FRANKLY, we’d listen to Stephen Fry reading a copy of Ireland’s Own out loud, but BBC One is going one better.

Tonight the second of three programmes in the Hidden Kingdoms series sees tree shrews from Borneo and chipmunks from Canada come face to face with their predators.

It also features a mid-air duel between these two little fellas, like something straight out of the matrix.

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The show – which has been billed as ‘dramatised natural history’ employs blue screen techniques to film the survival techniques of tiny animals.

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Producer Simon Bell, who was responsible for ‘casting’ the animals said that story for each animal was written based on scientific fact.

He also described one of his proudest moments after filming the show:

Another was the moment I played an early edit of the film to members of my production team. In one scene a young mouse leaves home for the first time and when I turned around several people were welling up with tears!

Seen scampering across the kitchen floor most people would view the two tiny characters that are the stars of this programme as pests, but it was wonderful to see people emotionally engaging with the stories of these tiny animals.

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Stephen Fry narrates tonight’s episode on BBC One at 8pm.

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