C4 joins Orangutan Jungle School

Orangutan Jungle School follows orphaned orangutans in Borneo

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has pre-bought nature series Orangutan Jungle School and commissioned a Battle of Britain re-enactment show from the producers of The Great British Bake Off.

4K series Orangutan Jungle School (10×60’) is in production and follows a group of orphaned orangutans as they progress through a unique forest school system.

The series, described as a docu-soap, is sold by Blue Ant International and produced by sibling company NHNZ, which it bought last year.

The show is filmed at Nyaru Menteng, Borneo, where the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation manages the largest primate rescue and rehabilitation project in the world.

The show was originally ordered by Love Nature, the joint venture between Smithsonian Networks and Blue Ant Media. The series is set to launch in the US on 4K digital streaming service Smithsonian Earth and Love Nature on its 4K linear and international streaming video platform later this year.

Meanwhile, Battle of Britain: Model Squadron (working title) has been ordered from Love Productions by Rob Coldstream, commissioning editor at C4, to mark the Royal Air Force’s centenary year. It will be series produced by Carl Hindmarch with Sara Ramsden as executive producer.

The programme will see radio-controlled model Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft take to the sky as their pilots recreate dive bombing, aerial encounters and dogfights above the south coast of England.

German pilots will also bring models including Heinkel 111 and Stuka dive bombers to the UK for the spectacle.

Battle of Britain: Model Squadron will take three key days in the summer of 1940 as inspiration to commemorate the conflict.