ITV recommissions Wild At Heart from Company Pictures
Thursday, 19 May 2011
ITV recommissions Company Pictures to shoot more Wild At Heart
One of ITV’s most successful dramas of the last decade, Wild at Heart, has been recommissioned for a seventh series.
Since its launch in 2006 Wild at Heart has remained in ITV1’s top 4 dramas. And to date in 2011 Wild at Heart has the highest average audience of any ITV1 drama - 8.0 million viewers and a 26% share of the audience across the series. This represents an increase of 383k viewers (+5%) on the 2010 average.
Most notably since it’s launch Wild at Heart has regularly pulled in audiences of over 8m to ITV1 and it has never had an episode watched by fewer than 7m viewers.
Stephen Tompkinson, Dawn Steele, Hayley Mills and Deon Stewardson will all return to recreate their roles against the stunning backdrop of the African plains.
Created by Ashley Pharoah and produced by Company Pictures, the Wild At Heart production team begin filming 10 new episodes of the successful family drama in South Africa this August for transmission on ITV1 in 2012.
Stephen Tompkinson co-executive produces Wild at Heart with executive producers Charles Pattinson, John Griffin, George Faber and Ashley Pharoah. Wild at Heart is produced in South Africa by Adam Friedlander, and series produced in the UK by Charlie Hampton.
The new series will open just a few weeks after Danny, Alice, Caroline and Du Plessis have lost Leopard’s Den. The mining company’s work has stalled following the corruption scandal Danny and Dup unearthed last series, and the family aren’t sure if they’ve lost their home forever. With the women back home in the UK, Danny and Dup set out to find a new place for everyone to live. It’s a fresh start for them, but will they find somewhere suitable for Danny and Alice to re-establish their veterinary practice and game reserve?
Equally, emotions are still running high as unscrupulous mining boss Peeters played by David Butler continues to create problems for the family. Significantly, Dup takes a decision which will rock the foundations of their relationship and Danny is put in the predicament of deciding whether he can support his friend and long-term business partner or whether they will have to go their separate ways. The repercussions of this situation will be lead to emotional turmoil in the life of Dup, Caroline and Danny.
Danny Trevanion’s teenage daughter Olivia played by Olivia Scott-Taylor and her boyfriend Thabo (Atandwa Kani) will also return to the series.
This series will also feature a new character, Sean, who is introduced as a rival to Danny. The stage is set for a turbulent relationship between the two men and throughout the twists and turns of the plot we learn more about Sean and why perhaps he behaves the way he does.
The cast and production team film for six months on location at Glen Afric on the borders of Gauteng Province and North West Province.
Wild at Heart has been recommissioned by ITV’s Drama commissioning team Laura Mackie, Sally Haynes and Steve November.
"I am delighted that Wild at Heart will be returning to ITV1 in 2012,” said Steve. “We can look forward to seeing our favourite characters in new and exciting situations and to seeing significant new characters join the mix.”
Wild at Heart writers include Ashley Pharoah, Jack Williams and Chris Murray. The lead Director will be Maurice Phillips.