Andy Torbet tries to match his skills against some of the most powerful animals in the world. Andy travels to Alaska in his quest to swim like a seal in freezing lake water, under a sheet of ice. His journey begins off the Northumberland coast, diving with grey seals to learn how insulating, fatty blubber gives them unrivalled cold-resistance. Next Andy meets Olympic medallist, Keri-anne Payne, and discovers how cold-water shock affects his body. Then Andy tests out blubber-like insulating technology while being dunked in the Extreme Environments Lab pool at Portsmouth University. Will this chilly challenge see him sink or swim?

Andy is on a mission to match the hovering skills of the hummingbird. Flapping their wings 80 times per second, these are the only birds in the world able to hover in one spot, using this to help them extract nectar from flowers with their long beaks. Andy begins his quest by testing gadgets that can extend the reach of his arms, to become his version of the hummingbird's beak. Part of the test has them strapped to a rally car, cue the wheel spins and donuts. Next Andy heads to San Jose in the USA, for the once in a lifetime chance to try out a hovering, human-carrying drone. Then his final stop is San Diego, to try out a gadget which lifts humans into the air using the propulsion power of water. Can Andy learn to ride it and finally mimic a hummingbird, or will he get into a real flap?