Aussie blokes are not widely celebrated for their maternal streak.

Cricket, maybe. Heroic drinking. And, er, barbecues? But not the sort of gentle, tender, patient character traits that it takes to, say raise a child. Nah: that’s ‘sheilas’ work’.

You need only look at the fate of the country’s ex-PM Julia Gillard (called a toad, a witch, a dyke and eventually toppled by one of her bullies, largely because she’s female) to see that feminism is not exactly thriving Down Under. In fact, the saga was so embarrassing worldwide that even Russell Crowe stepped in to brand it shameful ‘for all men’. And when Russell Crowe is stepping in to bemoan sexism, you know things really are stuffed.

Which is what makes the arrival of 6ft 7in mountain of motherhood Chris Barnes that much sweeter.

In case you missed the show at the beginning of the year, Chris (he’s known as Brolga, which is aboriginal for ‘stork’) was filmed by the BBC in his Alice Springs home doing what he does: rescuing and raising orphaned kangeroos. The one-off BBC show was epic and inspiring: all dust motes dancing in sideways shafts of sunshine and lingering shots of Brolga’s pecs as he bottlefed his kangababies. And, thousands upon thousands of women emailed the BBC desperate to shack up with Brolga – and even proposing marriage.

It’s one of the things Brolga talks about in this follow-up: Kangaroo Dundee (Fridays, 8.30pm, BBC2). Appearing on his local radio station in tonight’s episode, he is bemused at the level of female fandom he’s attracted and unsure the outback life would suit many women “especially those used to high tea and scones over there in Essex”, he says.

Yes, the BBC has returned to film Brolga in the outback, and it knows which side its bread is buttered on: namely appealing to us female viewers. Because, regardless of how much you like marsupials, I’m ashamed to say that it’s almost impossible not to melt slightly at the sight of Brolga. He is magnificient. I do, however, know what the BBC is doing and I slightly resent having this strapping hunk served up to us again so that we can all marvel at the wonder of him. But, hey, that’s their lookout, so fill your boots, ladies!

Brolga’s life is dedicated to finding the pregnant kangaroos which are often knocked down and killed by cars in this remote patch of outback. Inside their pouch, he finds orphaned ‘pinkies’ – helpless little joeys – which he raises as his own, tending to their every marsupial need, passing saliva (via fairly odd kangaroo-feeding footage) and offering a warm pillowcase to use as a makeshift pouch. There they are, joeys Rex and Ruby, nestled up to his bare chest (they are comforted by his heartbeat) and Brolga is on call all night, drip-feeding them warm milk and worrying about how they’ll cope in the big wide world – and theirs is bigger and wider than most, with its racetrack roads and marauding wild dingoes, which adds to the tension. There is a whole community of his kangaroo children, all grown up and hopping about, boxing their rivals (they do actually box each other, which is amazing to see) and generally behaving like your average Aussie bloke.

The sweeping dawn shots of the bush are beautiful, and this is an inspiring tale of one man’s dedication to wildlife.

But I really, really hope the BBC doesn’t ship him over to Essex – it could be a real disappointment all round.