25 years of furry friends
Join RT’s Laura Rutkowski as she celebrates a quarter century of Animal Park with Kate Humble and Ben Fogle
- Laura Rutkowski
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Kate Humble and Ben Fogle are frequently interrupted at Longleat Safari and Adventure Park – not only by selfie-hunters who recognise them from Animal Park, the show they host there, wanting a selfie – but by the animals.
Throughout a day of filming, RT witnesses a plucky duck nibbling at their feet; a curious lemur plopping itself down near the camera crew and refusing to move; and the presenters shouting to be heard over loud sea lions while feeding them fish from a boat. All in a day’s work – and mainly done in one take, says Humble. “If an animal wants to basically steal the show, go ahead and steal it – we just get in the way! Nature writes the script for us.”
Laura in Longleat with Kate Humble and Ben Fogle.
Longleat, which was opened in 1966 as the world’s first drive-through safari park outside of Africa, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, coinciding with 25 years of Animal Park. In the new series, Humble and Fogle look back on old stories and reminisce with the park’s keepers about the generations of animals who have thrived there, but also meet new ones, including a pod of hippos. Some of the current staff grew up watching the show and now do the job precisely because of it.
On the day of RT’s visit, Humble is reuniting with an infamous Cameroon sheep called Cecil, who went viral in 2019 when he headbutted then director and cameraman Mark Davenport in his nether region. “We were all unsympathetic because it was very funny,” Humble says. When we filmed again with Mark, he sensibly wore a cricket box. Our cameraman today might need a suit of armour.”
Ben Fogle when he joined Animal Park in 2001. BBC Photosales
Animal Park was Fogle’s first presenting job after shooting to fame on the 2000 show Castaway. “Kate was my tutor, my mentor – a very tough one. I learnt a lot from her. You have to get stuck in,” he says. “On the first day, we were filming with the camels, and the cameras weren’t even rolling, Kate handed me a shovel and a broom and told me to get mucking out. That was one of the best lessons in life. We’re not above anyone else.”
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“I’m not comparing us to David Attenborough documentaries,” adds Humble, “but there is a similarity there that’s equally fascinating. Animal Park is a little slice of furry joy, and I can’t see that in another 25 years people aren’t going to want that.”
Authors
Laura Rutkowski
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