Gavin and Stacey star, Joanna Page, is to train as an Animal Care Assistant in a new 15×30 commission for BBC Two.
Joanna will team up with Wildlife Aid – one of the UK’s leading wildlife hospitals, to spend her summer “immersed in all things wildlife” where “she’ll be starting at the very beginning with the more menial, and often smelly tasks, with the hope of progressing to animal triage, helping in the vet room and going out to rescues. Will she be able to master the three ‘R’s’: Rescue, Rehab and Release?”
Audiences will get a unique insight into the work of the team at Wildlife Aid, including hydrotherapy for hedgehogs, they’ll get to see bats undergoing operations on their delicate and intricate wings, as well as special procedures for birds of prey, such as buzzards receiving ultrasounds.
Viewers will also get an insight into the work that Joanna has to take home, and together, with her whole family, she sets out to create habitats for insects by building log piles in her garden and planting wildflowers, she gets help erecting bird boxes in the trees and even makes a hedgehog highway so they can move from garden to garden.
Joanna Page comments: “Wildlife is severely on the decline, and its important to me to raise awareness that wildlife preservation is necessary for our planet to survive. I’m excited to take fans on my journey to qualifying to be able to work with wildlife and hopefully I can inspire others.”
Rob Unsworth, Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak Commissioning comments: “This new series is perfect for the whole family to sit down and enjoy together. We’re excited to show viewers a different side to such a well-loved face, and as we see how Joanna gets on with her training, look forward to discovering more about Britain’s wildlife, and the work so many people do to protect it.”
Duncan Gray and Antonia Hurford-Jones, the Executive Producers of the series add: “We’re really excited to be working with Joanna and the Wildlife Aid Foundation to make this series. Joanna’s passion is as authentic as it is inspiring. And we at Twenty Six 03 are looking forward to making a landmark series for BBC2.”
Joanna Page’s Wild Life (w/t) is commissioned for BBC Two by Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak, Rob Unsworth, the Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime is Helen Munson. The series will be filmed in Surrey and made by North East based production company Twenty Six 03 with Duncan Gray and Antonia Hurford-Jones Executive Producing. The programme will appear on screens on BBC Two in 2025.
Staff Reporter
Share this story
