Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie
Encyclopedia
Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie was a live BBC
TV
show, broadcast nightly, Monday – Thursday, from May 31, 2004 to June 17, 2004.
Following on from the previous year's Wild In Your Garden
, presenters Bill Oddie
, Kate Humble
and Simon King
spent one hour each evening, describing wildlife and presenting live action from a number of hidden camera
s in or near nest box
es, as well as a badger
sett. Short, pre-filmed documentary
pieces were also included. While Oddie and Humble both presented the series from an organic farm
in Devon
, England
, where the nestboxes and sett were located, King worked on location - at Bass Rock
observing gannet
s in the first week, at a quarry observing a family of peregrine falcon
s in the second week, at the London Wetlands Centre in the third week, and joining Oddie and Humble on the farm for the final programme.
It set a record for its timeslot of 8pm on BBC Two
on its first evening of broadcast of 3.4 million viewers — one million more than the Channel 4
programme showing at that time. It also created a run on nest boxes for wild bird
s and bumble bees, bird baths and bird feed from suppliers, likened to the Delia power phenomenon created when Delia Smith
mentioned the tools and ingredients she was using on her cooking programme Delia's How to Cook.
Oddie presented an update of some of the featured animals later in 2004.
A sequel, Springwatch with Bill Oddie, was broadcast in 2005.
The series' theme music was composed by David Poore, and is still used as the theme for Springwatch and Autumnwatch.
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...
TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show, broadcast nightly, Monday – Thursday, from May 31, 2004 to June 17, 2004.
Following on from the previous year's Wild In Your Garden
Wild In Your Garden
Wild In Your Garden was a live BBC television show, broadcast in 2003.Presenters Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and Simon King presented live action from a number of hidden cameras in or near nest boxes, badger setts and the like. Short, pre-filmed documentary pieces were also included...
, presenters Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
, Kate Humble
Kate Humble
Katherine 'Kate' Humble is an English television presenter, mainly for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes...
and Simon King
Simon King (television)
Simon Henry King OBE is a British television presenter and cameraman, specialising in nature documentaries.King has been working in the field of natural history film making for over 30 years...
spent one hour each evening, describing wildlife and presenting live action from a number of hidden camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
s in or near nest box
Nest box
A nest box, also spelled nestbox is a man-made box provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for wild and domesticated birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses, but some mammalian species may also use them. Birdhouses are the most common types of nest...
es, as well as a badger
Eurasian Badger
The European Badger is a species of badger of the genus Meles, native to almost all of Europe. It is classed as Least Concern for extinction by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and large population....
sett. Short, pre-filmed 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...
pieces were also included. While Oddie and Humble both presented the series from an organic farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where the nestboxes and sett were located, King worked on location - at Bass Rock
Bass Rock
The Bass Rock, or simply The Bass, , is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. It is approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick. It is a steep-sided volcanic rock, at its highest point, and is home to a large colony of gannets...
observing gannet
Gannet
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...
s in the first week, at a quarry observing a family of peregrine falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
s in the second week, at the London Wetlands Centre in the third week, and joining Oddie and Humble on the farm for the final programme.
It set a record for its timeslot of 8pm 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...
on its first evening of broadcast of 3.4 million viewers — one million more than the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
programme showing at that time. It also created a run on nest boxes for wild bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and bumble bees, bird baths and bird feed from suppliers, likened to the Delia power phenomenon created when Delia Smith
Delia Smith
Delia Smith CBE is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills. She is the UK's best-selling cookery author, with more than 21 million copies sold....
mentioned the tools and ingredients she was using on her cooking programme Delia's How to Cook.
Oddie presented an update of some of the featured animals later in 2004.
A sequel, Springwatch with Bill Oddie, was broadcast in 2005.
The series' theme music was composed by David Poore, and is still used as the theme for Springwatch and Autumnwatch.