Overview
- The BBC has commissioned a five-part series called Evolution presented by Chris Packham that uses five emblematic animals to explain how life diverged from a single-celled ancestor.
- Each episode centres on one species—the elephant, ostrich, horse, bat and dolphin—to illustrate a major theme of evolution such as size, reproduction, movement, feeding and intelligence.
- The production sought to reduce its carbon footprint by filming each episode largely in a single location, with featured shoots in Kenya, South Africa, the UK, the Bahamas and Borneo.
- Packham combines intimate, presenter-led moments—for example close encounters with dolphins and an ostrich hatching—with clear, up-to-date scientific explanation of topics like DNA without ‘dumbing down.’
- Framed as a modern counterpart to Sir David Attenborough’s Life on Earth, the series aims to use familiar species as teaching tools to broaden public understanding of deep-time evolution and public conversation about science communication.