Ultimate Survival WWII – National Geographic

(Image credit: National Geographic/Icon Films)

Hazen Audel retraces some of the gruelling journeys that had to be made during the Second World War in National Geographic’s Ultimate Survival WWII

Adventurer and survival expert Hazen Audel (pictured above) follows in the footsteps of incredibly brave World War Two soldiers who found themselves in the most extreme survival situations in Ultimate Survival WWII on National Geographic.

First up (9pm, see our TV Guide for full listings), Hazen mirrors the journey of 10 prisoners of war who escaped from a Japanese labour camp in Thailand, where they were being forced to build the infamous Thai-Burma Railway.

The conditions, even for fit and healthy Hazen, are horrendous, but they also had to negotiate the impenetrable jungle, the snakes, spiders, scorpions, and bugs, plus huge mountain ranges, fast-flowing rivers and the constant battle to find enough food and water.

In spite of all that, on they pressed, in a truly amazing feat of resilience and courage.

TV Times rating: ***

Joanne Lowles has been writing about TV since 2002. After graduating from Cardiff University with a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism, she worked for All About Soap magazine covering the ups and downs of life on the cobbles, the square and the Dales.

Next came nearly 10 years at TV Times magazine as a writer and then deputy features editor. Here she spent many happy days interviewing the biggest names in entertainment and visiting the sets of some of our most popular shows including Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and Strictly Come Dancing.

With a love of nature and wildlife she’s also interviewed the leading experts in this area including David Attenborough, Chris Packham and Steve Backshall. She’s also travelled the world visiting Mongolia, Canada and South Africa to see how the best in the business make the most brilliant natural history documentaries.

Freelance since 2013, she is now is a digital writer and editor for What to Watch, previews the best on the box for TV Times mag each week and loves being constantly surprised, entertained and informed by the amazing TV that she is lucky enough to watch.