Ray explores the extreme environment of the Sahara Desert and tells the inspirational tale of the wartime RAF pilot who survived for 18 days in the desert by drinking radiator fluid from wrecked tanks and vehicles, only to be captured one mile from British lines.

Ray visits America's Rocky Mountains.

Ray treks deep into the Australian outback and tells a cautionary tale about two Austrian tourists who lost their lives, but tragically might have survived if they had better understood what they were getting into and how best to handle possible emergencies.

Ray takes a slightly different look at survival in this episode - instead of being stranded in the wilderness, he follows 20 RAF recruits as they endure a grueling survival training course.

Ray looks at the incredible story of a US Air Force pilot who managed to keep himself and his son alive in a freezing blizzard for ten days before they were finally rescued.

Marooned on a desert island in the Philippines, where coconuts supply liquid to drink and fish can be cooked in a hot-rock oven, Mears finds that many WWII airmen who bailed out over the jungle islands were not so fortunate - and died through lack of survival training.

Ray explores the ancient forests of Belarus, a last reminder of how the whole of northern Europe once looked. In this vast wilderness of natural woodland he tracks wolves and a herd of native bison as well as raiding ants' nests for nutritious larvae, and explains he is not the first to live off this land.

Ray follows in the footsteps of childhood hero Robert Rogers, who achieved fame for a feat of wilderness survival during the Seven Years War against the French in New England and Canada. Racing against the onset of winter, the pioneer used his knowledge of the forest to keep his men alive as they struggled back to safety from a raid in enemy territory.

Ray visits Alaska and tells extraordinary tales of survival in the frozen wilderness, including that of beachcomber Mike Legler who crashed his plane in a remote lake and battled to stay alive for 10 days before being rescued - long after the official search had been abandoned. Plus, the saga of the Farallon, a ship which ran aground on a desolate shore in the winter of 1910.

Ray demonstrates how to survive on Namibia's Skeleton Coast, where it hardly ever rains and the temperature regularly tops 50 Celsius. He also recalls the shipwreck of the Dunedin Star in 1942, whose survivors were kept alive by airdrops while a land convoy struggled to cover 600 miles of uncharted desert to reach them.

Ray travels into the jungle of north east Thailand to learn survival techniques with a group of Vietnam veterans, including Colonel George Day, Captain Chuck Klusmann and survival instructor Sergeant Tom Lutyens.

Ray learns of the treacherous weather conditions in New Zealand and hears the story of a father and son found freezing to death on an exposed mountain ridge. Plus the perils of a flooded river, and traditional firefighting techniques learned by Maori communities.