Andoh to narrate BBC’s Serengeti
January 4, 2023
Adjoa Andoh, acclaimed RSC actor, voice of the BBC children’s show The Smeds and the Smoos and Bridgerton star, will narrate the latest series of Serengeti, the hit show created by Emmy-award winning producer Simon Fuller and directed by Emmy award-winning director and producer John Downer.
The new series, which will air on BBC One this January, follows the next chapter in the story of the animals as they navigate the highs and lows of life on the savannah.
As an enormous fire rages across the plains, all the animals must flee or seek shelter, but who will survive? In the apocalyptic wasteland left behind, Bakari the baboon, Kali the lioness, and Mzuri the leopardess must draw upon all their resources to stay alive. Familiar characters are joined by new cast members, such as Utani the hapless mongoose babysitter and Mafuta the adorable baby hippo.
Andoh said: “The thing I was most struck by is the relationship of these groups of animals. When they are threatened from the outside, wow! Even the smallest creatures can bind together and fight off a potential threat. And I find that incredibly moving. And I really hope the series touches people in a way that makes them reflect on how we treat nature. It really touched me and it’s also just tremendous to watch.”
Director John Downer added: “I am delighted that Adjoa has been able to lend the clarity and warmth of her beautiful voice to Serengeti III and the story it tells. In each series, the camera teams capture astonishing behaviour from inside the animal world. This time our animal characters surprised us once again in ways I could never have imagined. I always wanted it to be the animals’ story, about the intimacy of their family lives, their relationships and how their way of life speaks to us. This time, above all other, it seems they had something important to tell.”
Serengeti III captures the unimaginable beauty of Africa, whilst highlighting the daily challenges of life in the Serengeti using multi-camera viewpoints and new immersive filming techniques. Over 1,000 filming days were used to capture the extraordinary behaviour that lies at the heart of this series as it brings together our favourite animal cast in a dramatic tale of survival, heartbreak and redemption.
This landmark series is a co-production between Discovery and BBC, internationally distributed by BBC Studios. It is created by Simon Fuller and executive produced by Emmy award winners John Downer and Fuller. It is directed by John Downer.
Serengeti is made by XIX Entertainment and John Downer Productions and was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Specialist Factual Commissioning.