BBC Four to air: The Wonder of Bees
Four part series on beekeeping to form centrepiece of BBC Four’s Growing Gardens and Green Fingers Season beginning on 14th April 2014
This April sees the start of BBC Four‟s Growing Gardens and Green Fingers season, celebrating Britain‟s gardens as they burst into bloom this spring.
World at One presenter, Martha Kearney, kicks off the BBC Four season with „The Wonder of Bees,‟ a four part series which offers a unique insight into the science, art and culture of the Honey Bee – the most ingenious insect known to humankind.
A keen amateur beekeeper with no formal training, Martha seeks the knowledge of experts as she attempts to fulfil her ambition of harvesting her first ever crop of wildflower honey. The series will follow Martha‟s journey throughout the beekeeping year from the moment she opens her hives on an unseasonal snowy spring day with temperatures threatening to destroy the bee colony, to facing the challenge of getting the hives ready to produce honey in time to display at the annual summer fete.
The Wonder of Bees will introduce viewers to the pleasures and practicalities of beekeeping capturing Martha‟s attempts at tackling angry bee colonies, getting to grips with swarm control and discovering the art of queen bee wing clipping.
Martha Kearney commented: “I‟ve been fascinated by bees since I was xxx and an amateur beekeeper for over a decade. Honey bees play a vital role in the delicate and diverse ecosystem of Britain‟s gardens and caring for them, although not without its challenges, comes with its own sweet reward. I hope the series will make people think differently about these clever creatures.”
Commissioned by Clare Paterson, Commissioning Editor for the BBC, The Wonder of Bees is executive produced by Chris Shaw and Emma Read for ITN Productions.
The Wonder of Bees will air at xpm, 14th April 2014 on BBC Four and will also be available on demand.
For more information please visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01t6nz6
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Press Contacts: Alice Lam, ITN – 020 7430 4825 / [email protected] Danielle Smith, BBC TV Publicity, 07730 751 882 / danielle.smith@bbc.co.uk
About ITN Productions
ITN Productions creates multi-platform content for major global brands on broadcast, digital and corporate production. Clients that commission award-winning programmes from ITN Productions include major UK and international broadcasters such as ITV, the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, History and Discovery, with television commissions including The Agenda on ITV, Harrow – A Very British School on Sky1, Climbing Great Buildings on
BBC2, Mud Men on History and a contract to produce Dispatches for Channel 4. Entertainment content made by ITN Productions includes FYI Daily on ITV2, The Breakfast Fix on 4Music, entertainment bulletins on 5* and 5USA, The Showbiz 411 on YouTube. ITN Productions also creates news content for a wide range of clients such as, MSN, Virgin Media, Telegraph Media Group, The Independent, Metro, Daily Mail, Daily Express and Daily Star, and the Illiffe and MNA publishing groups. ITN News is on Facebook, is the most viewed news channel on YouTube and produces the citizen journalism channel Truthloader. In sport, ITN Productions produces Barclays Premier League in-game clips and highlights for News UK as well as content for SNTV. Corporate clients working with ITN Productions to create content include Proctor & Gamble, Department of Health and Virgin Active. For more information visit www.itnproductions.co.uk.