Channel 5

When Greenpeace took on Putin - 'It was like being in a James Bond film'

We have grown used to climate change activists sitting down in the road to stop the traffic and make their point. Brave and necessary or foolhardy and a pain in the passenger seat? A new six-part documentary takes the viewer back to an earlier time in environmental protests and a different approach to getting the public’s attention. The question remains the same, though. Only this time there was an added factor to consider, one that goes by the name of Vladimir Putin. On Thin Ice – Putin v Greenpeace (BBC2, Sunday-Tuesday, 9pm/9.30pm) tells the story of the charity’s 2013 attempt to turn back the tide on oil and gas extraction in the Arctic Ocean. You may recall what happened. Even if you do, prepare to have the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention all over again.