”

Arnold: Schwarzenegger’s story chronicled in engaging Netflix series

But with such an expensive team assembled for the new series, wasn’t there a danger of agents going ruinously missing in action?

“No, a couple went wrong, but we got all our spies back,” Williams says. “Never leave a spy behind!”

Spy in the Ocean (BBC Earth, Cable TV channel 721, Now TV 220, from June 20)

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kuaqyxKyrsqSVZLKvwMSrq5qhnqKyr8COmqmtoZOhsnB%2FkWtqcXFgZK%2Bjr9JmqqmxXaSwpq3NZp%2Bor12eu6S%2BxJ2gm6SVYq6vtcyaq6unnp6wbq3NoqSapKNisre7y6%2BcnWWnncZuwMeesKudXai8brHFn5ycrJmrsm6tzZ1koaenYrq2r8dmq6GdqQ%3D%3D