Animal Planet, C4 follow explorer

Discovery Communication’s channel Animal Planet is partnering with UK pubcaster Channel 4 to coproduce a show about an explorer’s attempt to walk the length of the River Nile.

Walking the Nile (working title, 1×120’/4×30′) will focus on Levison Wood’s 4,250-mile journey between Rwanda and Egypt and will use footage shot by Levison himself.

It will be produced by October Films and is set to air in the US in winter 2015, where it will broadcast as a two-hour special, while C4 will split the show into four episodes.

The executive producers are Adam Bullmore for October Films, Melanie Darlaston and Tony Moulsdale for GroupM Entertainment, and Keith Hoffman for Animal Planet. It was developed for Animal Planet by Andy Berg and Kurt Tondorf, and for Channel 4 by commissioning editor John Hay and commissioning editor multi-platform Mark Atkin.

The partnership with C4 comes after Discovery and fellow UK pubcaster the BBC ended their own long-standing coproduction deal in October.

The two firms worked on a host of factual programming including blue-chip natural history series including Frozen Planet, Blue Planet and Wonders of the Solar System.