Blueprint will tell the story of Northern Ireland's history – all 600 million years of it in fact – as it shows how the Province became the place it is today.

"We're aiming quite high," presenter William Crawley said of the premise behind the three-part series, "but I don't think we've done too badly".

The lavish programme features picturepostcard visuals from some of the
breathtaking scenery that's on our doorstep.

It also uses sophisticated computer graphics to tell the story of how the land mass known as Ireland came to be - and recreates the unusual wildlife which once lived here.

The show provides an insight into the unknown world around us, and making it was no small education for William.

"I thought I knew the landscape of Ireland," he said, "but in every place where we went to film I felt like I'd learnt something new."

And he's enjoying being able to feed his own curiosity on the job.

"I'm fascinated by science, and I watched all those kinds of programmes, so to be involved in one myself is a dream come true."

Amid the special effects and dramatic recreation of life in Northern Ireland, Blueprint reveals a range of fascinating facts.

It tells how the first evidence of human beings in the island of Ireland is at Mount Sandal near Coleraine, with archaeological evidence which dates back 10,000 years.

The programme travels to the spot in Co Kerry where 385-million-year-old footprints - believed to be the earliest such examples uncovered on the planet - show the first steps a marine creature took onto dry land.

The show has been two years in the making, and had a panel of academic experts on hand to ensure the information behind it is factually correct.

But, rather than being a science lecture, Blueprint shows the drama and excitement behind today's static landscape.

The second programme in the series will look at the prehistoric plants and animals which once called Ulster their home.

While the final part of the series will focus on our ancestors, who inhabited Northern Ireland thousands of years ago.

"Even though Northern Ireland is a very small place, the richness of the ecology, the landscape and the variety of life forms squeezed into this country are all extraordinary," William said.

"Having made this programme, it doesn't surprise me that scientists, geologists and archaeologists from all over the world travel to Northern Ireland.

"It represents a key moment in the evolution of the planet and there are so many fascinating aspects of natural history hidden away in our landscape."

But, rather than blinding audiences with science, Blueprint aims to encourage viewers to look at Ulster's familiar terrain through fresh eyes.

"I hope people will fall in love with the world around them, and be able to point out the exciting things which happened here," William said.

"I want viewers to have revelation moments - to learn things that they don't know about their own country."

And they can marvel at the volcanoes, deserts, dinosaurs and mammoths which were once a feature of what is now Northern Ireland.

"It's the most challenging programme any of us who were involved with the programme had made," William said.

"But I'm prouder of this than anything else I've ever done in broadcasting."

¦ Blueprint begins on BBC1 tonight at 9pm.
It continues with Off The Beaten Track on Wednesdays at 10.40pm on
BBC1 and on Radio Ulster on Saturday at 11.30am.
The website which accompanies the series is at: www.bbc.co.uk/blueprint