Spy In The Wild (BBC1, 8pm)

THIS innovative new natural history series, deploys more than 30 ultra-realistic animatronic Spy Creatures to go undercover in the animal world.

The one-hour documentary series aims to capture unique animal behaviour on film, closer than ever before.

Using special "spy cameras" invented by film-maker John Downer’s team at John Downer Productions, the viewer can now see a handful of fascinating animals displaying revealing behaviour that is remarkably like our own. The robotic lookalikes make all the right moves to not only be accepted by animals, but also to interact with them, providing revelatory insights into their world.

Each episode is packed with a menagerie of animatronic Spy Creatures exploring the different aspects of animal behaviour: Love, this week's programme concentrating on Intelligence, Friendships and Mischief.

Downer says: "The idea was a natural progression from the intimate viewpoints and storytelling of the previous series. The first 'Spy film' went out in 2000: Lions - Spy In The Den. It featured a remote roving rock known as a Bouldercam that could safely carry a camera into the pride to capture never-seen-before footage.

"The concept of using animatronic cameras, now known as Spy Creatures, was developed further on Dolphins – Spy In The Pod, where 13 different Spy Creatures were deployed. Wherever the spy cameras previously went they captured extraordinary intimate and never-seen-before moments of animal behaviour. Few animals had ever been studied in that kind of detail before and the similarities between the challenges the animals faced, the way they dealt with them and many aspects of our own lives was impossible to ignore."

The unique style of the Spy films has developed over the years and the same core team has worked on most of the productions. It pioneered the idea of getting its cameras close to its subjects, allowing the conventional long lens to take a lesser role.

Its focus has always been telling the real stories of natural wildlife drama, and over the various productions it has captured countless moments of one-off extraordinary moments of behaviour. Although its aim has always been to capture unique and thought-provoking footage it has never been afraid to incorporate and relish moments of humour. It never laughs at its subjects - the humour usually comes from self-recognition within the audience.

Composer Will Gregory, from Goldfrapp, is an important element in the style of the films and he has won several awards and been nominated for a Bafta for his work on previous Spy films. Narrator David Tennant has become a vital part of the overall experience – a natural storyteller he has won many fans for his sensitive and nuanced delivery.

The Restoration Man (C4, 8pm)

MATT Whittle and his father-in-law-to-be Mike Readfearn have pooled their resources to purchase an enormous water filtration plant in North Yorkshire. Their plan is to transform it into a pair of semi-detached houses for them and their relatives to live in, joined by a communal internal garden atrium. However, the pressure and stress involved in making the project a success begin to take their toll, and all the parties involved struggle to remain on friendly terms as the size of the task makes the schedule drag. Thankfully, Wearsider George Clarke is on hand with some much-needed words of encouragement that may put them back on track.

Death in Paradise (BBC1, 9pm)

POOR Humphrey. He manages to grab a few special days away from his duties so that he can spend a romantic weekend on a remote island with Martha, but it seems that murder follows him around like a bad smell. The entire break is ruined when a fellow hotel guest is found stabbed to death in his room during what appears to have been an attempted robbery. The finger of suspicion immediately points at his friends – but as Humphrey can provide an alibi for all of them, he'll have to find a different solution. Meanwhile, back at base, JP asks Dwayne for advice when his marriage reaches troubled waters.

Viv Hardwick