The Animals
The animals are the real stars of the show. Gerry Durrell, played by Milo Parker, has a menagerie of pets and new additions to the cast this season include two flamingoes, a sloth (above) and Munchie the vulture.
There is also a seagull, called Steven Seagal, chickens and a VIP dog called Roger, who has his own Winnebago now because he is so important.
The beasts are supplied by two firms, A1 Animals, and Parrot and Sea. They are trained by Anthony Bloom.
There were concerns that the flamingoes’ legs could be damaged in transit if they went to Corfu by plane, so Anthony drove them in a trip that took three days. Milo, 15, says: “Gerry’s menagerie is larger than ever. The flamingoes are not vicious, but they do have an interesting temperament. It was genuinely incredible to see them.
“Gerry tests out theories with the flamingoes to see if their colour changes in relation to their diet.
“He also has a wall of insects. That was one of the first scenes we filmed. The heat was extraordinary. We had some stick insects all over the wall.”
Milo says Frank the sloth was a “dream to work with”. He says: “He is very professional. “Normally we have doubles of the animals, but there’s just one Frank.”
Milo also had a great time working with Munchie, the young vulture.
He says: “What an incredible creature. It is huge and it was really fascinating to observe.”