Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

The @BBC will not broadcast an episode of David Attenborough’s flagship new series on British wildlife #WildIsles because of fears its themes of the destruction of nature would risk a backlash from Tory politicians & the billionaire-owned press.

theguardian.com/media/2023/mar…

This is symptomatic of something terrible happening to Britain - a rapid slide away from a relatively open, unified, welcoming, forward-looking mature democracy, toward an insular, unwelcoming, backward-looking, polarised, infantilising authoritarian oligarchy.

The decision has angered the programme-makers & some insiders at the @BBC, who fear the corporation has bowed to pressure from lobbying groups with “dinosaurian ways”.

The latest row focuses on #WildIsles, narrated by David Attenborough, which is likely to be extremely popular.

A sixth episode has been filmed, which is understood to be a stark & honest look at the losses of nature in the UK, & what has caused the declines.

It is also understood to include some examples of rewilding, a concept which has been controversial in some right-wing circles.

The sixth episode, a documentary, will not be broadcast along with the others & will instead only be available on the @BBC’s iPlayer

This is what the slide into authoritarianism means in practice: citizens are denied access to essential information inconvenient to the powerful.

Senior sources at the @BBC told the Guardian that the decision was made to fend off potential critique from the political right.

This week the Telegraph "newspaper" attacked the BBC for creating the series & for taking funding from "political lobbyists" the WWF & the RSPB.

For the billionaire-owned Telegraph to frame this as a 'political lobbying scandal' is imho deeply disturbing. Given the toxic influence of #TuftonStreet lobby groups - whose representatives are always on @BBC shows & in the press: this is a sinister & REAL attack on free speech.

One source at the @BBC, who did not want to be named, said “lobbying groups that are desperately hanging on to their dinosaurian ways” such as the farming and game industry would “kick off” if the show had too political a message.

“Frankly, this idea that you sort of put it in a separate programme to almost parcel it to one side is disingenuous. Why don’t they integrate those stories into all of them at the time?”

Laura Howard, who produced the programme and used to work at the @BBC’s Natural History Unit, said she does not believe its messages to be political.

“I think the facts speak for themselves. You know, we’ve worked really closely with the RSPB - @Natures_Voice - in particular who are able to fact-check all of our scripts and provide us with detailed scientific data and information about the loss of wildlife in this country.”

“And it (the loss of wildlife) is undeniable, we are incredibly nature depleted. And I don’t think that that is political, I think it’s just facts.”

She hoped a young audience would be able to find it, as they are used to streaming on iPlayer rather than watching a broadcast.

UPDATE: the @guardian have added:

"In a statement provided after the story was first published, the @BBC said: “This is totally inaccurate, there is no ‘sixth episode’. Wild Isles is – and always was – a five part series and does not shy away from environmental content."

"We have acquired a separate film for iPlayer from the RSPB and WWF and Silverback Films about people working to preserve and restore the biodiversity of the British Isles.”

Alastair Fothergill, the director of Silverback Films and the executive producer of Wild Isles, added: “The @BBC commissioned a five-part Wild Isles series from us at Silverback Films back in 2017. The RSPB and WWF joined us as co-production partners in 2018."

"It was not until the end of 2021 that the two charities commissioned Silverback Films to make a film for them that celebrates the extraordinary work of people fighting to restore nature in Britain and Ireland. The BBC acquired this film for iPlayer at the start of this year.”