Dinosaur planet

The acclaimed docuseries returns to shed fresh light on the prehistoric world

- CAREN CLARK

In 1999, BBC1's groundbreaking show Walking with Dinosaurs transported viewers millions of years into the past to see how prehistoric creatures once roamed the Earth.

Now, over 25 years on, a six-part reimagining of the award-winning series, narrated by Dalgliesh actor Bertie Carvel, once again uses cutting-edge science and visual effects to get closer than ever before to a variety of dinosaurs.

This time, cameras also follow palaeontologists on digs as they unearth fossils and bones - with their findings then inspiring the imagined stories of six animals at the most dramatic moments of their lives.

“The original series was innovative - we had to push the boundaries again,’ explains showrunner Kirsty Wilson. ‘Advancements in visual effects [VFX] have taken it to the next level.’

Here, Wilson tells us about the incredible dinosaurs who are being brought back to life...

MAKING MONSTERS

How the prehistoric past was re-created...

The production crew spent three years painstakingly working on the hundreds of VFX shots of the dinosaurs we see on screen. Following meticulous scientific research, they sent briefs to the VFX artists, who then crafted the intricate anatomy of each creature. And to capture the environments each dinosaur lived in, filming took place across the globe.

'We wanted a sense of realism from our own natural world but we researched what the Cretaceous era looked like, and with every plant, we thought, "Would that be there?""" says Wilson. 'We filmed in Canada, the USA and Scotland. We were in the Azores for tropical scenes and we even shot in a forest in Slough!'