Drama
Episode six.
Dawn Steele faced a real challenge during filming of this episode of WILD AT HEART; she had to release a fully grown vulture into the wild.
“The first thing I was told about the release was to watch out for my eyes because that’s the first thing the vulture will go for. And the vulture I was holding had actually taken the eyebrow off one of the sanctuary workers previously. So as you can imagine I was a bit sceptical about it…” explains Dawn.
“It was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. And probably one of the only things that I have thought I might not be able to do on Wild at Heart. You have to be strong to handle the vultures. They are 60kg so really heavy and my arms were killing me the next day! You also need to be confident with it holding it by the neck and dealing with the wings. The director said it would be nice to actually see the vulture being released by Alice but I didn’t have to do it if I was worried. But I wanted to do it myself. I was nervous about the logistics as we did it right at the top of Vulture Hill with only two vultures so if I didn’t get it right by the second attempt we were stuffed.
“These were vultures which had been injured and were being set free. They are huge close up but also quite extraordinary. They have a defence mechanism which means they regurgitate their food so when they take off they are lighter and consequently there was this horrendous smell in the room they were in. The most amazing thing is that they don’t have any sense of smell which is why they go for the eyes because they depend on their own sight so much.”
In episode six Alice (Dawn Steele) is enjoying her new job at Mara even though her animal census has revealed they have a lone male hyena that needs a pack. Du Plessis (Deon Stewardson) isn’t happy about Alice working for next door and although Danny (Stephen Tompkinson)realises her move there was for the best, it doesn’t stop him missing her. Danny thinks Alice needs help and gets Du Plessis to buy an unusual present for her – a female hyena. Alice is a bit annoyed at what she sees as Danny’s interference. Things go from bad to worse when the female hyena attacks the male. As they operate on the injured hyena, Danny can’t help taking over and the tension escalates to the point where Alice throws him out of her surgery.
Meanwhile, Alice discovers that Rowan (Cal Macaninch)and Vanessa (Mary-Anne Barlow) have been seeing each other in secret. Although Vanessa is enjoying keeping it under wraps, Rowan is becoming increasingly paranoid that she’s embarrassed by him. Rowan attempts to make things more romantic by insisting Vanessa accompanies him for sundowners in the bush with honeymooning guests, Roddy (James Alexander) and Bethany (Tiffany Jones). However, this backfires when a wildebeest charges the honeymooners. It’s a close escape not helped by the Roddy’s instinctive reaction to hide behind his new wife! Both couples leave the bush at odds and Rowan finally snaps and surprises Vanessa by ending their affair.
Du Plessis is horrified to discover the female hyena has a history of attacking other animals and even humans… and when Roddy, determined to make up for his earlier blunder, bravely tries to protect his wife from the agreesive hyena, he is attacked. When Bethany insists they put the hyena down, it’s the final straw for Alice. Danny realises the only way to save their relationship is to save the hyena. Despite all the odds, they manage to convince Bethany to back down when they discover the reason for the hyena’s aggression – she is pregnant and was only trying to defend her unborn pups. With the hyena reprieved, Danny assumes Alice will come back to Leopard’s Den where she belongs. This presumption is the final straw for Alice. She decides it’s over for good and the family are shocked as Alice and Charlotte move to Mara.
WILD AT HEART is produced by Nick Goding and the series producer is Serena Bowman. Episode six is written by Jack Lothian and directed by Roger Gartland. The creator is Ashley Pharoah. The executive producers are Charles Pattinson, George Faber and Ashley Pharoah. Stephen Tompkinson is co-executive producer. It is a Company Pictures production for ITV.
Last edited: Monday, 1 February 2010
