West of England mayor blasts BBC for ‘cancelling’ Bristol

The mayor of the West of England has hit out at BBC bosses for ‘hiding’ Bristol’s role in producing natural history shows.  

Dan Norris says viewers of shows, such as Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster airing this New Year’s Day, are ‘left in the dark’ about the Bristol connection.

The BBC’s Natural History Unit on Whiteladies Road in Clifton has been producing content for 66 years, but "Bristol" no longer appears on the end credits of shows.  

From the 1950s onwards, the name of the city featured on the end credits of all BBC Natural History Unit programmes. But in 2016, the link to the place that is home to the content was severed.       

Mayor Norris says that needs to change. He has written to the BBC director-general, Tim Davie, calling on him to ‘Credit Bristol Again’. 

Norris said: “I am immensely proud of Bristol as the home of natural history programmes. But it feels as if Bristol is being cancelled, erased and deleted. When millions of people tune in to see national treasure David Attenborough on New Year’s Day they will be in the dark about our city’s role.  

“BBC natural history made in the West has entertained, engaged, and enthralled audiences for decades. We’re globally successful and multi-award-winning in this area. I want our great region to be recognised for all the great work we do.

“Enough is enough. It’s time to credit Bristol again.” 

A BBC spokesperson said it is "not the case" that the broadcaster is "cancelling" Bristol.

The spokesperson said: "We are in the process of rebranding our BBC end credits to better showcase the locations our programmes are filmed in. This redesign will include a map of the UK with the key filming locations highlighted – including those in Bristol and the West. 

“We shared this good news with the Mayor’s officials some weeks ago.

“The BBC is undoubtedly proud of BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit longstanding Bristol heritage and continued presence in the city.”