Wild at Heart (British TV series)

Wild at Heart is a British television drama series created by Ashley Pharoah about a veterinary surgeon and his family, who emigrate from Bristol to South Africa, where they attempt to rehabilitate a game reserve for wild animals and establish a veterinary surgery and animal hospital. The show was broadcast on ITV for seven series beginning on 29 January 2006 and ending on 30 December 2012.

History

Wild at Heart began airing 29 January 2006 on ITV. It ran for seven series, concluding 30 December 2012 with a two-hour finale. It was filmed on location at the Glen Afric Country Lodge, a 1500-acre game reserve and sanctuary that is home to a host of African wildlife, including lions, giraffes, elephants and cheetahs. Glen Afric is located in Broederstroom, North West Province, South Africa. A large set called 'Leopards Den' was built on the property specifically for the production. Producer Ann Harrison-Baxter said: "We literally walked every inch of the reserve to find the best place to build the house, and then it was all created from scratch and aged to look like it had been there for more than a century in just 10 weeks!" Leopards Den was significant as a symbolic character in its own right throughout the show's seven years. It served as the backdrop against which the family struggled to carve out a new life for themselves, and ultimately to survive and remain together.

The primary cast included Stephen Tompkinson as Danny Trevanion; Amanda Holden as Danny's second wife Sarah Trevanion (his first wife, Miranda, is mentioned in the series but died off-screen prior to the start) Lucy-Jo Hudson as Danny's daughter Rosie; Deon Stewardson as the Trevanions' business partner Anders DuPlessis, Hayley Mills as Sarah's mother Caroline; Luke Ward-Wilkinson as Danny's stepson Evan Rafaella Hutchinson as Danny's step-daughter Olivia (series 1-3); Olivia Scott-Taylor as Danny's step-daughter Olivia (series 5-7); Nomsa Xaba as Nomsa, cook and housekeeper at Leopards Den; Thapelo Mokoena as Cedric Fatani, manager at Mara; Martinus Van der Berg as town barman and Rosie's husband, Max; Dawn Steele as Alice Collins (later Trevanion, when she becomes Danny's third wife); Megan Martell as Alice's daughter Charlotte (series 4-5); Tarryn Faye Brummage as Alice's daughter Charlotte (series 6-7), and Atandwa Kani as Thabo.

Wild at Heart was immensely popular in the UK, with ratings peaking at approximately 10 million viewers and never averaging less than 7.5 million over any series (see below).