South Georgia - Frozen Planet Stamp Issue

This spectacular South Georgia stamp issue, Frozen Planet, released ahead of the BBC's Frozen Planet TV series, is due for release on 15th September 2011.

The theme of these stamps, like the series they represent, is the extreme seasonality that occurs in the Polar Regions.

Produced by the BBC's Natural History Unit, Frozen Planet is the most ambitious series on the Polar Regions ever undertaken.

For four years, camera teams braved temperatures down to -50 degrees C, 200 mile per hour katabatic winds, midnight sun and long dark polar nights to capture the essence of these remote and highly seasonal ends of the earth.

More than 2300 filming days were spent in the field, by small crews working in the most remote corners of Antarctica and across the Arctic. The aim was to take the viewer on a journey through the Polar Regions - north and south - some of the greatest, least explored wildernesses on the planet.

In the south, one of the key locations was the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia. The team undertook 4 major filming trips to document the lives of some remarkable animals whose dramas play out on this remote and spectacular island.

Six different camera teams were deployed to South Georgia over a period of around 3 months, covering stories as varied as the whaling history to Shackleton’s epic walk. By far the most effort, however, was spent documenting the lives of the animals, which visit the island during the different seasons.

The stamps feature:

60p - Southern Elephant Seals
70p - Wandering Albatross
95p - Blonde Fur Seal Pup
£1.15p - King Penguin

£2.50p - souvenir sheet showing a Wandering Albatross in flight against the South Georgia backdrop

Frozen Planet broadcasts on BBC One in autumn 2011. The series is presented by Sir David Attenborough, who himself first visited South Georgia in 1982 while filming for the television series, Living Planet.