Autumnwatch falls for call of US
LEARNING THE ROPES Rachael works Mr Punch HUGE HIT Prof John Carcass’s show at Brighton This year’s Autumnwatch on BBC2 will be coming from the States.
Spread across a week in October, the presenters of Autumnwatch New England – Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke – will celebrate the natural phenomenon of the American “fall” in the vast northeast forests, where billions of trees simultaneously erupt in a riot of colour, painting the landscape gold and red.
The programme will also examine the Move over Matt Smith – here’s the first glimpse of his successor Tobias Menzies playing an older version of Prince Philip in The Crown, right. The actor, best known for his roles in Game of Thrones and Outlander, takes over in the role for series three of the Netflix hit, which airs next year. Matt Smith, below, who is 35, took the action up to 1963. The next run starts in 1964 but the Duke of Edinburgh will have aged by nearly a decade, because Menzies is 44. Hey, that’s showbiz. Presenters Packham, Strachan and Burke
science behind this spectacle, revealing how temperature affects leaf colour and how the changing environment triggers specific behaviour in the local wildlife.
Natural history chief Tom McDonald said: “The team head to one of the most iconic locations in the US to experience the great American fall for what promises to be an unforgettable chapter in Watch history.”
Fresh from her Edinburgh Comedy Award, New Zealand standup Rose Matafeo has landed a C4 three-parter, Temp, about a temp worker’s interaction with three colourful characters in the same office building. Other channels are also thought to be close to signing Rose.