TV blog Feed

Kelly Hoppen: Good design is like bangers and mash...

2016-06-08T13:18:36+00:00

What makes a piece of furniture a classic? And just what effect did Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's boudoir decor have on British tastes? The archive collection Home Sweet Home - available now on BBC iPlayer - explores these questions and more, using BBC programmes that have explored interior design through the decades.

And guiding us through some of her stand-out picks from the archives is high-end interior designer Kelly Hoppen, who has strong opinions about water beds...

Kelly's pick: All mod cons: The Pad

I got my own apartment at the age of 17 and you do have this feeling of independence, but I think this programme celebrates financial independence too. It was such a massive shift in terms of the independence of one-bedroom apartments and it was just such a different way of living.

With self-assembly furniture everything was very changeable. I constantly talk about the fact that no idea is a new idea but in those days they really were new.

I mean you look at someone like Max Clendinning, who designed chairs that slot together (above) – he was so new and so forward-thinking. But today, we’re talking about traditional homes and modern homes or minimalist homes like it’s something we all created. We didn’t really. It was so much more defining in those days.

I think that some of the great furniture designers of that time have really kind of lasted. You look at a Charles Eames chair from the 50s and 60s and it’s just a classic. It’s a bit like bangers and mash, it will always taste good no matter how rich or poor you are.

I think as time goes by people just keep on regurgitating the same old stuff the whole time – it’s very rare today for somebody to come up with something as iconic as what happened back in the 60s. I think people experimented more back then and that’s the thing which comes across a lot in these early shows.

Kelly's pick: The Home That 2 Built: The Nineties and Noughties

Then you look at Changing Rooms and for me that was just hideous. Linda Barker and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen - good on them for going in and doing that - but this was taking it to another extreme. They were told: ‘Go in, do what you want and don’t worry about the client, it’s all fine’. And then these poor people walking in and Laurence going: ‘Well isn’t it just fabulous?’

There was no transition from traditional slowly going into a modern interior, Laurence just took them into a dark den – like a club – thinking that was cool. But again, it’s fantastic TV. For me that was a very defining 90s design moment. Like when Ikea threw chintz out. That was an incredible advert.

Again, the 90s was such a revolutionary change in furniture. No more fuss, the simple look. I think that whole era was just so incredible and I think we forget how dynamic and how refreshing it was for people.

Kelly’s quick-fire thoughts on…

Flat-pack furniture: Brilliant. I mean just so revolutionary and clever. And less is more.

Water beds: Hideous. I once rented a house in Portugal with all my kids and all their friends and family. And I suddenly saw that one of the rooms had a water bed and I thought: ‘Oh no, my children are going to hate me’. And they all fought over it! I just felt seasick.

Inflatable chairs: Live without those! Anything you blow up really has to be in water in a pool.

Doilies: I absolutely love doilies. I think because they’re so kitsch. I just think they’re really clever and underestimated.

Kelly Hoppen is an interior designer and curates Home Sweet Home, a collection of archive interior design programmes available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Must-see telly moments – on BBC iPlayer now

2016-05-16T16:13:26+00:00

Cock-eyed squids, roflcopters, Your-ovision… Get tongue tied with some of the best moments available to watch until Wednesday, 8 June.

Be slightly freaked out by these extraordinary creatures of the deep

Dive into nature - Life That Glows with David Attenborough, BBC Two

And discover more eye-opening documentaries on iPlayer.

Plus, find out which shows presenter Alex Jones has been loving in this week’s Frank Skinner On Demand With...

Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: An underwater battlefield

2016-04-27T10:40:31+00:00

I am not especially keen on military history. I mean I am absolutely fascinated by what actually happened in an ancient battle (very nasty indeed, I can assure you), but I hate those histories of ancient Rome that simply lurch from one round of military conquest to the next.

So when we were making the first episode of Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit, I didn’t particularly look forward to the day we were due to visit the site of a great naval battle between the Romans and Carthaginians in 241 BC, a few kilometres off the Sicilian coast. And, to be honest, I’m a lousy actor – if I don’t feel enthusiastic, I am very bad at pretending to be on camera.

Even our unflappable producer showed signs of being worried. She needn't have been. When we got out to sea it was impossible not to get interested.

There is something quite extraordinary about the best-preserved battle site in the ancient world being under water. But that’s more or less the case. Much of the detritus from the wrecked ships (the victims’ armour, the food containers…) sank safely to the sea bed, and it is now being investigated using deep sea probes and cameras.

I was absolutely glued to the screen in the control room of the boat, watching the eerie glimpses of the bottom of the sea, the fishes and the weed mixed in with the lost equipment of those long-dead sailors.

When the archaeologists spot something really special, they have clever devices to lift it to the surface. And our afternoon’s trip was to Palermo, where some of the best finds are kept.

Among the highlights there are the bronze ‘rams’ that were once fixed onto the ships (for ‘ramming’ the enemy) and some bronze helmets. And, as the film captures, by this stage, I had really got into the spirit of it. And in fact I tried a Roman helmet on.

I fully expect to have some emails ticking me off for this. But let me assure you that, wherever we go, we obey the conservation rules of the museum concerned (that’s why sometimes it’s gloves, sometimes it isn’t - theories and rules about all of this differ). And honestly I don’t think that the object in question came to any harm.

I was perhaps a bit carried away though. As I fitted it onto my head, I said on camera just what I was thinking: words to the effect of: “I bet I’m the first to put this on for more than 2,000 years”. That’s certainly how it felt at the time. But in retrospect, I very much doubt it.

My guess is that that particular helmet has been tried on rather a lot since it came out of the water. And I bet that almost every single modern wearer has had that same romantic fantasy as me... naively imagining that the last head inside it was a Roman one!

Professor Mary Beard is a classicist and the presenter of Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit.

Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit starts on Wednesday, 27 April at 9pm on BBC Two.

It will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Mary will be blogging about every episode - her posts will go up every Wednesday of the series.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Must-see telly moments – on BBC iPlayer

2016-04-18T13:10:03+00:00

From brilliant babies to glorious goals – remember, there may be spoilers…

When you realise that Michael McIntyre has your phone - and has discovered the ‘send to all’ function

Find out how Michael embarrasses Geri – Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, BBC One

We don’t think Dawn O’Porter will be hiring Angela Scanlon as her stylist any time soon…

See what happened when Angela met Dawn – Angela Scanlon’s Close Encounters, BBC Three

When an 18-year-old slips a goal of pure class straight past you…

Watch Marcus Rashford’s worldy against West Ham – The FA Cup, BBC One

Meet Pat, who has lovingly looked after almost 8,000 babies and counting

See inside the UK's only private maternity hospital – Five Star Babies: Inside Portland Hospital, BBC Two

And finally… these schoolgirls’ reactions when they realise celebrity Nick Jonas is driving them home…

Find out why their school trip was taken over – The School Run, BBC Radio 1

And if you want to see what Michael Ball picks out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

Must-see telly moments – on BBC iPlayer

2016-04-04T10:38:35+00:00

This week’s TV is all about love, lies and one massive leap of faith…

Esteemed actor Adrian Lester tries out a new look in Undercover…

Watch the awkward moment on BBC iPlayer– Undercover, BBC One

This look of pure young love

Watch their stolen moments together – Murdered by My Father, BBC Three

The realisation that Bake Off Crème de la Crème is not all fuzzy and warm

See the professionals under stress – Bake Off Crème de la Crème, BBC Two

This giant leap for quiz-kind

See what this contestant endured to win prizes – Can’t Touch This, BBC One

When someone tells you make-up is just advertising fertility

See why Connie is so shocked about the world of beauty– Connie Fisher on Make-Up, BBC One Wales

And finally, we couldn’t miss the impending return of Top Gear – complete with fancy dress…

Watch Matt LeBlanc being thoroughly unimpressed – Top Gear, BBC Two

And if you want to see what TV presenter Dermot O’Leary picked out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

Nature’s Miracle Orphans: I can’t explain my bond with Moyo, the baby elephant

2016-02-05T15:30:18+00:00

Watching cheeky baby elephant Moyo invade her human carer’s home in BBC One’s Nature’s Miracle Orphans is a moment of joy. Although it takes some guts (and possibly a touch of madness) to make caring for orphaned wild animals your life, Roxy Danckwerts’ love for each animal is so apparent, and so easy to understand.

With elephants, a gnu, cheetahs, lions and more raiding her family home constantly, what is it about this life that keeps Roxy going?

We have about 100 animals at our Zimbabwean sanctuary, Wild is Life at present. There are 15 different species, ranging from a hand-raised squirrel (the most dangerous animal on the property, he bites like a terrapin!) to the elephant family.

Moyo shows us who's in charge in a clip from Nature's Miracle Orphans

We had 10 elephant calves through the nursery last year, so our hands are very full indeed. Young calves need constant monitoring and every night, I set my alarm for every two to three hours to go outside and check their status. It is exhausting indeed. I am getting far too old for it!

When Moyo was tiny we all thought she was a boy, but now know she is a she. The most important thing is she is well and healthy.

Moyo has a number of brilliant handlers who are with her 24/7. That being said, I am an integral part of her life. She knows my voice, my smell and somehow knows where I am at all times. How, I have no idea!

Presenter Lucy Cooke meets Roxy for an animal-friendly tea party

Moyo is just as important to me, as I am to her. She is one of those animals with whom I have formed an extraordinary bond of friendship, trust and love.

I have had these close relationships with other species, particularly a lion named Bones and a kudu named Sweetpea. However, this thing with Moyo goes far, far deeper than those bonds. There is something otherworldly about it - I am finding it difficult to explain!

I am a highly emotionally charged being. It’s a worry! I am very anxious about the reality of release into the wild, especially for Moyo. Letting go will be hard. However, I am so determined and so sure of this road that I have chosen.

All parents want the best for their children. I want the best for the elephant children, and that best is freedom to roam and to make their own choices. So, yes, I will probably have a nervous emotional collapse (one of many) but that does not deter me from pursuing this goal.

Moyo’s companion, Josephine, is the most special kind of dog! She was rescued from a shelter, when I felt that Moyo needed a friend to try and lift her spirits. She and Moyo bonded instantly.

She now lives with the ellies and goes out with them on their daily excursions to the bush. She is totally fearless and very protective of her beloved pachyderm friends.

When a new baby elephant comes in, she is right there beside it. She sleeps in the stable with any new or sick ellie. She loathes the lions though! I think that Josie loves her life with the elephants, particularly Moyo. She can often be found inside her stable, fast asleep next to her.

I am remarkably lucky to have such an understanding human family. I have two grown sons, who have tolerated the invasion of their space with supreme generosity. My poor husband is extremely long-suffering. He puts up with my nightly excursions to the nursery and the all-pervading aroma of things elephant.

One of my absolute favourite times is when the ellies are quietly browsing in their stables. I can look out over the plain in front of the nursery and really appreciate how surreal but wonderfully generous this life of mine is.

The pain and heartbreak of losses seem to melt into the background and I am mindful, in this moment, of how extraordinary these forgiving and empathetic animals are. And how I will do whatever it takes to protect those that I can.

Roxy Danckwerts runs the Wild is Life sanctuary in Zimbabwe.

Nature's Miracle Orphans starts on Sunday, 7 February at 5.35pm on BBC One. Each episode will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Jim Chapman’s guide to the vlogging life

2016-02-01T15:20:17+00:00

Jim Chapman has over 2.4 million video subscribers, 1.6 million Twitter followers, and is part of a family of extremely successful UK video bloggers. As Jim takes on his first documentary presenting gig in BBC Three’s Rise of the Superstar Vloggers, he explains the vlogging rules he lives by.

I always say that vlogging, to begin with at least, is a very anti-social way of being social. You can reach millions of people, but you never have to actually put yourself in the social situation of talking face to face.

It’s like a safety net to find out if being yourself will actually result in people liking you. If you watch my videos in some sort of chronological order, you can actually see how I begin to relax as my confidence grows. I rarely feel shy anymore.

This external content is available at its source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlIblRn3NqQ

The first time I vlogged was exciting, but I didn’t really think much more of it than that. It’s not like I knew it was going to take off and grow into what it has become today. It was just a hobby, something I enjoyed to take my mind off the fact that I had no idea what I wanted my career to be.

Anyone can make videos. All you need is a camera, an internet connection and something to edit on. I don’t think that just because you can upload content that you'll make a success of it though. I actually think this is a good thing. If you make videos because you want fame then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons and the audience will see through it.

I still have no idea why people enjoy watching me and it scares me that they’ll realise I’m actually not that special. Sometimes I do suspect that this is the very reason it is so special though: I’m a really normal guy and get to take my audience on all the weird and wonderful journeys I go on. It’s not scripted or produced or false, it’s just me.

This external content is available at its source: Jim and wife Tanya pull funny faces for a picture

I think vlogging is contagious. My sisters (Sam Chapman and Nic Haste - beauty vloggers Pixiwoo) started, then my wife Tanya Burr, then me, then my brother John and his friend Leon, then Leon’s girlfriend...

Although it feels like you see everything, we all share only what we want to. We all have a 24 hour day just like everyone else and we’ll make a 10 minute video from that day. There is certainly a learning process involved though. When I first started, I felt a need to share everything and it got a bit too much for me, so I took a step back, realised where my boundaries were and re-evaluated.

On our wedding day, the last thing Tanya and I wanted to do was to keep getting our cameras out and miss the moments we wanted to share with each other. We actually had a no social media rule at the wedding. We just wanted all of our guests to have fun and take a day off with us.

This external content is available at its source: Jim Chapman and Tanya Burr on their wedding day

In general, I do think that people’s private space has become much smaller due to social media. But it’s important to remember that people only post what they want to. There is no automatic life update on Twitter. If people overshare, there’s probably a reason for it.

Presenting this documentary was really different for me. I’m so used to rambling on about whatever I want to, however I want to - there’s nobody giving me any feedback. But with TV all that changes.

I don’t think traditional media will ever disappear, but I certainly see that I am in the right place at the right time. This generation (and seemingly the ones that follow) tends to like the choice of the internet. They can watch shows with high production values and also see people like me attempt to bake a cheesecake and fail miserably.

This external content is available at its source: Jim holidays with other vloggers including Tanya Burr and Zoella

I think the moment you have to think about how real you are online is the moment you lose all credibility. This is the easiest part of my job: I’m me and I can’t not be. I’ve been doing this for about five years now and although I’ve grown up a little and my life has completely changed, I couldn’t fake who I am for all of this time.

But some platforms can be misleading. On Instagram, you may take 100 photos before you find the perfect one you want to post which can lead to a slightly altered version of your reality. Video content doesn’t give you that luxury. I film when I’m all sweaty and gross after the gym!

Jim Chapman is a vlogger and presents Rise of the Superstar Vloggers.

Rise of the Superstar Vloggers is broadcast on Monday, 1 February at 9pm on BBC Three. The programme will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

David Beckham's best moments at the BBC

2015-12-21T14:00:24+00:00

Footballer, dad (and People magazine’s sexiest man alive 2015), David Beckham is back on BBC One this Christmas for a special documentary, David Beckham: For the Love of the Game.

Working with Unicef, David travels to seven different continents in 10 days, meeting people, learning about their lives and playing football with them. He plays in a Somalian refugee camp in Africa, ice cold Antarctica (in snow boots, of course), and even at Old Trafford, where Sir Alex Ferguson - who Becks still calls "The Manager" - succeeds in making him nervous even now. Watching the film, Becks particularly impressed us with his command of Spanish and the incredible way he interacts with children - they seem to flock to him.

So with two documentaries under his belt as well as tonnes of special guest performances, we’ve been thinking back to Becks’ many, many great appearances at the BBC…

The time he aced Wimbledon

This external content is available at its source: David Beckham catches a tennis ball in the Wimbledon crowd

Not content with getting to the top of his football game all around the world, Becks proved that his skills transcend the sports, after he caught a tennis ball as it went out of play in Wimbledon this summer.

Sitting in the crowd with mum Sandra (aww), this clip captures the moment. And shortly afterwards, it also captures his slight embarrassment at attracting the crowd’s attention. If this clip had honest subtitles, we imagine it would say: “Ah pants. Everyone saw. Time to smile and wave…”

The time he yelped at a snake

Don’t let those tattoos fool you – even David Beckham gets scared sometimes.

While filming Into the Unknown, his 2014 documentary about his backpacking travels through Brazil, Becks’ cool demeanour was momentarily shaken when a snake slithered into his camp. Watch from 00:31 seconds on this clip to hear the fear.

Fun fact: childhood pal Dave Gardner, who stars with Becks here, brings the laughs again in For the Love of the Game.

The time he went all Only Fools and Horses on us

A much-hyped Sport Relief sketch in 2014 saw Becks join wheeler-dealer Derek Trotter and long-suffering little brother Rodney Trotter in a Peckham café, where he once again proved his self-deprecating sense of humour.

Watch to discover why Becks never quite made the move into a big acting career. Er, sorry Becks…

The time he talked about his terrible hairdos

The bowl cut, the braids, the skinhead – David Beckham has proudly sported just about every hairstyle going. But as he told Graham Norton, he wasn’t always thinking about what he was doing…

The best bit about this clip, from February 2015? The fledgling bromance that’s brewing between Becks and Hugh Jackman. Please tell us they now walk their dogs together in LA?

The time he let Smithy pamper him

We always knew he was a well-groomed man, but Becks showed us what really goes into his look in this 2010 Sports Relief sketch. Becks sent himself up by appearing with Smithy (off of Gavin and Stacey), complete with fluffy robe.

Skip to 2:32 to see Becks having his nails done, hair straightened, and showing off his impressive floristry skills. Gosh did we enjoy that wink.

And not forgetting that crucial free kick…

This external content is available at its source: https://twitter.com/SteveWilson1967/status/651297647488335872

Well you can’t have a David Beckham post without a bit of football, can you?

Yep, we're talking about that moment from 2001, when England played Greece for a place in the 2002 World Cup final. England needed a point to qualify when they were losing 1-2 and going into extra time. In comes David Beckham, with a free kick in the 93rd minute. He steps back – as the world watches him – and confidently curls it into the top corner.

Talk about goosebumps.

David Beckham: For the Love of the Game, is broadcast on Tuesday, 29 December at 9pm on BBC One. The programme will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Love You To Death: What domestic violence does to a family

2015-12-16T12:30:00+00:00

The statistics about domestic homicide are shocking. On average, seven women a month in Britain are killed by their male partner or ex-partner. My idea for Love You To Death: A Year of Domestic Violence, was to make a film that would name all the women killed by their partners in one calendar year, to dignify all them with a name and an identity so they would be more than just a Home Office statistic.

We approached all 86 families of the women killed in 2013 to explain that the project would name their relative with a view to raising awareness of the issue of domestic violence – a terrifyingly common occurrence that people often shy away from discussing.

A board of photos and clippings marks out the 86 deaths as part of the documentary

There are so many assumptions about domestic violence, but the striking thing was that the women were from all over the country and had died in such widely differing circumstances. They were from very different cultural backgrounds. Some were teenagers, others in their 80s. And the length of their relationships with the perpetrators varied from just a few weeks to over 40 years.

Some were relationships with a history of violence, but – perhaps surprisingly - in many instances, the murder was the first act of violence ever to occur. The thing that shocked me most was how extreme the violence was in many of the cases – a beheading, a man who cut his wife’s heart out, women brutally murdered in front of their children.

The film features the stories of several of the women in more detail, remembering who they were and trying to piece together what led to their deaths. Their stories are told in the film by their families, friends and neighbours, so it quickly became apparent that the film would also explore the traumatic impact of domestic violence on those left behind.

Assia Newton's murder caused a rift between her three daughters

The effect on all the families we talked to in the course of our research was overwhelming and enduring. Many were suffering post-traumatic stress and are still in need of counselling or medication. As well as shock at the sudden and violent loss of someone they loved, people often described feelings of guilt. Why did they not know more about what was happening behind closed doors? Could they have done more to intervene?

Others reported feelings of anger that their warnings and advice were ignored and that they are now left to live with the consequences - a never-ending legacy of grief, helplessness and anguish. One young woman in the film describes how her friend’s murder has damaged her trust and has made it much harder for her to form a relationship with a man. Another woman whose sister had been killed explained to me (off-camera) that she panics when she sees her husband picking up a hammer, even though she knows he’s just doing a spot of DIY.

The primary reason these seven families took part in the film was because they did not want their loved one to have died in vain. I hope we have done them justice and that the film will have the impact they are hoping for. Many of them said to me that if even one woman who is in a bad situation reaches out for help as a result of this programme, that would make their involvement in the filming worthwhile.

Vanessa Engle produced and directed Love You to Death: A Year of Domestic Violence.

Love You to Death: A Year of Domestic Violence is broadcast on Wednesday, 16 December at 9pm on BBC Two.

If you, or someone you know, is affected by the issues raised in this programme, please see the information and support page (available until 25 January, 2016) for details of organisations which can help.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Growing up around elephants opened my eyes to the magic of nature

2015-08-27T14:18:07+00:00

As a child, Saba Douglas-Hamilton grew up around wild elephants in Tanzania and Kenya, thanks to her father, Iain Douglas-Hamilton's conservation work. Now a mother herself to three young daughters, Saba is raising her family in a similar environment and is the subject of BBC Two documentary This Wild Life.

The more you watch elephants, the more you slip into their mind-scape and begin to see the world through their eyes. Most of what I know about them I learnt by osmosis - growing up amongst them while my parents did their research in the 70s and 80s. Later on, I was able to match my intuitive interpretations with what I read, which opened my eyes to the deep magic of the natural world.

Spending time with elephants, you appreciate how tender they are to one another: how independently minded each can be; the daily challenges faced by a matriarch as she tries to persuade her family to follow her lead, or her courage in times of danger.

Perhaps what I've learnt most from growing up in the bush is how everything in nature is interconnected and how important wild spaces are for our sanity. It was perhaps this realisation that prompted us to relocate to Samburu district, Kenya, to bring our three kids up at Elephant Watch Camp.

Both my husband Frank and I are deeply committed to the cause of saving elephants, but we also felt it was an amazing opportunity to open our kids' eyes to a very different way of life and give them time to explore their imaginations and creativity while their brains were still uncluttered.

At first they were scared by the monkeys stealing mangos at breakfast or howled when thorns pricked their baby-soft feet, but it was merely a matter of learning the ropes. Pump-action water pistols work a treat at keeping monkeys at bay, so the sharpshooters are now locked and loaded in time for tea, and they’ve learnt to scuff their feet in the dust to get rid of most thorns.

On one occasion, when one of the twins was being rather disobedient, tromping off on her own not looking where she was going, she almost bumped into the backside of an elephant bull called Sarara. He whirled around with a great whoosh of annoyance and sent her scampering for cover, luckily into the arms of our ‘security’ - a local warrior called Mporian who was keeping an eye on her. It was a very close call that made the hair on my arms stand on end, and afterwards I could feel her little heart fluttering in her chest like a trapped bird. So far Sarara has proved to be more bark than bite, but you can never take elephants for granted.

The fact that elephants come into camp at all is the most amazing show of trust, and is thanks to the protection they get here in Samburu reserve and the gentle touch of the staff at Elephant Watch Camp. Even better is their inclination to seek out comfortable sand banks close to our tents at night and lay down for a snooze, so that you can hear the calm of their deepening breath as they succumb to elephant dreams under the stars.

Now and then leopards also pad through camp, which sets the vervet monkeys into a frenzy of alarm calls, and the monkeys like to tell us about the presence of civet cats, wild dog, servals, and hyena too. This wakes us up quite a lot at night, but since they are our extra eyes and ears it's always good to listen to what they are saying.

Saba's family, including her father Iain (left) and husband Frank (centre)

But camp is a lot of work, and it isn’t always easy. Trying to keep the standards high is an enormous challenge – vehicles break down, people get sick, nomads go on walkabout, termites gnaw through the infrastructure, and sadly, every now and then we find that an elephant has been killed - but that’s just part of life in the northern frontier.

Samburu National Reserve is a pocket-handkerchief of a protected area that’s part of a much greater wilderness that stretches all the way up to the Ethiopian border. Part of Frank’s work at Save the Elephants is to monitor where the elephants go in that wilderness and why. So we don’t often find time to put our feet up. This only happens during the rains when we pack up camp completely and take a proper break, heading down to the coast for a week or two of swimming in the Indian Ocean.

I know that nothing can last forever, but right now I'm very happy with this particular wild life.

Saba Douglas-Hamilton is a presenter and conservationist.

This Wild Life starts on Monday, 31 August at 7pm on BBC Two. Each episode will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

How pop made art fun

2015-08-24T11:20:34+00:00

There’s something about pop art that tends to get up people’s noses. That was certainly the case in the earliest days of the movement, at the start of the 60s, when paintings by the likes of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein began to be seen in New York. And, to an extent, pop art still polarises opinion today: with its emphasis upon celebrities, consumer products and cartoons, it can come across as superficial. How could a painting of, say, Superman count as a serious work of art?

But pop’s sassy energy and engagement with the real world we all encounter every day is exactly what I love about it. Pop is arguably the most important movement of modern art, because it brought art to the people by focusing on Coke cans, film stars and comics. It made art sexy, glamorous and fun. Yet - as I discovered while filming Soup Cans and Superstars: How Pop Art Changed the World - it was never simply some sort of dead-behind-the-eyes cheerleader for the capitalist system. And its influence is visible all around us.

Alastair gets the pop art treatment

There’s a brilliant anecdote that helps to explain the new pop mindset. The American artist Jasper Johns, whose pioneering work in the 50s had an incalculable influence upon the development of pop art, once heard that Willem de Kooning, a senior member of the abstract expressionist art movement that was dominating New York at the time, had been badmouthing a dealer called Leo Castelli.

“That Castelli,” de Kooning supposedly said. “You could give him two beer cans and he could sell them.”

Tickled by this remark, Johns, who was already making casts of light bulbs, decided to do just that. He cast a couple of Ballantine Ale cans in bronze – and, he said, “Leo sold them.”

Like the other pop artists who followed him, Johns sensed that modern art was taking itself too seriously. If you were an abstract expressionist, you didn’t dillydally when painting a picture with frivolities such as drinking beer, but attempted on canvas to convey grand, essential truths about the human condition.

“I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions – tragedy, ecstasy, doom,” Mark Rothko, one of the major painters associated with the group, said during an interview in 1957.

American pop artist James Rosenquist meets Alastair for BBC Four

In pop art, suddenly, the elitist, rarefied world of abstract art was confronted by the everyday culture of the street. Pop replaced the sombre self-regard of abstract expressionism with a new, more modern attitude that was nimble, witty, ironical, and flip.

This, above all, is what we find in the choice pieces of archive selected for the BBC Four Goes Pop Collection: a zesty, deadpan spirit that is as compelling today as it was when it first appeared back in the 60s.

Artist Derek Boshier explains the American influence on his Cornflakes painting

Pop Goes the Easel (1962), Ken Russell’s inventive and impressionistic documentary about the nascent pop movement in Britain, is a tour de force: the programme’s memorable style more than matches the energy of its subject matter. But there are other, less familiar treats here too, including Paul Morley’s witty investigation into the legacy of Lichtenstein, as well as the redoubtable Robert Hughes pronouncing on pop art’s biggest hitters ahead of an important exhibition of their work at the Hayward Gallery in London in 1969.

I hope that, as they have done for me, these vibrant pieces of footage will make an already lively art movement that little bit more vivid for you too.

Alastair Sooke is an art critic and author. He presents Soup Cans & Super Stars: How Pop Art Changed the World and curates the BBC Four Goes Pop Collection, a selection of archive TV programmes available to watch now in BBC iPlayer.

Soup Cans & Super Stars: How Pop Art Changed the World is broadcast on Monday, 24 August at 9pm on BBC Four and will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

See more about pop art on the BBC Four Goes Pop season page.

Alastair's author image was taken by Richard Cook.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

My love of surfing inspired me to film Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth

2015-08-13T08:50:25+00:00

I am a surfer. I have been surfing for nearly 20 years. Being a surfer gives you an obsession with - and an addiction to - the ocean. It is a strong bond that drives me and leads me through life. I spend my first waking hours of every day thinking about the tides, the swell and the wind hitting my home beaches in Wales.

It felt like a gift to make an episode of Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth, on the tropical side of an ocean that I already know so well. I wanted to learn its moods, discover its magic and tell its stories.

When you surf somewhere, whether the waves are good or bad, you connect with the ocean in a special way. You are immersed in it, harnessing its power, developing respect, sharing time and energy with it. Only then can you discover its secrets and stories, like getting to know a new friend. I take a similar approach in making a programme and telling a new story – you need to immerse yourself in the environment to understand its character.

In the case of the tropical Atlantic, I spent many weeks exploring and swimming the Caribbean coasts to find the right characters and locations to tell the story. In doing so I met people who have an affinity with their sea just as I do with my local Atlantic coast at home - people who know every inch of a beach, reef or mangrove forest, how it changes with the tides or comes alive with bioluminescence (light emitted by living things) at night.

One of the locals in Belize told me about a mangrove forest that he described as an underwater wonderland, and on hearing about it, I knew it would be perfect for the programme. But nothing prepared me for the astonishing beauty that I saw. As soon as the crew arrived, I couldn’t wait to show them what we were about to film!

Legendary cameraman Didier Noirot, our assistant producer Lucy Wells and I spent a week filming among the mangroves, snorkelling and free diving among the shallows to capture new scenes.

Lucy and Renee outside the hut that doubled as their base in Belize

Didier has been diving for many many years and has filmed most of the underwater spectacles we all know and love in wildlife films. He isn’t easy to impress. However, on the first day of filming Didier and I did a recce dive so that we could plan how to get the shots I wanted. He has seen a lot in his long career, and generally plays things very cool, but on this occasion we were both utterly wowed by what we had seen.

Swimming down among the roots was captivating - with every corner turned, we found a new kaleidoscope of colours, textures and variety of life. It was like a British woodland walk in spring, but instead of bluebells, primroses, wild garlic and violets there were tunicates, sponges and corals clinging to the underwater roots, and every so often, if you looked carefully, shy long-snouted seahorses would emerge from the shadows.

A cave near Grand Cayman, with tarpon and silverside fish

I have never seen anything as intricate and beautiful as the underwater wonderland hidden among the mangroves of Belize – such a precious and enchanting world. The mangrove scene is one of my favourite parts of the episode, not only for its beauty, but for the bigger story about how special mangroves are. They normally get bad press as sludgy, ugly places, however there is real magic among Belize’s mangroves. The programme, I hope, will help tell their story and the importance of the role they play in the stability of the tropical Atlantic will become better understood.

Renee Godfrey is a surfer and the director and producer of the third episode of Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth - From Heaven to Hell.

Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth continues on Thursday, 13 August at 9pm on BBC Two. Each episode will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

The photo of Renee surfing is used with kind permission from Stu Norton.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Abz on the Farm: 'You don’t know somebody until you’ve lived with them without wi-fi!'

2015-08-11T07:01:35+00:00

After deciding they'd had enough of their busy city lives, former 5ive singer Abz Love and fiancée Vicky Fallon bought a farm in rural Wales with the aim of creating a simpler life for them both. But as their show Country Strife: Abz on the Farm shows, it hasn't all been plain sailing...

Was it love at first sight?

A: It was probably love at second sight! There was no spark the first time around. We met at a ‘do' that Vicky’s pops was putting on because he’s in the RAF.

V: It wasn’t fireworks… But we met again eight years later - six years ago now. Abz was in a very different place and more humble and I was older and wiser and we immediately fell in love and have been inseparable ever since!

A: We kind of had to go through what we had to go through – do a bit of growing up first!

Describe the moment you decided “Let’s move to rural Wales and set up our own farm!”

V: About a year into our relationship we were renting in London and we were so miserable. We live for our animals and we realised you can’t really have chickens on a balcony in London. You can’t have a horse in a garage – it just doesn’t work. The only option was to look at places further afield where we could actually afford to get somewhere with a bit of land. It took us five years to actually accomplish it because we didn’t have the means. Then the Big Reunion and Big Brother happened and it got to a position where things were a bit easier.

A: I was looking at moving to Bolivia or Bulgaria, but with my accent, I didn’t think it would really work…

V: Wales had such a lovely vibe about it; it looked the part, it had lovely valleys and it’s so green, and the people are lovely as well. But also, it’s cheap, which helps!

So what were your initial plans for your own farm?

V: Well, to be honest, we didn’t think that far. We just needed to get out of the city and back to nature and do something different – we’d done everything there was to do when it comes to city life: night clubs; fine dining, and we needed to get some balance back. We didn’t think about what we needed, we just dove in.

A: When I did TV show The Big Reunion, I thought I was a farmer because I grew some potatoes and carrots and stuff, but really I only had a big garden! Here the land is... well, drainage and water logging ain’t funny! It’s madness!

V: We don’t have television, we don’t have wi-fi and we don’t have mobile phones! We’ll have to drive up a mountain to watch the show on BBC iPlayer!

What was the most nerve-racking element of the move?

V: Well the thing I was most nervous about was how we were going to afford anything. I do all the sensible stuff in our relationship – Abz doesn’t even open his own mail!

A: I’m right here, I’m right here!

V: He just kind of floats through life, waking up, maybe going out in the garden and doing a bit of weeding, while I’m up on a mountain trying to sort out our financial stuff out!

A: I think we all know you don’t know somebody until you’ve lived with them without wi-fi and I think we’ve passed that border now – I was really nervous about that because we were really hard on online, you know, high speed internet. But now we play scrabble and have conversations! My highest scoring scrabble word recently was viscount.

V: He’s been on about that one for weeks!

Left: Abz holds his first chicken as a child. Right: Vicky with their cockerel, Nando

Abz, when you were in 5ive, did you ever imagine your future would be in farming?

A: Definitely not, man! Milking the cows and talking to my neighbour about how to make a basket out of willow and hazel? Like, what!? Everything feels real. Sometimes in the city I felt no connection to nobody or anything, but out here it feels like there’s a duty to look after our little part of the planet.

V: It’s definitely different to our old life, but it’s definitely not boring.

Did you ever get to a point where you thought: ‘Let’s go back to London’?

V: At Christmas there were definitely a few ‘Oh wow, what have we done’ moments. It was cold and windy and there was snow. We were learning how to cook on the stove, which we also used to heat our house. Our whole existence over winter was just starting fires and trying to keep warm.

A: It was too much this one time - the wind was slapping my face, I was knee deep in mud in the field and I looked up to the sky and was like: 'Why god, why?' It was a proper Biblical moment – like a flood was coming!

V: Abz has an overactive imagination! We were really feeling the pressure and we were rowing. Thank god we didn’t think it through more, because I think if we’d have known it was going to be that hard we wouldn’t have done it.

You’re clearly big animal lovers – tell us about some of the farm’s residents?

V: The dogs are our babies! We take them everywhere!

A: We’ve got two horses who are far too big for us and they’re churning up the paddock. We should probably have got smaller horses…

V: We probably should have got no horses! But that’s the big debate right now – do we persevere with the horses, or is it not practical where we are… it’s quite a sensitive topic! We also had nine chickens, but we’ve only got four left because a fox outwitted us.

A: We have three feral cats. They’re eating well – organic cat food – they’re eating better than me!

V: We thought they could catch mice on the farm, but we’ve fed them too much. Now they’re inviting other cats!

What’s the future for the farm?

V: It doesn’t have to make us rich, but I’d like it to get as self-sufficient as we can. I’m growing a variety of stuff and we’re thinking of maybe trying truffle hunting!

A: I read that a white truffle went for a cool million!

V: We have not got a flippin’ clue what we’re going to do, but the goal is to try and find out. Abz has got to go out and try his hand at different things.

A: I’m enjoying working with wood so I might get into woodwork. I’ve made a decent mallet! And I’ve made an egg holder…

V: It’s basically a chunk of wood with some chiselled out grooves for the eggs.

A: It’s very authentic looking and rustic. I’ve also made a shelf…

V: …But it can’t go up against the wall.

A: And I’ve made a table out of an old window!

V: That was pretty cool!

A: I just need to think of a company name… Maybe Woody!

Abz Love and Vicky Fallon star in Country Strife: Abz on the Farm.

Country Strife: Abz on the Farm starts on Sunday, 16 August at 9.45pm on BBC Two. Each episode will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Wanted: A Very Personal Assistant – ‘We felt like long lost friends!’

2015-07-30T14:32:33+00:00

Wanted: A Very Personal Assistant, introduces young disabled woman, Jasmine, to her temporary PA Emily, and they get on like a house on fire. Since filming stopped, Emily has remained on Jasmine’s bank of carers, and they are still very good friends. Here's an insight into their unique friendship...

What made you two such a good fit for each other?

J: Me and Emily got on so well because we have the same interests: partying, socialising and drinking. We both like to sing too, so it was a massive bonus for me to be able to sing with her brothers’ band, something I'd never done before.

E: Jasmine and I share a love for crude comedy and a strong belief in speaking honestly without constraint, so inevitably we were both up for talking about topics that would ordinarily be taboo when you’ve only known someone for a few hours!

Jasmine (left) and Emily (right): "The big plan is to go to a festival together"

What has been your favourite experience together? Why was that?

J: My favourite experience was going swimming with Emily, it's such an amazing thing to be able to walk in water, and to be able to experience this with her was truly amazing.

E: I introduced Jaz to my brothers at an open mic in Bristol. We’re in a Disney cover band called Dizney Rascal which is extremely silly. Jaz had told me that she likes to sing so I asked her if she wanted to sing a song together. My brothers thought she was really sound (and also a "slammin’ hotty"). Jaz was pretty nervous but she just got up, no messing and smashed it, of course. She’d just overcome a pretty big fear and it was a pleasure to watch.

What has been the most testing moment for the both of you?

J: I did struggle with the personal care, because I am shy. I worried that if Emily didn't wash me correctly I'd have to tell her to do it again and this would be awkward… which it wasn't.

E: This will sound ridiculous, but for me the most testing part of my experience of working for Jasmine was the polishing. I don’t want to sound like a princess but I have genuinely never polished a thing in my 21 years of living!

How have your domestic skills improved, Emily?!

E: I would love to say that some of Jasmine’s tidiness rubbed off on me, but that would be a straight up lie. I’m still not bringing my washing in before it rains and I have yet to master poaching eggs. Scattiness is in my genes!

What’s one thing you’ve learned from each other?

J: Since meeting Emily I have an 'I don't care' attitude. I have had three VERY daring tattoos since meeting her and I love them!

E: I’ve learned so many things from Jasmine it’s kind of impossible to say succinctly. She taught me how to straighten my hair properly... and I guess how to not look like a mess in general! More importantly, I have been trying to emulate the patience that she exhibited when taking me through her personal care routine.

Jasmine’s not resentful or frustrated with the sometimes inconsiderate treatment of people with disabilities in society. She seems to handle everything that life throws at her with so much grace.

How does your friendship make you feel?

J: Have you ever met someone and wondered how you managed without them before? Emily is like the long lost friend I never met, I literally love her.

E: I knew Jasmine and I would be good buddies as soon as I sat down in the interview and we started talking about how prone we are to dying our hair stupid colours until it falls out. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to her for choosing me as her PA and giving me the chance to get to know her. She is a truly stellar woman.

What would you say to young people looking for an assistant or young people looking to take on a similar role?

E: I would say that you’d be hard pushed to find a more meaningful and challenging role. Being a PA for young people just doesn’t seem like work (except maybe the cleaning and cooking aspect - but I’m sure the majority of young people out there aren’t quite as inept as myself when it comes to the household chores!). All you need is the resolve to just give it a whirl.

Wanted: A Very Personal Assistant continues on Friday, 31 July at 9pm on BBC Three. Each episode will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

The programme is part of Defying the Label on BBC Three, a season of compelling programmes capturing the lives of young disabled people.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Shark: How swimming with whale sharks still brings me to tears

2015-05-11T09:59:08+00:00

This afternoon I’ve pulled everything off the office walls and emptied my desk after working on Shark for three years. Thinking back to the start of production, I felt very differently than I do now – I was scared of sharks.

Of course I wasn’t alone in that, and episode one of the series shows why, focusing on their awesome power and predation. But this week’s episode will show you a different side. It shows sharks as vulnerable babies, seductive mates and caring mothers.

I was the assistant producer on the series and dived with sharks all over the world. Over this time I discovered another side to their infamous fearsome image… and learned to love sharks.

As one of the crew in charge of dive safety, you would think a shark attack was always the top of my risk assessment. In reality, the most dangerous hazards were the cold, dehydration, getting the bends from diving deep, and of course the weather: we had two cyclones and a tsunami when I was on location in the Galapagos and Great Barrier Reef!

Sharks can, of course be dangerous, but by working with world-renowned scientists we learned how to read a shark’s body language and stay safe. For instance if a shark arches its back and lowers its fins it’s a sign of aggression and it’s best to give it some space, or get out!

Although it’s quite unnerving when a great white shark holds your gaze for several seconds, I knew I wasn’t on their menu. In fact you’re more likely to die from a wasp sting, a lightning strike, or my favourite – a vending machine falling on you!

Watch Rachel in the water: This is the clip that makes her cry

When working in wildlife film making you can be so focused on ensuring the camera operator gets the shot that you forget to enjoy the experience. But there was one moment that really took my breath away: I was fortunate enough to swim amongst a group of whale sharks and manta rays off the Yucatan in Mexico.

Each whale shark is the size of a double decker bus and mantas have five-metre long wing spans. When diving down with these huge harmless fish (they eat plankton) I kept having to stop, take a breath and pinch myself to believe I was actually there.

I didn’t realise how many sharks I was swimming amongst until I watched the footage back, shot from a helicopter above. I was overwhelmed to see I’d been in the water surrounded by 800 of them, and every time I watch the sequence back it still brings me to tears.

Sharks can be brutal, but they’re also mothers trying to find a safe place for their young, passionate lovers, cheeky adolescents and graceful giants. You only need to look beyond the bite!

Rachel Butler is an assistant producer on Shark.

Shark continues on Thursday, 14 May at 9pm on BBC One. Each episode will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

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