The Zoo (2017 TV series)


The Zoo is a British children's mockumentary television series, currently airing on CBBC. Produced by BBC Studios and WildBrain, the series follows the daily life of animals at Paignton Zoo and Living Coasts with a comic twist after they have been given human voices and computer-generated mouths. It is also being aired on ABC Me and 7TWO in Australia and Family Channel and Family CHRGD in Canada.
The series is narrated by Hugh Dennis so as to provide the viewers with a factual yet comical take on events and to converse with the animals to uncover their side of the story. It mainly focuses on Jürgen and his group of gorillas.
The series began airing on CBBC at 8:45am on 14 August 2017.
The second series aired on CBBC at 7.45am on 9 April 2018 for three weeks. Episodes from the first series were repeated at 1.40pm on 16 April for three weeks in BSL. In September 2018 the show aired as part of the second series of Saturday Mash-Up.

Format

In a format similar to Animal Magic and Walk on the Wild Side, The Zoo features Hugh Dennis as the narrator talking to animals and staff in Paignton Zoo and Living Coasts. The animals were given human voices and computer-generated mouths. Lewis Macleod, Jess Robinson, Richard David-Caine, Jake Pratt and Stuart Garlick voice these animals.Animals are sometimes given accents like the giraffes, penguins, kangaroos and tigers for example. The main catchphrase is "_____ is an important part of daily life at the zoo and____"