BBC refuses to broadcast David Attenborough episode over threat of “rightwing backlash”

nme.com:

BBC over fears of “rightwing backlash”.Wild Isles, a new documentary series exploring the wildlife of the British Isles and narrated by Attenborough, is set to premiere this weekend (March 12).

Five episodes will be broadcast on BBC One in a primetime slot but a sixth will only be available to watch via the BBC iPlayer.According to the Guardian, the sixth episode will feature a stark look at the losses of nature in the UK and what has caused the declines.

It will also include some examples of rewilding, a concept that has been controversial in some rightwing circles.Senior sources at the BBC told the Guardian that “the decision was made to fend off potential critique from the political right.” Earlier this week, the BBC was attacked for  taking funding from “two charities (the WWF and RSPB) previously criticised for their political lobbying” to create the Attenborough series.One senior source at the BBC said “lobbying groups that are desperately hanging on to their dinosaurian ways [would] kick off” if the show had too political a message.However producer Laura Howard said: “I think the facts speak for themselves.

We’ve worked really closely with the RSPB who are able to factcheck all of our scripts and provide us with detailed scientific data and information about the loss of wildlife in this country.