''Our Zoo'' is a British drama television series from

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

, first broadcast on 3 September 2014. The six-part series, written by

Matt Charman Matt Charman (born June 5, 1979) is a British screenwriter, playwright, and producer from Horsham, West Sussex. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his 2015 film '' Bridge of Spies'', directed by Steven Spielber ...

and directed by Andy De Emmony, is about

George Mottershead George Saul Mottershead (12 June 1894 – 5 May 1978) was the founder of Chester Zoo. Early life Mottershead was born in Sale Moor, Manchester. His father Albert Mottershead was a botanist and nurseryman. He had two brothers Stanley Saul and ...

, his dreams of creating a cage-free zoo, his family and how their lives changed when they embarked on the creation of

Chester Zoo Chester Zoo is a zoo at Upton-by-Chester, Cheshire, England. Chester Zoo was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family. It is one of the UK's largest zoos at . The zoo has a total land holding of approximately . Chester Zoo is operate ...

Cast

Lee Ingleby Lee David Ingleby (born 28 January 1976) is an English film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Sergeant/Detective Inspector John Bacchus in the BBC drama '' Inspector George Gently'', as Stan Shunpike in ...

* Liz White as Lizzie Mottershead *

Anne Reid Anne Reid, MBE (born 28 May 1935) is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000); and her role ...

as Lucy Mottershead * Peter Wight as Albert Mottershead *

Ralf Little Ralf Alastair John Little (born 8 February 1980) is an English actor, writer, presenter, narrator and former semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He played Antony Royle in ''The Royle Family'' and Jonny Keogh in ...

as Billy Atkinson *

Sophia Myles Sophia Jane Myles (; born 18 March 1980) is an English actress. She is best known in film for portraying Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in Thunderbirds (2004 film), ''Thunderbirds'' (2004), Isolde in ''Tristan & Isolde (film), Tristan & Isolde'' (2 ...

as Lady Katherine Longmore *

Stephen Campbell Moore Stephen Campbell Moore (born Stephen Moore Thorpe, 30 November 1979) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in Alan Bennett's play '' The History Boys'' and the film based on it. Since 2019, he has starred in the sci-fi television ...

as Reverend Aaron Webb *Amelia Clarkson as Muriel Mottershead *

Honor Kneafsey Honor Kneafsey is a British actress, best known for her voice role as Robyn Goodfellowe in ''Wolfwalkers''. Kneafsey started her career as a child actress, such as her role as June, the youngest child of historical figure George Mottershead, in ...

as June Mottershead

Production

''Our Zoo'' was commissioned by Danny Cohen and

Ben Stephenson Benjamin Stephenson is a television executive, formerly controller of drama at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and currently Head of Television at Bad Robot Productions in the United States. Personal life Stephenson attended The ...

for BBC One. The series was based on an idea introduced to

Big Talk Productions Big Talk Productions Limited is a British film and television production company founded by Nira Park in 1994. Big Talk was acquired by ITV Studios in 2013. Film Filmography Released Upcoming Critical reception Commercial performance ...

by Aenon, the production company headed by Adam Kemp. Filming took place in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, as well as at

Walton Hall Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada *Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

and at

Abney Hall Abney Hall is a Victorian house surrounded by a park in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England, () built in 1847. It is a Grade II* listed building. History Early history The foundations of the hall were laid in 1842 on the site of Cheadle Grov ...

in Cheadle. When BBC said there would be no second series of ''Our Zoo'', many fans were left surprised by the decision. On 10 December 2014 the '' Chester Chronicle'' created an online petition in the hopes of renewing the show for another series, and by the next day more than 1000 fans had signed it. In spite of these efforts, however, the BBC reiterated that they would not be producing a second series.

Episode list

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=3620824, title=Our Zoo 2014 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings Television series set in the 1930s BBC television dramas 2010s British drama television series Television shows set in Cheshire 2010s British television miniseries English-language television shows Zoos