BBC refuses to broadcast UK wildlife show David Attenborough ‘because it fears backlash from the right’
- The Wild Isles episode has been shelved for fears of backlash from the right.
- It comes after the BBC has come under pressure to sack broadcaster Gary Lineker.
It has been reported that the BBC will not broadcast an episode of David Attenborough’s new wildlife series for fear it risks backlash from conservative politicians and the right-wing press.
The episode is part of Attenborough’s new documentary Wild Isles which focuses on issues of nature destruction across the UK and will reportedly not be broadcast to avoid potential criticism from the political right.
The documentary, which was part-funded by nature charities WWF and RSPB, will not air with the other five episodes and will only be available on the BBC’s iPlayer streaming service.
It comes after the BBC took Gary Lineker off the air after he reportedly refused to apologize for his tweet comparing the government’s illegal migration bill to 1930s Germany, when the Nazis came to power.
The corporation fears that some ‘dinosaur-shaped’ ‘lobbyists’ such as the farming and hunting industry will ‘take off’ if the program had the potential to be too political, according to the Guardian.
The episode is part of Attenborough’s new documentary Wild Isles which focuses on issues of nature destruction across the UK and has been shelved to avoid possible criticism from the political right.
The Telegraph criticized the series this week for taking funds from “two charities previously criticized for their political lobbying”: the WWF and the RSPB.
But Laura Howard, who produced the show, told The Guardian: ‘I think the facts speak for themselves. You know, we’ve worked very closely with the RSPB in particular, who are able to check all of our scripts and provide us with detailed scientific data and information on wildlife loss in this country.
‘And it’s undeniable, we are incredibly exhausted by nature. And I don’t think that’s political, I think it’s just facts.
Green Party MP for Brighton Pavillion Caroline Lucas criticized the BBC, blasting its decision as an “inexcusable disregard of its duty to public service broadcasting”.
Ms Lucas told The Guardian the BBC should not be intimidated by a culture war stoking the government and called for the episode to be televised.
A BBC spokesperson told The Guardian: “Wild Isles consists of five episodes: Our Precious Isles, Woodland, Grassland, Freshwater and Ocean.”
‘Saving Our Wild Isles is a separate film inspired by the series which was commissioned by the RSPB and WWF. We have purchased it for iPlayer.’
