animal Park
Animal Park continues to give a dramatic and heartwarming glimpse into life at Britain’s longest-running safari park. Presenters Ben Fogle and Kate Humble talk to Georgia Humphreys about why they keep returning to Longleat, and the unpredictability of filming with animals
BEN Fogle and Kate Humble are coaxing Bert, the overweight goat, on to a see-saw-like apparatus, in a bid to get him exercising. But the Longleat safari park resident isn’t having any of it and, much to the amusement of the presenters, makes a run for it at one point towards the fence and back to his paddock. It’s just one challenging moment while filming the exciting Animal Park Summer Special, which will air across three weeks in August on BBC One. “Animals will always be naughty,” quips Fogle, 44, who first filmed the muchloved documentary series back in 2001. “That’s what makes it fun, that’s what keeps us on our toes, because you never know what they’re going to do - invariably they won’t do what you want them to do. “That can slow us down, it can be frustrating. But that’s the nature of the job, and I don’t think either of us would have it any other way.” Misbehaving goats aside, what else can we expect from the return of Animal Park?
JOYOUS RETURN
Impressively, the daytime show - which is also presented by Scottish journalist Jean Johansson - is now in its 13th series. And yet Fogle and Humble - who were both born in London - still find the setting of the park, in the grounds of Longleat House (an English stately home where the 7th Marquess of Bath lives), really special. It’s the feeling they get walking through its gates that draws them back year after year. “In television, you move on and sometimes you grow out of a programme,” admits adventurous Fogle, currently sporting an impressive tan after reaching the summit of Mount Everest, which was filmed for a CNN documentary. “But I think the reason that we both keep coming back is because there’s a real warmth here.” Meanwhile, Humble, 49, notes that the Wiltshire tourist attraction, which first opened to the public in 1966, has returned to its glory days. “What was unique about Longleat was the fact it was a collection of extraordinary animals in somebody’s garden, albeit a very grand garden - it felt like a really personal, very English, very eccentric, fabulous, aristocratic thing to do,” elaborates the broadcaster, who has also fronted Springwatch and Countryfile. “A couple of years ago, I think Longleat lost its way for a bit and it became quite commercial. “This year, it’s like, ‘What’s magic about Longleat is back”, and it’s just been a real joy filming here.”
EMOTIONAL MOMENTS
Let’s face it, there’s nothing more joyful than seeing cute animals on our TV screens. But you can also expect tears this series - there’s a whole programme dedicated to Nico, the park’s beloved Western lowland gorilla who died earlier this year at the age of 56. As Humble explains, the sad loss comes 10 years after Samba, his mate on Gorilla island, passed away: “They were the most fantastic example of a slightly dysfunctional married couple. “And when she died, Nico was absolutely distraught. So all the keepers spent a lot of time with Nico getting him over that...” The presenter trails off at this point, as she starts to cry. Showing us a photo of the silverback, and pointing out his amazing, huge amber eyes, she carries on, dabbing tears away. “He just had this very kind of human face. And I love the fact that he liked watching telly and he loved Animal Park and he loved Ribena.” She adds fondly: “He was an animal that you had to work - he wasn’t just, ‘I’m cuddly and cute.’ He was like, ‘I’m Nico, I’m the boss, bow before me.’ But he was a really remarkable animal.” “You see how it affects us ... imagine the keepers,” says Fogle. “That has been their life’s work, working with these creatures.”
BEHIND THE SCENES
Humble is keen to point out out that some really exciting things have happened at Longleat this year too. “There’s the 129th giraffe to be born at the park,” she reveals with a big smile. “She’s called Shelley and she’s gorgeous.” “She’s so sweet,” Fogle chimes in. “She’s the perfect miniature giraffe.” Animal Park will once again give viewers an insight into the inspiring and selfless work of the keepers. “I think the youth of today could learn a lot from the keepers,” remarks Fogle, who has two children with his wife Marina. “Most of the keepers are the youth of today,” he follows, “but the difference between those who choose to work in a high street shop or whatever and might call in sick ... I’m not generalising a whole generation of people, but you can’t do that here. “If you’re a keeper, if you’ve got a hangover or if you’ve got the flu - those animals are not going to wait for you to recover, so you have to turn up.”
SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP
It’s obvious that Humble and Fogle have formed a great friendship. When chatting to them, they joke around and tease each other (Humble calls Fogle “lazy bones” for “always getting up at the last minute”). She also shares the moment she first saw her co-star on TV - he was participating in 2000 reality series Castaway, which followed a group of 36 people marooned on the Scottish island of Taransay for a year. “My husband was working for the company that made Castaway,” says Humble, who has been married to director and producer Ludo Graham since 1992. “We sat down to watch it and there was this fantastically posh boy with a beautiful dog and his shirt off and I said, ‘I bet we are going to see a lot of him on the telly in future.’ “The next thing I know he is in my sitting room, with dog, which had just jumped in my pond, and was covered in duck slime.” “I owe a lot to Kate and to Longleat and Animal Park, because it’s where I cut my teeth really, especially doing 300 hours of TV here,” says Fogle. “I don’t know if it’s made me a great presenter or not - that’s down to other people’s opinions. But I definitely learnt a lot about television. And we’ve been friends ever since.”
Watch Animal Park Summer Special weekdays on BBC One from Monday August 6.