Our Zoo
GenrePeriod drama
CreatorMatt Charman
WriterMatt Charman
George Kay
DirectorAndy De Emmony
Robert McKillop
Saul Metzstein
StarringLee Ingleby
Liz White
Ralf Little
Stephen Campbell Moore
Sophia Myles
Amelia Clarkson
Honor Kneafsey
Peter Wight
Anne Reid
ComposerNick Green
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Num series1
Num episodes6
Executive producer
ProducerMarcus Wilson
Runtime60 minutes
CompanyBig Talk Productions
Channel
First aired3 September 2014
Last aired8 October 2014

Our Zoo is a British period drama television series from BBC One, first broadcast on 3 September 2014.

The six-part series, created by Matt Charman, is about George Mottershead, his dreams of creating a cage-free zoo, his family and how their lives changed when they embarked on the creation of Chester Zoo.[1][2]

Cast

Production

Our Zoo was commissioned by Danny Cohen and Ben Stephenson for BBC One.[3] The series was based on an idea introduced to Big Talk Productions by Aenon, the production company headed by Adam Kemp.[4] Filming took place in Liverpool, as well as at Walton Hall in Warrington and at Abney Hall in Cheadle.[5][6][7] When BBC said there would be no second series of Our Zoo,[8] many fans were left surprised by the decision. On 10 December 2014 the Chester Chronicle created an online petition in the hopes of renewing the show for another series, and by the next day more than 1000 fans had signed it.[9] In spite of these efforts, however, the BBC reiterated that they would not be producing a second series.

References

  1. ^ "Drama series to focus on battle to build Chester Zoo". Chesterfirst. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  2. ^ Szalai, George (9 May 2013). "BBC Orders Drama Series Featuring Charles Dickens Characters". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  3. ^ Chapman, Stephen (9 May 2013). "BBC One commissions Manchester bombing and Chester Zoo dramas". Prolific North. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Cast announced for new BBC One drama Our Zoo (w/t)". BBC. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  5. ^ Davis, Laura (31 March 2014). "In pictures: Meet the woman whose childhood at Chester Zoo inspired a new BBC drama". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  6. ^ Morgan, David (28 March 2014). "BBC drama about early days of Chester Zoo to be filmed at Walton Hall". This is Cheshire. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  7. ^ Davis, Matthew (23 April 2014). "TV crew causes damage to grounds of historic Abney Hall". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  8. ^ "BBC confirms no second series of Our Zoo (w/t)". BBC. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  9. ^ De Lucia, Carmella (10 December 2014). "Hundreds sign Chester Chronicle online petition to appeal for return of Our Zoo". Retrieved 27 November 2016.