Copyright: BBC

Last summer, Coast reawakened the nation's love affair with the coastline; this next series goes back to the shore to explore new secrets and stories that add to the unique picture that is being created of the British Isles coastline.

Steve Evanson, Coast series producer, says "The last series only scratched the surface of the many amazing stories and extraordinary characters that our coastline has. We were constantly being asked by viewers to return to tell the untold stories of coastal areas that we’d already been to, and to go and visit the bits that we had missed, so that’s what we’re doing."

Coast celebrates the unique character of the British Isles, featuring stories about the people, wildlife and events that make up our coastal communities. The team of experts all return for the new series.

After Nicholas Crane’s circumnavigation of the United Kingdom in the last series, this year Neil Oliver takes over as the main presenter. In each programme, Neil takes viewers on a journey along a stretch of the British Isles coastline, together with Nick, Alice Roberts, Miranda Krestovnikoff, and Mark Horton.

Through a mixture of expert comment, compelling storytelling and computer-generated images, Coast reveals a wealth of fascinating stories illustrating life as it is today, and as it was in the past.

There is also a book to accompany the series. Coast: Where the UK and Ireland Meet the Sea is the companion volume to Christopher Somerville's hugely successful original book Coast, which accompanied the first series.

First broadcast: Friday 22 Jul 2005 on BBC TWO