Joanna Lumley in the land of the Northern Lights

One of the UK's best-loved personalities and comedy icons, Joanna Lumley pursues a life-long dream to track down the elusive and beautiful Northern Lights.

Lumley grew up in tropical Malaysia, and as a little girl had never seen snow or felt cold. Inspired by the fairy tales and picture books of the North she always longed to make this journey. But she could never have guessed what a challenging, epic, diverse and absorbing arctic adventure lay ahead of her.

Her journey takes her North across the Arctic Circle, up through Norway and finally to Svalbard, the most northerly permanently inhabited place on Earth, where she has to cope with temperatures approaching minus 30° C. Travelling on train, boat, husky-sled and snowmobile, she is pulled ever northwards by what she calls 'the strongest point of the compass'.

She explores the romantic fjords of Lofoten and learns to ride a snowmobile, speeding across endless expanses of Lapland tundra with a Sami herdsman in search of his reindeer. On nearing the Arctic Ocean, she spends the night in a hotel made entirely of ice. The fascinating people she meets on her journey north fire Joanna's passion to see the Northern Lights still further, telling her about the unique spectacle and power of this true wonder of the world.

Finally, in a breathtaking climax to the film, Joanna gets to see with her own eyes the spectacular beauty of the Northern Lights.