documentaries

Jimmy Doherty generates buzz to save bees

Jimmy Doherty (Credit: Channel 4)

Can Jimmy Save the Bees? (w/t) sees Doherty explore the declining bee population in the UK and try to understand how the alarming trend can impact entire ecosystems that rely on natural pollination.

The former entomologist will attempt to revive the bee population to reduce the threat towards the viability of agriculture.

Based in Peterborough, Doherty will look at what can be done to solve the problem with local farmers, businesses, government officials and viewers.

Channel 5 expands pre-school content

Peppa Pig (Credit: Channel 5/Milkshake!)

Among the new commissions includes Milkshake! Monkey’s Amazing Adventures, which follows iconic character Milkshake! Monkey as he visits various locations across the UK to learn about the geography and history of the country.

The channel has also announced six potential projects in development for Milkshake! and for the Young Audiences Contestable fund.

Milkshake! also announced a strong commitment to develop content from the UK and has confirmed more investment to boost UK commissions on the channel to 300 programmes by 2021.

Channel 4 commissions new factual programmes

David Lammy (Credit: Channel 4)

The new commissions include a documentary examining if neuroscience can explain the making of murderers, a documentary that follows the journey of an Olympic gold medallist embarking on a daring cycle across the English Channel, and an exploration into the untold stories of the Black Africans who died fighting for Britain in the First World War.

“These are programmes with impact at their core - the power to challenge and provoke, shock and inspire,” said Fatima Salaria, Head of Specialist Factual at Channel 4.

RTS North West get to the heart of BBC One's Ambulance

Emergency Medical Dispatcher Laura Pilling (Credit: Jess Boulton)

The Lowry in Salford was packed for the screening of episode one, series 5, sponsored by The Farm, and to hear from executive producers Simon Ford and Tom Currie, series producer Peter Wallis-Tayler and members of the team about the work that goes into producing the “stories behind the sirens”. The programme, which is set in Manchester, returns to BBC One at the end of May.

Channel 5's Ben Frow swaps Big Brother for "life-affirming" shows

Ben Frow

It’s a good time to sit down with Ben Frow, Channel 5’s director of programmes. A purple patch that started with the station winning Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh TV Awards last August has just been topped with the station’s best Christmas since 2005 – and all this after Frow’s “carnage” assessment of the first half of the year.

From his now much more comfortable perch, the executive is happy to reel off a catalogue of titles that, in those first months of 2018, passed most of the nation by.