By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:06 EST, 23 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:18 EST, 23 January 2013 . An animal lover nicknamed 'Kangaroo Dundee' is set to star in a BBC star documentary that follows his life in the Australian Outback mothering orphaned marsupials. Chris Barnes gave up life in the city to build a shack with no running water or boiler, where he cares for the animals. The 6ft 7" Australian, nicknamed Brolga, cares for the babies 24 hours-a-day, taking them to the supermarket in nearby Alice Springs and even letting them sleep at the end of his bed. Scroll down for video . Documentary: Chris Barnes, who looks after orphaned kangaroos, is set to star in a BBC2 documentary called Kangaroo Dundee . Outback: Mr Barnes, nicknamed Brolga, lives with the animals in a shack in the Australian Outback . Mother: The BBC film follows Brolga - an aboriginal word for stork - taking on three newly-orphaned and vulnerable babies: Amy, Daisy and William . His amazing story has been documented in a two-part BBC2 series Kangaroo Dundee. The film shows Brolga - an aboriginal . word for stork - taking on three newly-orphaned and vulnerable babies: . Amy, Daisy and William. He has to care for the young marsupials as if he is their real mother, feeding them every four hours without fail. Mr Barnes said: 'I live in a shed with no . boiler or running water but the most important thing is my kangaroos . and making sure they're safe. 'To . live out here and be part of the outback is all that is important to . me. Just because I'm a man, some people call me a kangaroo dad. I'm not. I'm a kangaroo mum. 'The first thing a kangaroo mother does is care for her joey. Without their mother, joeys are incredible vulnerable. 'I find, as a carer, that we I have a much better success rate if I give the babies lots of love.' Mr Barnes, who is in his 40s, started his . new life 20 years ago after rescuing three joeys and realising they . couldn't go back to the wild. Maternal instincts: Mr Barnes started looking after the kangaroos 20 years ago after rescuing three joeys and realising they couldn't go back to the wild . Babies: Some of the baby kangaroos that Mr Barnes will look after at his shack. He has to feed the animals every four hours . He built his own sanctuary in the Outback, single-handedly digging a . 2.5 mile long trench and fixing more than 4,000 metres of chain-mesh to . 450 hand-hammered fence posts. He said: 'I'm not a rich man, I never have been so I decided to try and raise a bit of money stacking shelves and washing buses. 'I spent two-and-a-half years working seven days a week to build the sanctuary in 45 degree heat. 'I live in a shed with no boiler or running water but the most important thing is my kangaroos and making sure they're safe. 'To live out here and be part of the outback is all that is important to me.' Friends: He spent two-and-a-half years working seven days a week building the sanctuary . Carer: Mr Barnes describes himself as a 'kangaroo mum', having looked after around 200 of the animals . Brolga's life revolves around the . orphans' needs, waking up in the middle of the night to tend to crying . babies. He also has to patrol the perimeter of the sanctuary, making sure the animals are safe from wild dogs. But . the biggest threat posed to Brolga and his mob is from the weather. He . added: 'A bushfire is the closest thing to hell. If it got into the . sanctuary it would be all over, the kangaroos would be burned alive - it . would be the worst thing I could imagine. 'If . one day that uncontrollable demon of a bushfire comes to the sanctuary I . will take it on to protect my family and I will go down fighting.' Babies: When the animals are young, Mr Barnes keeps them at the foot of his bed, often having to tend to them through the night when they cry . No kicking: He said the biggest threat to his kangaroo sanctuary is the threat of a bushfire, describing them as 'the closest thing to hell' VIDEO: Kangaroo Dundee is surrogate mother to baby kangaroos .
Chris Barnes to feature in two-part BBC2 documentary 'Kangaroo Dundee'
He lives in shack without running water in the Outback that he hand-built .
Programme follows Australian as he takes on three orphaned kangaroos .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:06 EST, 23 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:18 EST, 23 January 2013 . An animal lover nicknamed 'Kangaroo Dundee' is set to star in a BBC star documentary that follows his life in the Australian Outback mothering orphaned marsupials. Chris Barnes gave up life in the city to build a shack with no running water or boiler, where he cares for the animals. The 6ft 7" Australian, nicknamed Brolga, cares for the babies 24 hours-a-day, taking them to the supermarket in nearby Alice Springs and even letting them sleep at the end of his bed. Scroll down for video . Documentary: Chris Barnes, who looks after orphaned kangaroos, is set to star in a BBC2 documentary called Kangaroo Dundee . Outback: Mr Barnes, nicknamed Brolga, lives with the animals in a shack in the Australian Outback . Mother: The BBC film follows Brolga - an aboriginal word for stork - taking on three newly-orphaned and vulnerable babies: Amy, Daisy and William . His amazing story has been documented in a two-part BBC2 series Kangaroo Dundee. The film shows Brolga - an aboriginal . word for stork - taking on three newly-orphaned and vulnerable babies: . Amy, Daisy and William. He has to care for the young marsupials as if he is their real mother, feeding them every four hours without fail. Mr Barnes said: 'I live in a shed with no . boiler or running water but the most important thing is my kangaroos . and making sure they're safe. 'To . live out here and be part of the outback is all that is important to . me. Just because I'm a man, some people call me a kangaroo dad. I'm not. I'm a kangaroo mum. 'The first thing a kangaroo mother does is care for her joey. Without their mother, joeys are incredible vulnerable. 'I find, as a carer, that we I have a much better success rate if I give the babies lots of love.' Mr Barnes, who is in his 40s, started his . new life 20 years ago after rescuing three joeys and realising they . couldn't go back to the wild. Maternal instincts: Mr Barnes started looking after the kangaroos 20 years ago after rescuing three joeys and realising they couldn't go back to the wild . Babies: Some of the baby kangaroos that Mr Barnes will look after at his shack. He has to feed the animals every four hours . He built his own sanctuary in the Outback, single-handedly digging a . 2.5 mile long trench and fixing more than 4,000 metres of chain-mesh to . 450 hand-hammered fence posts. He said: 'I'm not a rich man, I never have been so I decided to try and raise a bit of money stacking shelves and washing buses. 'I spent two-and-a-half years working seven days a week to build the sanctuary in 45 degree heat. 'I live in a shed with no boiler or running water but the most important thing is my kangaroos and making sure they're safe. 'To live out here and be part of the outback is all that is important to me.' Friends: He spent two-and-a-half years working seven days a week building the sanctuary . Carer: Mr Barnes describes himself as a 'kangaroo mum', having looked after around 200 of the animals . Brolga's life revolves around the . orphans' needs, waking up in the middle of the night to tend to crying . babies. He also has to patrol the perimeter of the sanctuary, making sure the animals are safe from wild dogs. But . the biggest threat posed to Brolga and his mob is from the weather. He . added: 'A bushfire is the closest thing to hell. If it got into the . sanctuary it would be all over, the kangaroos would be burned alive - it . would be the worst thing I could imagine. 'If . one day that uncontrollable demon of a bushfire comes to the sanctuary I . will take it on to protect my family and I will go down fighting.' Babies: When the animals are young, Mr Barnes keeps them at the foot of his bed, often having to tend to them through the night when they cry . No kicking: He said the biggest threat to his kangaroo sanctuary is the threat of a bushfire, describing them as 'the closest thing to hell' VIDEO: Kangaroo Dundee is surrogate mother to baby kangaroos .
documentary that follows his life in the shack with no running water or boiler, where he Documentary: Chris Barnes, who looks after orphaned kangaroos, is set to star in a BBC2 documentary called Kangaroo Dundee . Outback: Mr on three newly-orphaned and vulnerable babies: .