On a 40,000-kilometre journey, Simon Reeve reveals the equator as a unique region of our planet; home to both the world's greatest concentration of human poverty and natural biodiversity.

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant send their idiotic friend Karl Pilkington on a journey around the world to see the Seven Wonders. Stephen wants the experience to broaden his mind, while Ricky wants him to hate every minute of it for his own amusement.

Following the 30 degree East Line of Longitude, Michael Palin and his team – using aircraft only as a last resort – endure extremes of heat and cold as they crossed 17 countries on trains, trucks, ships, rafts, ski-doos, buses, barges, bicycles and balloons.

Pioneering Chinese companies are making inroads into every corner of the globe, from Wall Street to Rio de Janeiro and across Africa. Journalist Justin Rowlatt joins these transplanted Chinese communities to get a unique vantage point on their ambitions.