Wendy Darke Unveils New Production Company

BRISTOL: Wendy Darke, formerly the head of the BBC’s Natural History Unit, has founded a new Bristol-based production outfit, True to Nature.

The new venture will specialize in the development and production of innovative natural-history content for global broadcasters and platforms, tapping into new production techniques. Darke has spent 25 years in the sector, overseeing some 1,000 programs. True to Nature aims to tap into Darke’s experience to also expand into specialist factual, drama and entertainment.

“My passion is to use great storytelling to build life-long relationships between people and the natural world,” Darke commented. “I am also excited about opportunities to expand the portfolio to include earth sciences that relate to the natural world and also topics that capture our curiosity around human nature and relationship with our planet. Being true to nature, for me, is both being a voice for nature at the heart of everything we do and also being true to ourselves and our relationships with each other. With my team, I will continue to invest time and energy in building longstanding relationships with our commissioners and stakeholders to ensure that together we deliver outstanding content and stories with the highest factual integrity and production values.”

Helena Berglund has been hired as head of production at Natural World. She previously managed the Natural World strand for the BBC and was involved in developing CBBC’s Deadly brand. Jody Bourton, whose credits include River Monsters for Animal Planet and Nature’s Weirdest Events for BBC Two, joins as development producer.