National Geographic commissions new shows about planets, Pompeii with Tom Hiddleston, Princess Diana and finding the real Nemo

by Thinus Ferreira

National Geographic (DStv 181) has commissioned a series exploring the legacy of Pompeii with Tom Hiddleston, finding the real Nemo clown fish, exploring the planets and has cancelled Life Below Zero, The Incredible Dr Pol and Dr Oakley Yukon Vet.

"These new unscripted series epitomise everything National Geographic stands for - bold, captivating storytelling rooted in world-class research and expertise," says Tom McDonald, executive vice president of global unscripted and factual content, at National Geographic.

"Whether it's the cutting-edge innovation of The Real Finding Nemo, the storytelling panache of Surviving Pompeii, the sweeping ambition of Meet the Planets, or the unparalleled access in Diana: One Day in Paris, National Geographic is building on its reputation as the home of the most distinctive factual series from the very best storytellers in the world."

National Geographic describes The Real Finding Nemo as "an intimate and entertaining journey through the thrilling underwater world of charming characters where life is filled with epic drama and relatable life situations".

"Inspired by Pixar's smash hit film, this series will immerse viewers in the intricate dynamics of life on the reef and beyond as the underwater citizens engage in friendship, deception, romance, and resilience."

"From Freeborne Media along with the world's best underwater cinematographers, our ocean characters will transport viewers into the world below with themes that are relevant to sea creatures and human creatures alike. Dive into a clownfish's epic quest, the unpredictable danger-filled 'drop-off', and experience the everyday jobs that keep Reef City alive like any thriving metropolis in the human world."

The Real Finding Nemo is produced by Freeborne Media with James Honeyborne as executive producer.

Tom Hiddleston brings his passion for ancient history to life in Surviving Pompeii, produced by Plimsoll Productions.

Tom Hiddleston leads a groundbreaking historical exploration "that immerses audiences in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and the hauntingly preserved Roman city it left behind".

National Geographic describes the series as "a creatively ambitious meld of documentary and drama on a journey into the past that is still echoed in the present".

"Tom Hiddleston, who studied Classics at Cambridge University and is a dedicated enthusiast of ancient history, embarks on a detective-like quest, breathing life back into the lost voices of Pompeii's people."

Each episode uncovers real stories hidden for centuries, revealing the everyday life of 2000 years ago.

"Through richly emotional narratives, Tom Hiddleston unveils a remarkably modern city and brings to light the lives of ordinary Romans - not just the elite - showing how their resilience and choices still echo in our world today."

For Plimsoll Productions, Grant Mansfield, Alan Eyres, Helen Flint and Tom Barbor-Might are executive producers. 

Meet the Planets is produced by Maximum Effort and BBC Studios Science Unit, with Andrew Cohen as executive producer at BBC Studios Science Unit. 

It is an astronomy series that "brings the galaxy's most famous family to life, with the sun as the matriarch, surrounded by her unruly planetary children".

Diana: One Day in Paris from 72 Films is a three-part documentary series exploring the tragic death of Princess Diana on the 30th anniversary of that fateful paparazzi car chase through a Parisian motorway tunnel. 

Produced by the team behind 9/11: One Day in America and JFK: One Day in America, the series will use the One Day In...  franchise's trademark present-tense approach that bypasses conspiracy theories in favour of factual accuracy. 

National Geographic says it will "uncover new insights using rare archives and interviews with witnesses who have never spoken publicly. This landmark series will look at the 24 hours before and after Diana's death in forensic detail and follow the story through to her funeral one week later when the world mourned the passing of an icon".

M-Net to show the TV special Diana: The Interview That Shocked the World revealing new insights about Princess Diana's shocking 1995 sit-down interview and how it came to be.

by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net (DStv 101) has acquired the documentary TV special, Diana: The Interview That Shocked the World, that the channel will broadcast for DStv subscribers on Thursday 16 December at 19:30, packed with new revelations and insights about what Princess Diana said - and what she really meant - when she spoke with the BBC in 1995 and shocked the world and the British monarchy to its core.

Over 22 million people just in the United Kingdom watched the now-disgraced Panorama reporter Martin Bashir's explosive interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, as she spoke about what really happened inside her troubled and crumbling marriage to Prince Charles, and how life inside the royal family and public spotlight had affected her mental health.

By talking publicly to the BBC in the secretly organised sit-down interview, and revealing how unhappy she was in her marriage, what Charles and Camilla were doing ("There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded"), and how she knew she wouldn't be a queen one day but wanted to be a "queen of people's hearts", Diana broke every royal protocol imaginable as she exposed personal traumas and scandals inside the British royal household.

Now, 25 years later, Diana: The Interview That Shocked the World, produced by Rogan Productions with Edward McGown as producer and director, looks at how this broadcasting event of the century was orchestrated.

The TV special look back at what the interview revealed about modern society and delivers new insights into the psychological portrait of Diana herself - a naïve young woman who believed in the fairy-tale of her marriage only to lose her sense of self in its realities. 

Analysts and journalists weigh in with hindsight, and with testimony from both BBC insiders and some of those who were closest to Diana, the TV special uncovers why Princess Diana chose to take this extraordinary gamble to do a public sit-down interview that was not just broadcast in the United Kingdom but watched globally at the time.

Diana: The Interview That Shocked the World also reveals how Martin Bashir, then a comparatively unknown BBC outsider, came to gain Diana's trust, and with his alleged deceit and the interview that the BBC itself has recently branded as "one of the biggest crimes in the history of broadcasting".

New Sky News documentary, Diana: The People's Princess, on DStv on Wednesday has witnesses sharing their fascinating stories from 20 years ago.

DStv subscribers will be able to watch a new Sky documentary about Princess Diana on Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary of her death with Diana: The People's Princess that will be shown on Sky News (DStv 402).

The documentary made by Sky News for broadcast on the Sky One channel in the United Kingdom but also on Sky News, doesn't appear on MultiChoice's DStv electronic programme guide (EPG) so subscribers can't set recordings for Diana: The People's Princess.

Diana: The People's Princess will however be shown on Sky News (DStv 402) on Wednesday 23 August at 16:00 South African time, with a rebroadcast at 21:00.

In Diana: The People's Princess, a man who saw a "beautifully made up" Diana in her coffin, and a pall bearer at her funeral share their emotional stories, as well as journalists and members of the public who witnessed the scene of the crash.

The moving accounts come from those who witnessed first-hand the events surrounding the death of Princess Diana with the documentary that looks at Diana's final hours, the extraordinary events leading up to her funeral and the enduring legacy of her charitable work.

Diana: The People's Princess is broadcast ahead of the 20th anniversary of her death on 31 August next week.

One poignant recollection comes from the man who was military attaché to the British Embassy in Paris at the time.

Brigadier Charles Ritchie helped with the repatriation of Diana's body back to the UK, and more significantly broke protocol by deciding that the Royal Standard and not the Union Flag should be draped on the coffin.

In Diana: The People's Princess, Brigadier Ritchie says: "Her body was in a coffin, there was never a mark on her face, she was beautifully made up, she looked as though she was sleeping.

"The RAF sergeant as I recall said, 'Which flag shall we put on the coffin sir?' And I said, 'What flag have you got?' And he said the Union Flag and the Royal Standard.

"I said, 'Well my head says the Union Jack, my heart says the Royal Standard'. Unless it is a member of the Royal family that is dead the Royal Standard should not be used.

"And I said 'put on the Royal Standard I will take responsibility.'"

The Standard Flag is normally only used for members of the Royal family. From the time of her divorce Diana was no longer known as Her Royal Highness.

Speaking about the reaction to his unorthodox choice he adds: "I was merely told technically I was wrong, but when you saw the reaction of the public… An official communication then arrived to the ambassador informing him to thank me for the unconventional decision I had taken, full stop."

Also speaking in Diana: The People's Princess is Philip Bartlett, who was only 23 and serving in the Welsh Guards, when he was asked to be one of the pallbearers on the day of Diana's funeral.

In the programme he talks movingly about what it meant to carry her coffin and escort the gun carriage through the centre of London on the way to Westminster Abbey.

Talking about the first moment they lifted her coffin and the huge responsibility of that day he says: "It was the first time we actually felt the weight of the coffin, we lifted it up and we thought this is quite heavy this is."

An American couple who were among the first people to witness the scene of the crash inside the tunnel in Paris share their story, along with journalists who reported on the news that the Princess of Wales has died.

April will be Royal Month on ITV Choice with documentaries about the British royal family, including secrets about the Queen and Princess Diana.

April will be Royal Month on ITV Choice (DStv 123) with several documentaries during the month about the British royal family - including the sharing of fascinating secrets about Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana.

When Ant & Dec Met the Prince: 40 Years of the Prince's Trust on ITV Choice on Thursday 14 April at 20:00 tells of a year-long visit the two presenters did to Prince Charles' The Prince's Trust in 2015.

With unprecedented access, this "first and exclusive broadcast in Africa" shows fascinating archive footage mixed with interviews with Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry, Camilla and pop star Cheryl Cole, telling the story of the organisation's journey as a youth charity.

The Queen's Worst Year on ITV Choice on Thursday 28 April at 20:00 is an hour long documentary about Queen Elizabeth II's "annus horribilis - 1992 - a year of scandal, tragedy and turmoil for the royal family that stretched the British monarchy's credibility to the breaking point.

From Fergie's topless scandal to Charles and Diana's divorce, to the Great Fire at Windsor, the documentary looks at how the Queen weathered the storms that threw the royal family into a profound identity crisis.

Royal Secrets starting on Friday 15 April at 20:00 is a 10-part half hour series that will be broadcast on ITV Choice in South Africa and Africa "first and exclusive" and within 5 days of being shown in the United Kingdom.

Two episodes will be shown every Friday, back to back.

Each half hour of Royal Secrets will reveal secrets about members of Britain's royal family, with substantial exclusive footage from ITV's Royal Archive.

Ep 1: Edward and MrsSimpson
Ep 2: First Steps (Royal babies)
Ep 3: Royal wives
Ep 4: Born to be King (Prince Charles)
Ep 5: The Queen's Sister (Princess Margaret)
Ep 6: The Man who would be King (Prince William)
Ep 7: The Diana File
Ep 8: Safe Hands (Queen Elizabeth II)
Ep 9: For King and Country (George V)
Ep 10: Royal Mistress (Camilla Parker Bowles)


Prince Philip : The Plot to Make a King on ITV Choice on Thursday 7 April at 20:00 is an hour long documentary as a "first and exclusive in Africa" broadcast telling the inside story of the tensions that were unleashed when Queen Elizabeth II fell in love with Prince Philip.

Young Philip, it was felt, "was rough, ill-mannered, uneducated, and would probably not be faithful," according to one courtier. The documentary draws on unpublished memoirs to show how Philip were maneuvered for a royal marriage as early as 1939 when the Queen was just 13.

Cameraman to the Queen on ITV Choice on Thursday 21 April at 20:00 as a "Queen's Birthday Special" is another "first and exclusive in Africa" documentary that will provide fascinating insight into the work of royal cameraman Peter Wilkinson who has been present at the Queen's public engagements for 18 years.

This documentary highlights his unique relationship with the Queen and shows his work during several royal and state events as he talks about some of the most memorable and poignant royal moments he has filmed.


The Secret Photos of the Duke and Duchess on ITV Choice on Friday 8 April at 20:00 is an hour long documentary that offers new insight into the romance between the King and "the divorcee", revealing for the first time ever more than a 1 000 personal photos that the Duchess of Windsor gave to her gardener on the Duke's death and which have remained hidden until now in a trunk of mementoes.