Bristol’s world-renowned Natural History Unit to relocate

The department that secured Bristol’s reputation as a global leader in wildlife filmmaking is on the move.

Staff from BBC Studios, including the world-renowned Natural History Unit and Factual Entertainment Bristol, are to relocate from Broadcasting House on Whiteladies Road to new offices in Finzels Reach, where Channel 4’s creative hub is based.

Bosses say the move from the premises that have been home to the BBC for decades marks a historic moment and one that will enable the broadcaster to build on the legacy of the departments and invest in their future.

BBC Studios is the principal commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group. Staff from other areas of the BBC, including Radio Bristol, Points West and programmes for Radio 4, will remain at Whiteladies Road while future options are explored.

The Natural History Unit has a global reputation as a leader in wildlife filmmaking.  Copyright BBC, photo by Olumide Osinoiki

Ralph Lee, director of content for BBC Studios, said: “Moving to a new production base in the centre of Bristol will enable us to continue to support and celebrate the creativity of the Natural History Unit and Factual Entertainment, build on our legacy and invest in our future.

“Bristol is the largest BBC Studios production base outside London and its indisputable success and ambition has empowered us to make this commercial investment. We want to grow our production business significantly and retain our position at the pinnacle of programme-making in a highly competitive global market.”

The move comes almost a year after the BBC announced it was cutting 450 jobs across its workforce nationwide as part of a number of changes as the broadcaster announced it must save £25m by the end of March 2022.

The Natural History Unit is behind award-winning programmes such as Planet Earth and Blue Planet II and has been based at Whiteladies Road since its formation in 1957. The unit currently has more than 25 projects in production for clients such as BBC, Apple, Discovery, Nat Geo and NBCUniversal.

Factual Entertainment Bristol makes a number of popular BBC programmes, including Antiques Roadshow, Countryfile, Gardeners’ World and Bafta-award winning DIY SOS.

The two departments will take over three floors of Bridgewater House in Finzels Reach, with staff due to move late this year or early 2022 following an office refit.

BBC Studios will move to new offices in Finzels Reach – photo by Ellie Pipe

Julian Hector, head of the Natural History Unit, said: “I’m so proud of the Natural History Unit’s 64-year heritage, which has firmly established Bristol as the wildlife content production capital of the world.

“Our promise has always been to bring audiences emotionally closer to the natural world through story-telling craft and state of the art technology. In doing so, we show our responsibility to protect it.

“Now we are moving into a 21st century sustainable base in Bristol city centre, which will give our teams the best possible creative environment. For people who dream of giving the natural world a voice, our new home will become a beacon to join us.”

Sallie Bevan, head of production for Factual Entertainment Bristol, added: “Our incredible teams make programmes which are watched by millions of people every week, and it is more important than ever for us to represent and be relevant to our audiences.

“Our new home in Bristol city centre will allow us to do our best creative work and bring us closer to our audience and enable us to connect with new and diverse talent from across the region.

“We have many fantastic memories of Whiteladies Road but moving to the new building will allow us to carry on growing our business.”

Main photo by Enrique-Íñiguez-Rodríguez

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