Primates

Original version

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

The definitive celebration of the animals you thought you knew.

Series 1

BBC Four

BBC Two

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One London

London

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One Yorkshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC One Wales

Wales

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC Four HD

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

BBC One East Midlands HD

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One South West HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

BBC One Channel Islands HD

BBC One South HD

BBC One West HD

BBC One South East HD

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

BBC One Nightlight

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One Yorkshire HD

BBC One North West HD

BBC One East HD

Chris Packham

Nick Easton

Gavin Boyland

Mike Gunton

Primates: Series 1: Family Matters

Family Matters

BBC One - Primates, Series 1, Family Matters

For primates, family is everything. Complex social lives are key to their success.

Family and friends are everything for primates. This episode features devoted monkey dads, playmate apes and tender troops.

For primates, family matters. They have the most complex social lives of any animal group on the planet. From dusky leaf monkeys who compete to babysit an infant to gibbons who learn dare-devil treetop acrobatics with their playmates, friends and family are at the heart of primate life.

In the Amazon we meet a female spider monkey elder, who leads her troop to a unique food resource: aquatic plants brought within reach on raging floodwaters. She shows them how, using their remarkable tails as a safety rope, they can feast on this unlikely bounty. In Sri Lanka, we meet the bizarre slender loris in the most intimate images ever captured of the species. And in Brazil’s Atlantic forests, we share a day in the life of the most devoted primate dad of all. The diminutive male golden-headed lion tamarin is a guardian, a navigator and, when needs must, a taxi service for his demanding offspring.

With family comes hierarchy, and those at the top are constantly under threat. For a battle-scarred hanuman langur, attack is the best form of defence when his troop are threatened by a band of bachelors. In Morocco, an old male barbary macaque must find new friends to huddle with when freezing temperatures and a sudden snowstorm threaten his survival.

This is our own animal family, but one about which we still have so much to learn. In 2017, news broke of a new species of primate, the Tapanuli orang-utan, and we share some of the very first moving images of mother and infant. Already, they are some of the most threatened great apes on the planet. This is the definitive portrait of our closest relatives, at a crucial time.

Fascinating social behaviour, new species and unforgettable characters. Meet primates at their most social.

Primates: Series 1

BBC One

The definitive celebration of the animals you thought you knew. 

The definitive celebration of the animals you thought you knew. Countless faces, one incredible family. From captivating monkeys, to never-seen-before apes and clever lemurs.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Primates

Series 1

Family Matters

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC One East

About BBC One