Twofour have teamed up with international explorer Adrian Hayes, Abu Dhabi Media and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage to create a documentary film following in the footsteps of legendary British explorer Wilfred Thesiger, who twice crossed the famously scorching Empty Quarter in the Arabian Peninsula.

In the first broadcast commission for Twofour Arabia, the new Abu Dhabi base of the Twofour Group, adventurer Adrian Hayes will embark on a gruelling 1500 kilometre (almost 1000 miles) march across one of the most inhospitable and barren places on earth.

Filmed by award-winning Director, Alexis Girardet, the documentary will celebrate 100 years since the birth of the British explorer and 40 years since the birth of the United Arab Emirates, bringing a new understanding of the region to an international audience.

Leaving from the monsoon-drenched tropical forests of Salalah, Oman, in late October, he will cross the biggest body of sand on earth. Known as Rub’ al Khali, or The Empty Quarter, this is a desert within a desert where even the Bedu seldom dare to tread.

Hayes will be attempting an authentic recreation of Thesiger’s trek, walking in traditional Arabic clothes, travelling part of the way in bare feet, and following a diet of dates, rice, flour and water. In Thesiger’s time there were no maps of this uncharted region, so Hayes will navigate by stars, sun, local knowledge and time travelled.

As Hayes travels he will work his way through Thesiger’s diaries logs, and many touching letters home. He will discover a man who would have hated the bustling commerce of an Arabia transformed by the oil under her golden sands.

Just as Thesiger was on the original expedition, Adrian will be joined by two bedu’s with great local knowledge. Saeed Rashed Al Mesafry and Ghafan Mohammed Al Jabry will be a key part of the expedition team.

With dramatic adventure, genuine hardship, fascinating science and an unforgettable historical legacy, this audacious re-enactment sees Adrian Hayes take on the hottest walk on earth.

Jonney Steven, General Manager of Twofour Arabia said, “We’re really excited to be working with Adrian Hayes on this project. It’s great to have a modern day adventurer who is so passionate about explorers of a bygone age.

“We’re also very privileged to be a part of the UAE’s 40th birthday celebrations, helping viewers to understand this modern, dynamic country’s roots and heritage.”

Explorer and adventurer, Adrian Hayes said: “This expedition has been a thought of mine for many years.

“The journey will take place against some of the most beautiful yet harshest desert environments on the planet. Honouring the culture and heritage of the Bedouin, UAE and Oman, together with the extraordinary travels of Thesiger and his companions, we aim to travel and survive by means as close to the methods used by the 1940s expedition team.”

Director Alexis Girardet has worked on some of Twofour’s top extreme adventure series, following Prince Harry in Harry’s Arctic Heroes for BBC1 and James Cracknell and Ben Fogle’s adventures in On Thin Ice and Through Hell and High Water (BBC).