IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE. Jungle Gold coming to The Discovery Channel from Monday 1 April at 21:25.

The new reality show Jungle Gold with Scott Lomu and George Wright is set to start on The Discovery Channel (DStv 121) on Monday 1 April at 21:25.

Deep in the jungles of Ghana, Scott Lomu and George Wright are looking for gold in this brand-new reality show. Five years ago both were high-flying real estate agents but then they lost everything when America's housing bubble burst in 2008.

Now they've gone on a daring, what most would call a "gamble" to get their fortunes back - they've left Amerca and travelled to the jungles of Ghana in West Africa, looking for gold in the continent's second largest gold-producing country.

In this African country with its vast reserves of gold in the rich ground, even amateur miners and prospectors can strike it very, very rich in an instant. But it's dangerous terrain, a dangerous environment and filled with some dangerous people and animals.

The guys have purchased an 80 acre claim close to the Mirim river and now they want to find gold. What they are going to discover is that it's more important to stay alive.

Finding gold, getting it out of the ground and staying out of danger in the heart of the Ghana jungle is going to become their big challenge as they struggle with mechanical difficulties, territory disputes and hostile people, deadly competition and the jungle itself which isn't willing to let go of its biggest treasure.

How are they going to deal with armed neighbours, broken roads, roadblocks manned by Ghanaian gangs as well as shady and ruthless gold buyers?

TOLDJA! Special Oscar Pistorius 'What Really Happened?' documentary coming to Discovery Channel this Sunday 24 March.

You're reading it here first. 

It's the sensational case transfixing not just South Africa but the world, and now the quick-turnaround special hour long documentary Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened? is coming to South Africa and will be shown this Sunday 24 March on The Discovery Channel (DStv 121) at 20:55 (South African time).

On Friday I wrote that Discovery Networks International had acquired the broadcasting rights to the special investigative British documentary Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened? which was just shown in the United Kingdom to record ratings and was also just sold to Discovery in America where it will be shown as Blade Runner: The Untold Story.

The hour long special documentary from Passion Distribution which is sure to make a massive viewership splash when it's shown in South Africa on Sunday, was quickly filmed and managed to get rare access to several people and places connected to Oscar Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp who he shot and killed. 

Oscar Pistorius has been charged with premeditated murder in a case which has gripped the world's attention. Oscar Pistorius has pleaded not guilty, claiming the shooting was a terrible accident, but the extraordinary case has left many people asking many questions.

The superb documentary produced by Mentorn Media with Rick Edwards as the presenter will give South African viewers the chance to delve deeper into the tragic Valentines Day shooting case which has propelled model and reality star Reeva Steenkamp and the paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius to front page news in a story which has rocked the world.

Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened? was filmed in South Africa and digs deeper into this unprecedented case by bringing viewers new interviews, fresh information and exclusive insights from some of the friends and family of Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius - as well as those close to the case.

Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened? will take viewers inside Reeva Steenkamp's bedroom by her best friend Gina Meyers, who speaks movingly of their friendship. 

The documentary also interviews Reeva Steenkamp's ex-boyfriend who met her for coffee the day before the was shot and killed, and speaks to close friends of Oscar Pistorius as well who all share stories about the athlete they knew and his current state since he was released on bail.

"Since news broke of this tragic event, the entire world has been speculating about what actually happened that Valentine's morning. The appetite for further knowledge about the case is incredibly strong - especially in South Africa where the story is still headline news," says Lee Hobbs, the channel director for emerging business for Discovery Networks' Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) region.

"Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened? will give Discovery Channel viewers more information about the case and the national hero's dramatic reversal of fortune."

Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened? is on Sunday, 24 March on Discovery Channel (DStv 121) at 20:55.

BREAKING. Adventurer Bear Grylls returns to television and The Discovery Channel after a contract dispute, will debut new show, Ultimate Survivors.

The adventurer and survivalist Bear Grylls is returning to television and The Discovery Channel (DStv 121), a year after Bear Grylls and Discovery Networks International (DNI) went their separate ways because of a major contract dispute and brought to an abrupt end the biggest TV show and franchise of Discovery.

Discovery Networks International has now commissioned a brand-new show from Bear Grylls, Bear Grylls: Ultimate Survivors. The first season of Bear Grylls: Ultimate Survivors will have 6 hour long episodes and will be shown on The Discovery Channel in 217 markets worldwide including South Africa.

In Bear Grylls: Ultimate Survivors, he will tell the incredible stories of survival of ordinary people stranded in dire situations, by using archive footage and interviews. Bear Grylls will then place himself in their same position and circumstances to show how survival was possible.

Bear Grylls says he is "super excited to be working with Discovery again".

"Ultimate Survivors, and any future endeavors, will be intense — but that's where the fun is! Ultimate Survival took me to some of the toughest climates and terrains out there, and this new series is an exciting evolution of that. The aim is to follow incredible real-life survival stories and demonstrate dynamic life-saving know-how along the way," says Bear Grylls.

Bear Grylls: Ultimate Survivors is produced by Discovery's production company Betty TV.

"We are thrilled to welcome Bear back to the Discovery fold," says Luis Silberwasser, the chief content officer and executive vice president of Discovery Networks International. "He is a true game-changer in the survival genre, integral in shaping it into the programming powerhouse that it is todat. We are now poised to push the limits even further for our international audience."

The Discovery Channel crashes a plane in the Mexican desert for a brand-new TV special.

Hopefully Bear Grylls made it out alive.

The Discovery Channel (DStv 121) crashed a passenger jet in the Mexican desert with a pilot who ejected from the Boeing 727. The crash test dummies inside were not so lucky. Discovery is filming a plane crash from the inside to show exactly what happens when a plane crashes for an upcoming episode of the show Curiosity.

The special Curiosity episode will be shown worldwide later this year as a TV special. Discovery, working with Britain's Channel 4 as well as Germany's Pro Sieben, deliberately staged the real-life plane crash with multiple cameras aboard to capture the rapid descent, the impact and what exactly happens to everything - and everyone - on a plane in such an event.

The pilot ejected minutes before the crash while an operator remotely steered the 170 seat jet for the last few minutes.

Discovery will now get high quality film footage of what happens inside a plane when it goes down.

"The project aims to recreate a serious, but survivable, passenger jet crash landing with a real aircraft in order to allow an international team of experts to study the crashworthiness of the aircraft's airframe and cabin as well as the impact of crashes on the human body, plus possible means of increasing passenger survivability and evaluating new black box crash-recording technology," says Discovery in a press statement.

"The plane was crashed in a remote and unpopulated part of the Sonoran Desert of Baja California, Mexico. The location was chosen after an extensive international search to find a suitable location offering the perfect conditions for this groundbreaking scientific project."

"For the first time, leading scientists and veteran crash investigators, who have been enthusiastic supporters of this project, witness a plane crash in real time and explore what happens to the airframe and cabin, as well as the effects on the human body during a catastrophe of this magnitude."

"This has been an extraordinary feat of organization, involving up to 300 people on location, including the production team, pilots, experts, risk management, plus local crew, military, fire teams and police. This is the culmination of four years of planning and hard work," says Discovery.

END OF THE ROAD. After 7 years The Discovery Channel cancels Cash Cab.

After 7 years Discovery has cancelled its reality game show Cash Cab with Ben Bailey. The news was first reported by New York magazine's Vulture blog.

In Cash Cab unsuspecting commuters would climb into a taxi and be asked general knowledge questions about specific subjects, earning more money for correct answers, and getting dropped immediately curb side when they fail.

Cash Cab could continue, should the production company, Lion Television, be able to find a new TV channel that wants the show.