BBC Natural History Unit
Encyclopedia
The BBC Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of the BBC
dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history
or wildlife
theme, especially nature documentaries
. Each year it produces around 100 hours of television and 50 hours of radio, making it the largest wildlife documentary production house in the world.
The NHU has been based in Broadcasting House Bristol since its formation in 1957, and is currently headed by Andrew Jackson. It currently exists as a specialist department of BBC Factual Production, which is itself part of the BBC's Vision Studios. The Unit's commercial arm, Wildvision, makes programmes for international broadcasters.
date back to the 1940s, when Desmond Hawkins
, a young producer, joined the West Region staff. His personal interest in the subject led to a radio series called The Naturalist, which began on the Home Service
in 1946 and proved an immediate success, later augmented by 'Out of Doors and Birds in Britain.
By the early 1950s, Hawkins had been promoted to Head of Programmes, West Region and was keen to translate his success to the developing medium of television
. At the time, radio
still commanded much higher audiences than the fledgling television service but Hawkins was not alone in recognising the potential for natural history programmes in the audiovisual form. His vision was shared by Frank Gillard
, the regional Head, and the two men would become the driving force behind the establishment of the Natural History Unit (NHU) in Bristol.
Until such formalities were completed, natural history programmes were the responsibility of the Features office of the West Region. One of the first programmes was an outside broadcast from Slimbridge
in 1953, the first TV collaboration between the BBC and Peter Scott
. Occasional programmes continued the following year, but it wasn’t until 1955 that a regular studio-based series presented by Scott began: it was called Look.
One of the early problems for the Unit was the difficulty in sourcing film stock
. At the time, the only wildlife cameramen were amateurs and the footage wasn’t always good enough for broadcast. The embryo unit's first film camera, a clockwork Bolex
, was bought from a Bristol camera shop with petty cash by Desmond's assistant, Tony Soper
. Some of Scott’s own expedition films were used for early episodes of Look. One particularly outstanding film from 1955, shot by Heinz Sielmann
, showed woodpecker
s inside a nest hole.
approved the official formation of a Natural History Unit. Gillard was on the search for a senior producer to head the new Unit, and asked David Attenborough
to take on the role. Attenborough had good credentials (he was a trained zoologist) but declined, having recently settled in London with his young family. Instead, he was placed in charge of the newly-formed Travel and Exploration Unit, striking a deal which would allow him to continue to film his popular Zoo Quest
(1954–1963) series alongside natural history output from the fledgling Bristol unit. The Travel and Exploration Unit in London also introduced viewers to more exotic wildlife, and made household names of the first natural history presenters. Armand
and Michaela Denis
filmed East Africa
n wildlife for their On Safari programmes, whilst another pioneering husband-and-wife team, Hans
and Lottie Hass, created some of the first underwater films.
Nicholas Crocker, a senior producer with West Region, became the Unit’s first Head in September 1957. Founder members included Tony Soper
(producer) and Christopher Parsons
(assistant film editor), both of whom would go on to play a major part in the Unit’s development.
Although much of the Unit's early output concentrated on British and European wildlife, one of its first productions to be broadcast was Faraway Look featuring Peter Scott in Australia
. The early programmes were limited by the available technology, but it was also a time of great experimentation in style and content, bringing the Unit notable success. Animal Magic (1962–1983), presented by Johnny Morris
and Tony Soper, was a successful format for young audiences which ran for over 20 years. The Unit also collaborated with Gerald Durrell
on several films of his animal-collecting expeditions, beginning with the studio-based series 'To Bafut for Beef' (April 1958), using African footage shot by Durrell.
Around the same time, the technology to broadcast and receive colour television was being developed, and the BBC made funds available to begin filming in colour to allow filmmakers to experiment with the latest equipment in preparation for the switchover. The Major (1963), produced by Parsons and filmed largely by New Forest
cameraman Eric Ashby, told the story of an ancient English oak and was the Unit’s first colour production. This was one of six films made for the BBC by part-time film-makers Ron Peggs and Leslie Jackman. Leslie filmed the insect sequences at his home in Paignton using specimens collected by John Burton.
Colour transmission finally arrived in 1967 on BBC Two
under the stewardship of David Attenborough, who had retired from programme-making to move into BBC administration. The first natural history film to be shown in colour was Ron Eastman’s Private Life of a Kingfisher (1967), written and produced by Jeffery Boswall
.
Attenborough wanted to make a strong statement on BBC Two of the boundless possibilities that colour television offered, and recognised that natural history was the obvious subject matter to choose. He commissioned a series called The World About Us (1969–1982) that would broadcast in a 50-minute Sunday evening slot. Because of the challenge of producing enough colour material, the commission was shared between the NHU and London’s Travel and Exploration Unit. The extended opportunities offered by the 50-minute format and improvements in film technology and expertise finally allowed the NHU to begin showcasing its talent.
presented by the respected Kenneth Clark
. It was a resounding success with critics and the public and spawned the birth of the ‘blockbuster’ documentary
series. Parsons, by then an experienced producer with the NHU, recognised the potential for a similar treatment with natural history as the subject and approached Attenborough in 1970 with the idea. Attenborough was receptive, even to the idea that he should present the series, but both men realised at that time that it was beyond the scope of the Unit’s capabilities.
When Attenborough resigned from his administrative duties to return to programme making at the start of 1973, planning for the blockbuster series resumed. It was another three years before the resourcing and financing were agreed, the outline episode scripts written (by Attenborough) and a production team in place. Parsons would serve as series producer and share production duties for the individual episodes with Richard Brock
and John Sparks. Filming took place in 39 countries, featured over 650 different species
and involved over 1 million miles of travel. Attenborough himself has said that if it hadn’t been for computerised airline schedules, the series would have probably been impossible to film. When it finally broadcast in 1979 on BBC One
, Life on Earth drew an audience of 15 million people in the UK and was seen by an estimated 500 million people worldwide.
in 1982 with the miniseries Flight of the Condor, and went on to seal its reputation as one of the foremost production companies for popular natural history films in the following decades. A succession of 'blockbuster' series have followed the format established by Life on Earth, often presented or narrated by Attenborough and transmitted on BBC One. The Blue Planet
(2001) and Planet Earth
(2006) typify these signature programmes, characterised by high production values, specially-commissioned musical scores and often ground-breaking footage of wildlife from around the globe.
The NHU has also diversified into other programme formats. Its Diary series have featured African big cat
s, elephant
s, orang-utans and bear
s in a nightly wildlife soap opera
. One of the longest-running programmes was David Attenborough's Wildlife on One
(1977–2005) which broadcast in a regular early evening slot.
The Continents strand on BBC Two has featured series on all the world’s major land areas over the past fifteen years, including Land of the Tiger
(1997), Andes to Amazon
(2000) and Wild Down Under
(2003). Also on BBC Two, the annual Springwatch (since 2005) and Autumnwatch (since 2006) series have brought live pictures of British wildlife into millions of homes.
in recognition of its unique contribution to wildlife film and documentary making.
On television, the anniversary was marked with the broadcast of Saving Planet Earth
, a conservation-themed series which helped to raise over £1.5 million for the BBC Wildlife Fund.
In October 2007, the BBC announced that the NHU would suffer cuts of a third in both staff numbers and its £37 million annual budget, as a result of the Government’s decision to impose a below-inflation increase in the television licence fee. The cutbacks were widely condemned by industry and media figures and by programme-makers including David Attenborough.
In response to the criticism, Keith Scholey, Factual Controller of BBC Vision, promised that the BBC would "continue to make and show the ambitious, large-scale, truly memorable series that audiences associate with BBC natural history output". Titles affected by the cuts include the BBC Two Wild strand.
Productions already underway were not affected by the cuts, so the following year came Wild China
, Pacific Abyss
, Lost Land Of The Jaguar and Big Cat Live
, as well as the Unit's most ambitious radio event to date, World On The Move. Natural World also received a three-year commission from BBC Two on its 25th anniversary.
, the Unit has a number of television series currently in production:
awards for its "outstanding contribution over the past 44 years to broadcasting about the natural world". It was praised for being a "a national resource for people's understanding and love of wildlife on our planet, and a symbol of both quality and talent in public service broadcasting".
NHU filmmakers are regularly nominated and rewarded at film festivals such as Wildscreen
, the Missoula International Wildlife Film Festival and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and their output has been recognised by the wider broadcasting industry too, winning several Emmys and BAFTAs and the coveted Prix Italia
on three occasions. Further details are provided in the relevant articles for specific series.
Recognition has also come in the form of high audience viewing figures
and audience approval ratings, particularly for 'blue-chip' series such as Planet Earth. When first screened in the UK it was watched by more than 8 million people. In 2008, episodes of Life in Cold Blood
and the Wildlife Special
miniseries Tiger: Spy in the Jungle both reportedly achieved the highest-ever audience appreciation index (AI) rating for a factual programme.
The list of Heads of the Natural History Unit is taken from the following source:
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
or wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
theme, especially nature documentaries
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
. Each year it produces around 100 hours of television and 50 hours of radio, making it the largest wildlife documentary production house in the world.
The NHU has been based in Broadcasting House Bristol since its formation in 1957, and is currently headed by Andrew Jackson. It currently exists as a specialist department of BBC Factual Production, which is itself part of the BBC's Vision Studios. The Unit's commercial arm, Wildvision, makes programmes for international broadcasters.
First steps in natural history broadcasting
The BBC’s natural history links to BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
date back to the 1940s, when Desmond Hawkins
Desmond Hawkins
Desmond Hawkins , born in East Sheen, Surrey, was an author, editor and radio personality.-Career:The political and artistic upheavals of the 1930s meant a proliferation of serious magazines. Desmond wrote for Purpose, The Listener, Time & Tide and the New Statesman. He became literary editor of...
, a young producer, joined the West Region staff. His personal interest in the subject led to a radio series called The Naturalist, which began on the Home Service
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
in 1946 and proved an immediate success, later augmented by 'Out of Doors and Birds in Britain.
By the early 1950s, Hawkins had been promoted to Head of Programmes, West Region and was keen to translate his success to the developing medium of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. At the time, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
still commanded much higher audiences than the fledgling television service but Hawkins was not alone in recognising the potential for natural history programmes in the audiovisual form. His vision was shared by Frank Gillard
Frank Gillard
Frank Gillard CBE was a BBC reporter and radio innovator.-Early years:Gillard was born in Tiverton, Devon and attended Wellington School, Somerset. He gained a Batchelor's degree from St Luke's College, Exeter. He then taught in a private school.-Broadcaster:In 1936 he became a part time...
, the regional Head, and the two men would become the driving force behind the establishment of the Natural History Unit (NHU) in Bristol.
Until such formalities were completed, natural history programmes were the responsibility of the Features office of the West Region. One of the first programmes was an outside broadcast from Slimbridge
Slimbridge
Slimbridge is a village near Dursley in Gloucestershire, England.It is best known as the home of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Slimbridge Reserve which was started by Sir Peter Scott. The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal runs through the village, and under Patch Bridge which must be crossed to ...
in 1953, the first TV collaboration between the BBC and Peter Scott
Peter Scott
Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC and Bar, MID, FRS, FZS, was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer and sportsman....
. Occasional programmes continued the following year, but it wasn’t until 1955 that a regular studio-based series presented by Scott began: it was called Look.
One of the early problems for the Unit was the difficulty in sourcing film stock
Film stock
Film stock is photographic film on which filmmaking of motion pictures are shot and reproduced. The equivalent in television production is video tape.-1889–1899:...
. At the time, the only wildlife cameramen were amateurs and the footage wasn’t always good enough for broadcast. The embryo unit's first film camera, a clockwork Bolex
Bolex
Bolex is a Swiss company that manufactures motion picture cameras and lenses, the most notable products of which are in the 16 mm and Super 16 mm formats. The Bolex company was initially founded by Jacques Bogopolsky in 1927. Bolex is derived from his name. He had previously designed cameras for...
, was bought from a Bristol camera shop with petty cash by Desmond's assistant, Tony Soper
Tony Soper
Tony Soper is a naturalist, author and broadcaster from Plymouth in England. Born 10 January 1929, he was educated at Hyde Park Elementary School and at Devonport High School, both in Plymouth...
. Some of Scott’s own expedition films were used for early episodes of Look. One particularly outstanding film from 1955, shot by Heinz Sielmann
Heinz Sielmann
Heinz Sielmann was a world renowned wildlife photographer, zoologist and documentary filmmaker....
, showed woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
s inside a nest hole.
Unit formation
By 1957, with Look firmly established and Gillard and Hawkins lobbying hard, the BBC management in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
approved the official formation of a Natural History Unit. Gillard was on the search for a senior producer to head the new Unit, and asked David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
to take on the role. Attenborough had good credentials (he was a trained zoologist) but declined, having recently settled in London with his young family. Instead, he was placed in charge of the newly-formed Travel and Exploration Unit, striking a deal which would allow him to continue to film his popular Zoo Quest
Zoo Quest
Zoo Quest was a series of multi-part nature documentaries broadcast on BBC television between 1954 and 1963. It was the first major programme to feature David Attenborough....
(1954–1963) series alongside natural history output from the fledgling Bristol unit. The Travel and Exploration Unit in London also introduced viewers to more exotic wildlife, and made household names of the first natural history presenters. Armand
Armand Denis
Armand Denis was a Belgian-born documentary film-maker. After several decades of pioneering work in filming and presenting the ethnology and wildlife of remote parts of Africa and Asia, he became best known in Britain as the director and co-presenter of natural history programmes on television in...
and Michaela Denis
Michaela Denis
Michaela Denis was a British-born wildlife documentary film-maker and presenter, working with her husband, Armand Denis.-Life:...
filmed East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n wildlife for their On Safari programmes, whilst another pioneering husband-and-wife team, Hans
Hans Hass
Hans Hass is a diving pioneer known mainly for his documentaries about sharks, the energon theory, and his commitment, later in life, to the protection of the environment. He was born in Vienna, Austria.-Early years:...
and Lottie Hass, created some of the first underwater films.
Nicholas Crocker, a senior producer with West Region, became the Unit’s first Head in September 1957. Founder members included Tony Soper
Tony Soper
Tony Soper is a naturalist, author and broadcaster from Plymouth in England. Born 10 January 1929, he was educated at Hyde Park Elementary School and at Devonport High School, both in Plymouth...
(producer) and Christopher Parsons
Christopher Parsons
Christopher Eugene Parsons OBE was an award-winning English wildlife film-maker and the executive producer of David Attenborough's Life on Earth, widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential of nature documentaries...
(assistant film editor), both of whom would go on to play a major part in the Unit’s development.
Although much of the Unit's early output concentrated on British and European wildlife, one of its first productions to be broadcast was Faraway Look featuring Peter Scott in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The early programmes were limited by the available technology, but it was also a time of great experimentation in style and content, bringing the Unit notable success. Animal Magic (1962–1983), presented by Johnny Morris
Johnny Morris
Ernest John "Johnny" Morris OBE ) was a Welsh television presenter. He is best known for narrating the imported, Canadian-produced Tales of the Riverbank series of stories about Hammy the Hamster, Roderick the Rat, GP the Guinea Pig, and their assorted animal friends along a riverbank and...
and Tony Soper, was a successful format for young audiences which ran for over 20 years. The Unit also collaborated with Gerald Durrell
Gerald Durrell
Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...
on several films of his animal-collecting expeditions, beginning with the studio-based series 'To Bafut for Beef' (April 1958), using African footage shot by Durrell.
Colour television arrives
In the early 1960s, natural history filmmaking was being held back by the limitations of the available technology, particularly the restrictions of shooting often fast-moving subjects in poor light and spectacularly colourful subjects in black and white. The second of these problems was about to be resolved.Around the same time, the technology to broadcast and receive colour television was being developed, and the BBC made funds available to begin filming in colour to allow filmmakers to experiment with the latest equipment in preparation for the switchover. The Major (1963), produced by Parsons and filmed largely by New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
cameraman Eric Ashby, told the story of an ancient English oak and was the Unit’s first colour production. This was one of six films made for the BBC by part-time film-makers Ron Peggs and Leslie Jackman. Leslie filmed the insect sequences at his home in Paignton using specimens collected by John Burton.
Colour transmission finally arrived in 1967 on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
under the stewardship of David Attenborough, who had retired from programme-making to move into BBC administration. The first natural history film to be shown in colour was Ron Eastman’s Private Life of a Kingfisher (1967), written and produced by Jeffery Boswall
Jeffery Boswall
Jeffery Boswall is a naturalist, broadcaster and educator.One of the longest serving producers with the BBC Natural History Unit , and the writer and presenter/narrator of many of the programmes he produced, he has also been prominent in the development of the ethics of natural history broadcasting...
.
Attenborough wanted to make a strong statement on BBC Two of the boundless possibilities that colour television offered, and recognised that natural history was the obvious subject matter to choose. He commissioned a series called The World About Us (1969–1982) that would broadcast in a 50-minute Sunday evening slot. Because of the challenge of producing enough colour material, the commission was shared between the NHU and London’s Travel and Exploration Unit. The extended opportunities offered by the 50-minute format and improvements in film technology and expertise finally allowed the NHU to begin showcasing its talent.
Birth of the blockbuster
One of Attenborough’s main achievements as Controller of BBC Two was to commission Civilisation (1969), a major series on art historyArt history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
presented by the respected Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
. It was a resounding success with critics and the public and spawned the birth of the ‘blockbuster’ documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series. Parsons, by then an experienced producer with the NHU, recognised the potential for a similar treatment with natural history as the subject and approached Attenborough in 1970 with the idea. Attenborough was receptive, even to the idea that he should present the series, but both men realised at that time that it was beyond the scope of the Unit’s capabilities.
When Attenborough resigned from his administrative duties to return to programme making at the start of 1973, planning for the blockbuster series resumed. It was another three years before the resourcing and financing were agreed, the outline episode scripts written (by Attenborough) and a production team in place. Parsons would serve as series producer and share production duties for the individual episodes with Richard Brock
Richard Brock
Richard Brock worked in the BBC as a natural history film producer for 35 years. He was a member of the production team on the highly successful Life on Earth, and served as executive producer on The Living Planet, collaborating with David Attenborough...
and John Sparks. Filming took place in 39 countries, featured over 650 different species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
and involved over 1 million miles of travel. Attenborough himself has said that if it hadn’t been for computerised airline schedules, the series would have probably been impossible to film. When it finally broadcast in 1979 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, Life on Earth drew an audience of 15 million people in the UK and was seen by an estimated 500 million people worldwide.
Building on success
The Natural History Unit made its name with Life on Earth, and was rewarded by being awarded departmental status by BBC management in December 1979. Christopher Parsons, by then its most experienced producer, became the first official Head of the Unit. It celebrated its silver jubileeSilver Jubilee
A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, ruling anniversary or anything that has completed a 25 year mark...
in 1982 with the miniseries Flight of the Condor, and went on to seal its reputation as one of the foremost production companies for popular natural history films in the following decades. A succession of 'blockbuster' series have followed the format established by Life on Earth, often presented or narrated by Attenborough and transmitted on BBC One. The Blue Planet
The Blue Planet
The Blue Planet is a BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 12 September 2001.Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans", each of the eight 50-minute episodes examines a different aspect of...
(2001) and Planet Earth
Planet Earth (TV series)
Planet Earth is a 2006 television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition...
(2006) typify these signature programmes, characterised by high production values, specially-commissioned musical scores and often ground-breaking footage of wildlife from around the globe.
The NHU has also diversified into other programme formats. Its Diary series have featured African big cat
Big cat
The term big cat – which is not a biological classification – is used informally to distinguish the larger felid species from smaller ones. One definition of "big cat" includes the four members of the genus Panthera: the tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard. Members of this genus are the only cats able...
s, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, orang-utans and bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s in a nightly wildlife soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
. One of the longest-running programmes was David Attenborough's Wildlife on One
Wildlife on One
Wildlife on One was the BBC's flagship natural history programme, first broadcast in 1977. Each programme ran for half an hour. The narrator was Sir David Attenborough. When repeated on BBC2, the programmes were retitled Wildlife on Two. The programme was terminated in 2005.The 2003 season...
(1977–2005) which broadcast in a regular early evening slot.
The Continents strand on BBC Two has featured series on all the world’s major land areas over the past fifteen years, including Land of the Tiger
Land of the Tiger
Land of the Tiger is a BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural history of the Indian subcontinent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in 1997...
(1997), Andes to Amazon
Andes to Amazon
Andes to Amazon is a nature documentary TV series co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, England and Animal Planet, first transmitted in the UK on BBC2 in November 2000. In other territories it was sometimes broadcast under the title Wild South AmericaEach of the six 50-minute...
(2000) and Wild Down Under
Wild Down Under
Wild Down Under is a BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural history of the Australasian continent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in September 2003...
(2003). Also on BBC Two, the annual Springwatch (since 2005) and Autumnwatch (since 2006) series have brought live pictures of British wildlife into millions of homes.
50 years of wildlife film making
In 2007, the Unit celebrated its 50th anniversary and was rewarded with a special award at the International Broadcasting ConventionInternational Broadcasting Convention
The International Broadcasting Convention, more commonly known by its acronym IBC, is an annual trade show for broadcasters, content creators/providers, equipment manufacturers, professional and technical associations, and other participants in the Broadcasting industry...
in recognition of its unique contribution to wildlife film and documentary making.
On television, the anniversary was marked with the broadcast of Saving Planet Earth
Saving Planet Earth
Saving Planet Earth is a season of nature documentaries with a conservation theme, screened on BBC Television in 2007 to mark the 50th anniversary of its specialist factual department, the BBC Natural History Unit....
, a conservation-themed series which helped to raise over £1.5 million for the BBC Wildlife Fund.
In October 2007, the BBC announced that the NHU would suffer cuts of a third in both staff numbers and its £37 million annual budget, as a result of the Government’s decision to impose a below-inflation increase in the television licence fee. The cutbacks were widely condemned by industry and media figures and by programme-makers including David Attenborough.
In response to the criticism, Keith Scholey, Factual Controller of BBC Vision, promised that the BBC would "continue to make and show the ambitious, large-scale, truly memorable series that audiences associate with BBC natural history output". Titles affected by the cuts include the BBC Two Wild strand.
Productions already underway were not affected by the cuts, so the following year came Wild China
Wild China
Wild China is a six-part nature documentary series on the natural history of China, co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and China Central Television and filmed entirely in high-definition . It was screened in the UK on BBC Two from 11 May to 5 June 2008...
, Pacific Abyss
Pacific Abyss
Pacific Abyss is a three-part series on British television's , which first aired in Sunday 17 August 2008. It is hosted by Kate Humble, Mike Smart and Mike deGruy with filming beginning in April/May 2007....
, Lost Land Of The Jaguar and Big Cat Live
Big Cat Diary
Big Cat Diary, also known as Big Cat Week or Big Cat Live, is a long-running nature documentary series on BBC television which follows the lives of African big cats in Kenya's Maasai Mara. The first series, broadcast on BBC One in 1996, was developed and jointly produced by Keith Scholey, who would...
, as well as the Unit's most ambitious radio event to date, World On The Move. Natural World also received a three-year commission from BBC Two on its 25th anniversary.
Filmography
Since its inception in the 1950s, the Natural History Unit has produced a wealth of material for television, radio, and more recently, cinema. Being the first and the largest production unit devoted to natural history programme making, it maintains an extensive archive of images and sound recordings as well as film stock. The filmography article presents a chronological summary of the Unit's major television and film productions.In production
As well as returning series such as Natural World and Springwatch and natural history content for BBC One's The One ShowThe One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
, the Unit has a number of television series currently in production:
- Africa is a five-part series for BBC One described as "a definitive television series on the greatest wildlife continent on Earth". Produced by James Honeyborne, it is scheduled for 2013 and will be accompanied by a 3D documentary film.
- Animal Einsteins is a two-part series on animal intelligence in which Liz BonninLiz BonninLiz Bonnin is a French television presenter who has worked on television in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. She currently works for the BBC.-Biography:...
investigates the idea that some creatures possess qualities that were once thought uniquely human, such as language, culture, consciousness, insight and emotion. - Attenborough's Life Stories celebrates David Attenborough's 60-year career in broadcasting by looking back on developments in wildlife filmmaking technology, breakthroughs in the biological sciences and the rise of the environmental movement since his programmes first appeared.
- Expedition Wolf sees wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan tracking wild wolves in North America.
- Frozen Planet is a seven-part survey of the polar regions made by the same team behind The Blue Planet and Planet Earth. David Attenborough narrates the series, and has also travelled to both poles to film sequences for the final episode.
- Great Barrier Reef is a three-part series presented by Monty Halls due to air on BBC Two in 2012.
- How Life Works will be a global look at the complexity of biodiversity and the interdependence of different species, in the company of Chris Packham.
- Nature's Miracle Babies, presented by Martin Hughes-GamesMartin Hughes-GamesMartin Hughes-Games is a natural history programme producer and presenter. He graduated in Zoology in 1978 with a 1st Class honours from Reading University, and has worked in television for 30 years. He is passionate about wildlife and an active conservationist – even going so far as planting his...
, will look at the techniques used by conservationists to breed some of the world's rarest species. - Ocean Giants is a three-part series on whales and dolphins for BBC Two, due for broadcast in 2011.
- Survival is a six-part series from the team behind Life which looks at the struggles faced by animals to raise their young. It is due for transmission on BBC One in 2014.
- The Dark will reveal the habits of nocturnal creatures using military night filming technology.
- Wild Arabia is a three-part portrait of the wildlife of the Arabian Peninsula. Produced by Brian Leith and scheduled for 2013, it will bring viewers the first HD footage of wild Arabian leopards.
Awards and recognition
The Natural History Unit as a whole was awarded the Gold Medal at the 2001 Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
awards for its "outstanding contribution over the past 44 years to broadcasting about the natural world". It was praised for being a "a national resource for people's understanding and love of wildlife on our planet, and a symbol of both quality and talent in public service broadcasting".
NHU filmmakers are regularly nominated and rewarded at film festivals such as Wildscreen
Wildscreen
Wildscreen is an educational charity based in Bristol, England, working globally to promote the conservation of nature, and the public’s appreciation of biodiversity, through wildlife imagery....
, the Missoula International Wildlife Film Festival and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and their output has been recognised by the wider broadcasting industry too, winning several Emmys and BAFTAs and the coveted Prix Italia
Prix Italia
The Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
on three occasions. Further details are provided in the relevant articles for specific series.
Recognition has also come in the form of high audience viewing figures
Audience measurement
Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites...
and audience approval ratings, particularly for 'blue-chip' series such as Planet Earth. When first screened in the UK it was watched by more than 8 million people. In 2008, episodes of Life in Cold Blood
Life in Cold Blood
Life in Cold Blood is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 4 February 2008 on BBC One....
and the Wildlife Special
BBC Wildlife Specials
The BBC Wildlife Specials are a series of nature documentary programmes commissioned by BBC Television. The Wildlife Specials began with a pilot episode in 1995. A further 15 programmes were made over the next decade, and more recently the format has been expanded into two short series...
miniseries Tiger: Spy in the Jungle both reportedly achieved the highest-ever audience appreciation index (AI) rating for a factual programme.
Heads of the NHU
- Nicholas Crocker (1957–1959)
- Bruce CampbellBruce Campbell (ornithologist)Bruce Campbell was an English ornithologist, writer, and broadcaster. He has long worked for the British Trust for Ornithology ....
(1959–1962) - Nicholas Crocker (1962–1973)
- Mick Rhodes (1973–1979)
- Christopher ParsonsChristopher ParsonsChristopher Eugene Parsons OBE was an award-winning English wildlife film-maker and the executive producer of David Attenborough's Life on Earth, widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential of nature documentaries...
(1979–1983) - John Sparks (1983–1988)
- Andrew Neil (1988–1992)
- Alastair FothergillAlastair FothergillAlastair Fothergill is a producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the executive producer of the multi-award winning series The Blue Planet and Planet Earth and the co-director of the associated feature films Deep Blue and Earth.Fothergill attended Harrow...
(1992–1998) - Keith Scholey (1998–2003)
- Neil NightingaleNeil NightingaleNeil Nightingale is a senior producer at the BBC's Natural History Unit, the largest wildlife film-making production unit in the world, and was its Head from February 2003 until January 2009...
(2003–2009) - Andrew Jackson (2009–present)
Sources
Information in the History section is largely drawn from the following sources:- Parsons, C. (1982) True to Nature: Christopher Parsons looks back on 25 years of wildlife filming with the BBC Natural History Unit. Patrick Stephens Limited. ISBN 0-85059-530-4
- Attenborough, D. (2002) Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster. BBC Books. ISBN 0-56348-780-1
The list of Heads of the Natural History Unit is taken from the following source:
- BBC/2 entertain2 Entertain2 Entertain is a British video and music publisher, formed by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004....
Great Wildlife Moments DVD (2003). Bonus feature: Heads of the BBC Natural History Unit