Commission lands as Charlotte Moore affirms commitment to natural history programming
A Real Bug’s Life indie Plimsoll Productions has landed a BBC1 series exploring the wildlife in Britain’s back gardens.
The 5 x 60-minute Secret Garden was announced by BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore during an appearance at Wildscreen Festival earlier today.
In a conversation with natural history filmmaker and Silverback co-chief executive officer Alastair Fothergill, Moore underlined the broadcaster’s commitment to the genre despite a downturn in the market (see below).
Secret Garden aims to build on the success of Silverback’s Wild Isles series which highlighted wildlife stories close to home. It will reveal how Britain’s 30 million gardens have a combined area greater than all of the UK’s national nature reserves and are home to thousands of animal and plant species – some rare and little understood.
Filmed with the latest lowlight, aerial and macro technology, each episode will be set in a different garden – from the wilds of Scotland to the cities. The series will also reveal how people can help their local wildlife to thrive.
The series was ordered by head of specialist factual commissioning Jack Bootle, the executive producers are Grant Mansfield, Martha Holmes and Mark Brownlow and the series producer is Bill Markham.
Bootle said: “Last year, BBC1’s Wild Isles showed there’s a huge audience who are excited by the wildlife of Britain and Ireland. Now, in Secret Garden, we’re looking at animal dramas that are even closer to home – the unbelievable true stories playing out right now in gardens up and down the UK.
“It’s a major three-year production that gives our gardens the bluechip treatment. I can’t wait to see what the team at Plimsoll Productions deliver.”
ITV Studios will distribute Secret Garden.