Jeremy Paxman to explore the UK’s greatest rivers for new Channel 4 series
Rivers with Jeremy Paxman sees the keen angler embark on a series of adventures along The Tweed, The Mersey, The Severn and The Thames
Channel 4 is sending Jeremy Paxman in search of Britain’s greatest rivers, RadioTimes.com can reveal.
Rivers with Jeremy Paxman (working title) will see the former Newsnight presenter travel the length of four of the UK's greatest natural waterways – the Tweed, the Mersey, the Severn and the Thames.
Along the way he'll tell their stories, explore the landscapes they've created and meet the people whose lives have been – and are still being – shaped by them, says the channel.
Each episode will highlight the rivers' outstanding natural beauty via drone photography and explore both their history and their future.
The acerbic interviewer (and keen angler) will also meet baby ospreys, find Merlin’s grave, shear Cheviot sheep, go electro-fishing for brown trout and scale the Severn Bridge.
He will also swim with outdoor swimming group the ‘Mersey Mermaids’, crew up a container ship, join a punting regatta on the Thames, go mud-horse fishing for prawns, race coracles and explore a live nuclear reactor.
Sounds eventful.
Apparently Paxman's fishing expeditions do not meet with much success, however.
John Hay, Head of Specialist Factual said of the four-part series: "Jeremy has long inflicted his enthusiasm for fishing on those of us who know and work with him, so I'm delighted to see him turn it to such positive effect at last. It's a real pleasure to see him in his natural habitat, and his boyish curiosity about our rivers and the lives they shape make him a perfect companion for the journey."
