‘Sharks are my film stars’: how the Jacques Cousteau of the North Sea finally unlocked its beauty

Epic plankton blooms make filming in the North Sea notoriously difficult.

But a new documentary gives a rare glimpse of the kaleidoscopic life – seals, sharks, tuna, orcas and shorthorn sculpins – lurking beneath its waves The North Sea, as even its greatest admirers will concede, often glowers an unappetising grey or brown. And we assume that its dull exterior is matched by…