This fascinating series reveals the virtually unknown occupation of ice road trucking, one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. Tonight, Todd White faces a ban after being caught speeding. An overturned diesel tanker threatens an environmental disaster; and TJ Tilcox gets his hands on a brand-new vehicle.

The small town of Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territory is home to the high-risk industry of ice trucking. Every winter, the region’s many lakes freeze over and are converted into ice highways, serving Canada’s remote diamond mines. Skilled drivers are called upon to deliver vital supplies to these far-flung outposts. If they can endure the harsh conditions and the ever-present danger of ice cracking under their wheels, these foolhardy truckers can make a year’s salary in just two months.

In tonight’s episode, the halfway point of the season sees an increase in accidents and breakdowns. A common problem on the ice roads is that of speeding, as drivers rush to complete their journeys in order to pick up their next load. Limits are strictly enforced because travelling too fast can damage the roads. Speeding intensifies the underwater wave that follows each truck beneath the ice. If this wave gathers pace and overtakes the vehicle, it can break through the ice. Trucker Hugh ‘The Polar Bear’ Rowland, with 20 years’ experience, knows only too well the perils of speeding. “I never speed on the ice, never,” he says. “It’s dangerous and everybody knows that.”

Unfortunately, it would seem some of Hugh’s own team need reminding of this rule. His employee, Todd White, lands himself in trouble when he is caught going 23mph above the 40mph limit. Facing a suspension for the whole season, he writes a letter of appeal and anxiously awaits the outcome. Todd has only just returned to the ice roads after a seven-year absence because he needs the cash to fix his own broken-down rig back home. “I came here with a goal and a simple mistake could cost me that,” he says. In the event, the verdict goes against Todd, and the part-time singer must pack up his gear and fly home.

Hugh’s other drivers are faring little better. Drew Sherwood is forced to abandon his load just outside Yellowknife when the power fails. His rig returns to the garage for repairs, and Hugh suspects Drew’s rough braking may be to blame. Drew, however, insists he is the victim of bad luck. “None of this has been my fault and I’m not gonna wear it any more,” he grumbles.

Also off the road is Hugh’s other driver, Rick Yemm. The garage is too busy to even look at his rig, so Rick attempts to fix it himself. When his efforts come to nothing, he joins Todd and Drew in the one place left open to them – the pub. Elsewhere, emergency crews spring into action when a diesel tanker flips over and threatens to leak its load into the nearby Yellowknife River, a source of drinking water and home to wildlife. The road is closed and a string of idling trucks are forced to wait until daylight for the salvage operation to begin. First, snow banks and tarpaulins are put in place to catch any leakage, before the fuel is pumped out of the tanker into another vehicle, and the truck is winched upright. The operation has been a success – no fuel is lost and the driver is unscathed.

Also this week, TJ Tilcox gets the chance to swap his battered old truck for a new model complete with microwave, TV and – best of all – heating. “TJ, he just won the lottery,” Rick Yemm says ruefully. In stinging temperatures of –41 degrees Celsius, which freeze the fluid in his eyes, TJ loads up his cargo of explosives and sets off, before noticing that the brakes are soft. He pours liquid into the brake lines to unfreeze them, only for them to fail as he is leaving town. The rig slides into a pickup truck and TJ is left facing an investigation. If he is found to have ignored a problem with the brakes, he could be joining Todd on the plane home...

Wednesday 20 February / 8:00pm on five