The Secret Life of Trees: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Narrated by Michael Palin, this fascinating series follows the incredible lives of trees - from their beginning as tiny seeds through to magnificent giants and into old age, revealing the secrets of how they communicate, how they drink and even how some of the three trillion trees on our planet are as old as the pyramids.

Even the mightiest oak must start life as a tiny acorn. In the first film, we explore the secret lives of young trees – discovering how they magically transform from minute seeds into mature adults. But with fewer than one in a thousand seeds reaching adulthood, a tree's early years are the most treacherous of its life.

Series details

• Title: The Secret Life of Trees
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Genres: Nature
• Premiere date: 2025-07-25
• Status in TVmaze: Running
• Network listed by TVmaze: 5
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 85997
• TVDB ID: 466159

Cast and credited roles

• Michael Palin — Narrator

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2025-07-25; final listed air date 2025-08-07; episode order: 3.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Secret Life of Trees on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.