TELEVISION

Our Zoo - Season 1

Series: Our Zoo

4.7

(397)

Episodes

Rating

TVPG

Year

2014

Language

English

Publisher

BBC Studios

About

Inspiring drama based on the extraordinary real story of the eccentric Mottershead family who, despite huge opposition and personal sacrifice, established Chester Zoo in the 1930s. With single-mindedness bordering on madness, George Mottershead drove himself and his family to realize his ambition to transform a ramshackle house on the outskirts of Chester into a unique institution that would change forever the way zoos house animals.

Related Subjects

Drama

Episodes

1. Episode 1

Frustrated by living with his wife and two daughters under his parents' roof and tormented by his war trauma, George decides to change his life and put a bit of beauty back into the world. When visiting the docks he spots an unwanted squirrel monkey and a camel about to be put down, so takes them home with him. He later comes across a rundown stately home surrounded by acres of land, and he formulates the idea of buying it and building around it the first British zoo without bars.

2. Episode 2

With the initial plans for the zoo drawn up, George turns his mind to growing the stock at Oakfield, which brings him face-to-face with two Himalayan black bears hiding out in a cave in Matlock. The male is extremely protective of the malnourished female and George - along with Lizzie's brother, Billy - is in a quandary about what to do. Meanwhile, Councilor Tipping of Chester Council receives a call from Webb. Now that they know what the Mottersheads are planning, the zoo must be stopped.

3. Episode 3

As the family nurse female bear, Eve, back to health, local residents' opposition to the zoo grows hostile. The zoo continues to expand beyond their means, forcing George to use all his charm to persuade a local journalist of its unique worth. But while George's proclamations fall on deaf ears, Billy brings home a surprise that could turn things around.

5. Episode 5

The devastating news that planning permission for the zoo has been denied threatens to tear the family apart and destroy George's dream. However, Lady Katherine's connections in Whitehall give the family a lifeline. She and George embark on a trip to London to convince the Deputy Minister of Health to grant an appeal, while the family deal with a shocking new arrival at Oakfield.