Be Excellent To Each Other

The inescapable Nick Knowles adds another series to his CV. This time it's a hybrid of reality TV and natural history: nine amateur wildlife enthusiasts go behind the cameras to compete in the African bush for a job with the BBC's Natural History Unit. In other words, it's a job application strung out over seven weeks, The Apprentice meets Big Cat Live. That could be an inspired, best-of-both-worlds idea - or a total dud. Since DVDs weren't ready as RT went to press, we'll have to wait and see. It's fair to expect talking-up of the dangers of the bush, the risks the contestants are taking for their dreams, and the life-changing prize on offer. Knowles will quiz them about every triumph and disaster. And at the end they'll line up (by a campfire?) for him to tell them, after a pregnant pause, who has to go home. But that's just a guess. This week's assignments include filming elephants, meerkats and rhinos, but a huge storm in the Kalahari causes problems.