NHS

2016's top factual shows

 

The Secret life of the Zoo (working title) – Channel 4

This show peeks behind the curtain at what goes on at the UK’s most popular zoo: Chester Zoo. This show peels back the covers on what goes on behind the scenes, and on the way viewers get to meet a new-born giraffe, watch the tigers move house and find out what a pregnant viper looks like under x-ray.

Jed Mercurio: the Drama Doctor

Jed Mercurio doesn't make it easy for himself. His current show, Sky 1's Critical, is a 13-part drama set in a state-of-the-art trauma centre. Every week, it focuses on a different and gruesome medical emergency while also telling the intertwined personal stories of its large cast. Oh, and it's told in real time, too.

"I always think that everything is achievable," he says, when I ask if he deliberately set the challenge of making this series as hard as possible for himself.