In the end, in the dark, it all came down to three things — experience, good judgment in the face of uncertainty, and penguin meat. It was 1903, their second winter on the White Continent.

If, like me, your childhood was enlivened by the Ladybird history books of L du Garde Peach, James May's new series The Great Explorers (Channel 5, Thurs, 9pm) might come as a bit of a disappointment.