Stephen Fry has been tapped to narrate “China’s Wild Secrets,” a five-part natural history series commissioned by Chinese streamer Bilibili, with TVF International coproducing the international version and handling global sales.

The series, filmed over three years by an award-winning Chinese crew, takes viewers inside China’s vast and little-explored National Parks to reveal the hidden lives of endangered wildlife species. Each 45-minute UHD episode uncovers previously unseen animal behaviors.

The series explores diverse ecosystems across five episodes: “The Panda’s Kingdom,” featuring a giant panda cub exploring the world through its teeth; “The Island Rainforests” of tropical Hainan, including inside the nest of a king cobra; “The Roof of the World,” showcasing the spectacular mating chases of white-lipped deer; “Siberian Tiger Country,” revealing hunting strategies of tigers; and “The Mythical Mountains,” documenting the dangerous hunting and mating games of banded flower mantises.

TVF International has already secured pre-sales to German-French pubcaster WDR/Arte, pan-regional broadcaster Viasat World in Central and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, and SRMG-owned Arabic-language platform Asharq Discovery for Middle East and North Africa markets, with additional deals in negotiation.

Director Zheng Hairuo previously helmed acclaimed productions including “The Land of Spirits” for Bilibili, which ranks as one of China’s highest-rated wildlife programs, along with feature documentaries “Roof of the World” for National Geographic and “The Polar Regions.”

“Narrating this wonderful series has been such a richly fulfilling and pleasurable experience,” said Fry. “I kept having to stop my reading just to gasp in wonder at the astonishing footage that the production crew managed to secure, much of it recording behavior never before captured on film. From the perky little pikas to the imperious Siberian tiger and so much in between, China contains a simply bewildering variety of wildlife that enacts its fabulous rituals of preying, fleeing, fighting, mating and breeding in dazzlingly diverse habitats.”

“We are absolutely delighted to have someone as iconic as Stephen Fry on board this landmark series,” said Julian Chou-Lambert, international executive producer for the series and TVF’s China lead. “His charm, creativity and humour, combined with his deep passion for wildlife and the natural environment, make him the ideal narrator to reveal China’s ‘Wild Secrets’ to global audiences.”

The series was commissioned by Li Ni, vice chair and COO of Bilibili, with Zheng Hairuo directing and Wang Zhiqiang serving as lead producer.

Fry, who was recently knighted for services to the environment, mental health awareness and charity, serves as vice-president of conservation charity Fauna & Flora International. His recent wildlife credits include presenting and narrating Plimsoll Productions’ “A Year on Planet Earth” for ITVX, which has broadcast in over 130 countries worldwide.

The series will be completed in July and launched at Mipcom in Cannes this October.