Tommy Cecil , who runs a dive centre off the coast of Northern
Ireland, defends the fisherman's foe, the conger eel. Two to three metres in length and averaging 65 kilograms in weight, congers have a reputation as vicious creatures with a nasty bite. In tonight's edition of the programme in which amateur nature enthusiasts film their passionate interest in wildlife, reporter Martha Holmes , who braved blue sharks in Sea Trek, dons her "bubble helmet" and climbs overboard to meet the 20 or so congers that Tommy Cecil has befriended.
" I hadn't seen one before, but I had heard the stories about them - someone I knew had half their face chewed off, so I was a bit apprehensive, she says. "I ended up with four of them wrapped around my legs, while one of them sucked my fingers, which surprised me to say the least!" Cuddling congers, was "a wonderful experience" she insists. "They're incredibly soft to touch."
Also featured is camcorder expert Johnny Kingdom 's footage of red deer in an Exmoor summer, while Chris Packham goes in search of precarious nesting sites in London. With Derek Mooney.
Series producer Paul Appleby
SEETHIS WEEK page 11