PICK OF THE DAY: Dangerous Roads – BBC Knowledge at 8pm (WAT)

Humans have built roads in some of the most unlikely, remote and dangerous places on the planet. Six celebrities find out what it is like to drive on them.

Friends and comedians Ed Byrne and Andy Parsons brave temperatures as low as -50°C  to drive across Siberia’s infamous Road of Bones. Along the way, they encounter terrifying roads of ice and deserted gulags.

They soon learn the rules of the road in this remote region – never turn the car engine off and refuel on the go. But the further they get along the road, the more they realise they are truly out of their depth.

In Laos and Vietnam Sue Perkins and Liza Tarbuck drive the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail; a network of dangerous roads carved through mountains and jungles. Littered with unexploded bombs from the Vietnam war, this is one of the most perilous roads in the world.

In the final episode, comedians Hugh Dennis and David Baddiel face 2000 km of Ethiopia’s death-defying, bone-shaking roads as they head for Aksum, the city that’s said to be the home of the Ark of the Covenant. Along the way they contend with drugged-up truck drivers, a shortage of fuel in the middle of the night, and a calamitous breakdown.

It seems like they’ll need a miracle to reach the end of the road in this deeply religious country.

As the six celebrities are immersed in the countries’ way of life, Dangerous Roads offers a unique perspective on the countries, their roads, and the people that travel on them.

Tune in for this show Thursday 9 May at 8pm WAT on BBC Knowledge.