TV & Film
Sir David Attenborough warns of another pandemic if we don’t tackle the climate crisis
This is terrifying…
The nation’s favourite TV host has issued his starkest warning ever to the drastic effects that could happen if we don’t tackle climate change as an eighth of the planet’s species risk dying out.
The nature expert has made a desperate plea for people to change their ways or the effects of global warming and climate change will be dire.
His latest BBC programme, Extinction: The Facts, is slightly different from the usual euphoric and beautiful scenes found in his previous programmes. This one depicts imagery of monkeys escaping forest fires, corpses of killer whales and a lost baby bear stuck in a smoking landscape.
It highlights the threat of extinction of one million different species through coronavirus, explaining that ‘our destructive relationship with nature’ is linked to the emergence of Covid-19′ which both blames and threatens humans.
In a final speech on a new BBC programme, Sir David said: “One thing we do know, if nature is given the chance it can bounce back.
He took us back to 1992 where he met a group of mountain gorillas, one named Poppy. Thanks to conservation efforts the family is still thriving, offering a glimmer of hope.
He added: “To see Poppy’s daughter and granddaughter thriving is thrilling. It just shows what we can achieve when we put our minds to it.
“I do truly believe that together we can create a better future.”
Pausing for a moment, Sir David landed a statement that has shaken viewers to their core.
He said: “I might not be here to see it but if we make the right decision at this critical moment we can save our planet’s ecosystem, it’s extraordinary biodiversity and all its inhabitance.”
“What happens next is up to every one of us” he explained.
From then, Twitter was full of very teary-eyed watchers who explained how important the programme is.
One user wrote: “I can’t imagine a world without Sir David Attenborough in it. Such an important programme once again. We can all do more. #ExtinctionTheFacts #Extinction”.
The programme also explains that deadly viruses such as Sars, Ebola and Aides have effected us via wildlife and through the intrusion of humans into natural habitats to rear cattle, grow soya, or produce palm oil.
It goes on to point out that there is no reason why a new virus that is deadlier than coronavirus could easily appear, and possibly even ‘wipe out’ humans.
In his new book, A Life on Our Planet, Sir David explained that we could face a lifetime of floods, drought and an acidic ocean if we don’t act now to save our planet.
He added that by 2030, just ten years from now, the world’s biggest rainforest could be reduced by 75% due to illegal burning and deforestation.
“Reduced rainfall would cause water shortages in cities and droughts in the farmlands created by the deforestation. Food production would be radically affected,” he writes.
“The biodiversity loss would be catastrophic. Species that may have given us drugs, new foodstuffs and industrial applications may be gone.”
Sir David also explained that the polar bear may also begin to die off, writing: “As the ice-free period lengthened, scientists detected a worrying trend.
“Pregnant females, drained of their reserves, were now giving birth to smaller cubs.
“It is quite possible that one year, the summer would be just that little bit longer, and the cubs born that year will be so small that they cannot survive their first polar winter. That whole population of polar bears would then crash.”
He also further explained that by 2080 another pandemic might hit due to a vast crop failure and that food production will hit a point of crisis worsening the effects of a pandemic.
Attenborough does explain that solutions are ‘within our grasp’, adding that there are ‘steps we can take and goals we must achieve to avert the coming catastrophe’.
TV & Film
Ant and Dec’s new ITV show is looking for contestants from Greater Manchester
The new game show is billed to have ‘life changing’ prizes up for grabs
Ant and Dec’s production company is on the look out for brave contestants from Greater Manchester to take part in a new game show.
The new show, titled Fortune Favours the Brave, has been billed as a ‘life-changing show’ thanks to the amount of money up for grabs, and will feature familiar games viewers will recognise but with a unique twist.
The call out for contestants tells potential players they need ‘nerves of steel’, ‘good general knowledge’ and a ‘risk-taking attitude.’
ITV
The show is looking for pairs of players, with an assistant producer telling ChronicleLive: “People can apply with a parent, sibling, partner, housemate, neighbour, colleague or bestie.
“There are massive, life-changing amounts of money to play for – and it’s a fun, fast-paced entertainment quiz-based show – with a huge twist!”
Fortune Favours the Brave has been commissioned by the Geordie duo’s production company, Mitre Studios, though it isn’t yet known if they’ll actually be hosting the show.
ITV
Reckon you’re the perfect candidate?
Applications are being accepted now – filming will commence in London in October so, if successful, candidates will need to be free on certain dates. Transport will be included.
The deadline for applications is midday on September 17th, 2021. Any applications sent after this date will not be considered.
Send off your application here.
TV & Film
Netflix to air chilling new Dennis Nilsen documentary with never-before-heard tapes of killer
Another day, another Netflix true crime doc
Netflix’s latest true crime documentary offering will be delving into the chilling crimes of Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen with never-before-heard tapes from his police interrogations.
Directed by Michael Harte – the man who brought us the 2019 masterpiece Don’t F**k With Cats – Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes will be offering a deeper look into the mind of the calculated killer and necrophile, who confessed to brutally murdering fifteen young men and boys between 1978 and 1983.
The official synopsis reads: “Over a five-year period, he picked up vulnerable young men, lured them back to his home and strangled them, before disposing of their bodies under the floorboards.
Netflix
“The truth about how and why he killed has been the subject of much speculation in books and documentaries over the decades since. Now, with unique access to a wealth of personal archive left in his cell after his death, including over 250 hours of never-before-published cassette tapes of his private recordings, this film will take us into Nilsen’s world.
“From a young boy growing up in a quiet Scottish fishing village to a cold-blooded murderer prowling the streets of London.”
The synopsis continues: “Set against the backdrop of 1980s Britain, when mass unemployment drew young men to London in search of their fortunes, only to find themselves destitute and easy prey, and weaving together interviews from police, journalists, survivors, bereaved families, and – for the first time – the killer’s own voice, this feature-length documentary explores how Nilsen was able to get away with multiple murders and attacks, unchallenged, for five years.”
Nilsen, who died at the age of seventy-two in 2018, was catapulted back into the spotlight last year when David Tenant portrayed him in the gripping ITV mini-seires, Des.
Speaking to the Radio Times ahead of the series’ release, Tenant said he felt it was ‘right and proper’ that Nilsen didn’t live long enough to see the series, saying: “After he was arrested, Dennis Nilsen became obsessed with was the legend of Des, the reputation that he left behind.
“Whenever he slipped out of public consciousness, there was almost a sense that he wanted to get back into it. That’s why I’m relieved he’s not alive. I would hate for this to go out and for him to be sitting in some cell somewhere imaging we were in any way glorifying him.”
Memories of a murderer: The Nilsen Tapes will be available to stream on Netflix from tomorrow, Wednesday August 18th.
TV & Film
Come Dine With Me is looking for amateur cooks from Manchester for new series
If you’ve got all the grace and decorum of a reversing dump truck without any tyres on, get applying!
Know your way around the kitchen? Reckon your curry is the best in all of Manchester? Or do you just fancy competing for a £1,000 cash prize?
Well, you’d best get your oven mitts at the ready because everybody’s favourite reality cooking show, Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me, is on the hunt for keen cooks for their next series.
First airing back in 2005, Come Dine With Me has evolved from your bog-standard cooking show into a cultural phenomenon in its own right.
Channel 4
The premise is simple – five contestants each take it in turn to host their own dinner party complete with a three-course menu and entertainment. After each evening concludes, contestants rate each other on the quality of their food and their hosting skills, with the winner eventually taking home a £1,000 cash prize at the end of the week.
Over the years, the show has provided countless iconic and brilliantly quotable moments – we all remember Jane and her sad little life, don’t we?
Well, you could be a part of the fun very soon (or become the latest viral sensation granted you shove a whole whisk in your mouth), as Channel 4 are now casting for the latest series.
Channel 4
The casting call isn’t fussy – you simply need to be eighteen years or older and be eligible to live and work here in the UK.
To apply, you’ll need to fill out an application form before the closing date on September 10th, 2021.
Reckon you’re up to the challenge? You can find the full details and application here.
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