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BBC to be clearer about wildlife footage on Africa show | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The new BBC wildlife series Africa will make it clear when animals have been filmed under controlled conditions. | The new BBC wildlife series Africa will make it clear when animals have been filmed under controlled conditions. |
The move comes a year after an episode of Frozen Planet, featuring a polar bear with her cubs, was criticised. | |
Some shots in that programme, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, were filmed in a Dutch zoo, but many viewers assumed footage came from the Arctic. | |
The producers of Africa said they felt it "appropriate to be more explicit" about the origins of such sequences. | |
"We feel it is important to maintain trust and credibility with the audience," series producer James Honeyborne told the Radio Times. | |
"What's important to us is to be able to share great moments of animal nature and some controlled filming allows us to do that." | "What's important to us is to be able to share great moments of animal nature and some controlled filming allows us to do that." |
The BBC denied misleading Frozen Planet viewers in an episode broadcast on BBC One in November 2011. | The BBC denied misleading Frozen Planet viewers in an episode broadcast on BBC One in November 2011. |
It showed polar bear cubs in a den with their mother, with many people assuming the young animals were born and filmed in the Arctic. | |
But the cubs were actually in a Dutch animal park, as revealed in behind-the-scenes footage on the show's website. | But the cubs were actually in a Dutch animal park, as revealed in behind-the-scenes footage on the show's website. |
"After Frozen Planet, research revealed audiences were interested in the variety of filming techniques but did not want to be misled in commentary," a BBC spokesman said. | |
"This is why the BBC has decided to flag up a number of controlled sequences within the commentary." | |
Viewers will be able to go to the website after the programme has been on TV to see how scenes were filmed. | |
Africa, also narrated by Sir David Attenborough, was filmed over four years. | Africa, also narrated by Sir David Attenborough, was filmed over four years. |
It explores the whole of the continent and features meerkats being outsmarted by birds, as well as battling giraffes. | |
Africa begins on BBC One on 1 January, 2013. | Africa begins on BBC One on 1 January, 2013. |