Brtiain’s Human Zoos (1 x 60”), a docu-series from new independent production company, Red Bicycle, has been commissioned by Channel 4. Fronted by acclaimed Somali-British author Nadifa Mohamed – Booker Prize shortlisted for her most recent novel, The Fortune Men – the film pulls back the curtain on one of Victorian Britain’s most scandalous, yet largely forgotten, pastimes: the ‘Human Zoo.’

Red Bicycle, a new premium non-scripted TV and podcast indie helmed by multi-award-winning producer, director and writer Paul Berczeller, experienced development exec Will Robson and author, broadcaster and television producer Yasmin Hai, launched earlier this year. Britain’s Human Zoos is its first doc to transmit in the UK with the indie also actively in discussions with US broadcast platforms.  Red Bicycle co-produced the film with London based indy Milk & Honey Productions.

The shocking exposé, featuring never before seen archive footage, audio and stills, sees Nadifa investigate the stories of the people brought to Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to appear in exhibitions called Human Zoos.  The displays were a hugely popular form of showbusiness where millions of people across Britain and Europe saw black and brown people for the first time. However, these people, transported under dubious circumstances from their homelands and used as a form of entertainment, were also subject to pseudo-scientific experimentation; their stories dying with them and all but forgotten. Until now.

From interracial love stories that scandalised Britain to the scientific experimentation that some of them endured, she unearths hidden documents and tracks down their descendants, and exposing how, unbelievably, some of their remains can still be found on display in museums to this day.

Shaminder Nahal, Head of Specialist Factual, Channel 4: “Nadifa brings the power of a master storyteller to the buried histories of this long-forgotten Victorian sensation. From a scandalous interracial love affair and an array of fascinating lost figures to the disturbing realities of imperialist fantasy dressed up as anthology, this film reveals an extraordinary hidden side British culture.”

Paul Berczeller, Managing Director, Red Bicycle: “This was a very challenging film to make; however, it was incredibly important for us to tell these forgotten stories and remind people that horrifying events like this are not that far in our past. Nadifa handles the subject with such depth and sensitivity, it was remarkable to see her intelligence and compassion come to the fore, exploring these incredibly difficult emotional subjects. We hope the documentary serves as an important reminder that we still have a long way to go.”

Nadifa Mohamed said: “I’ve wanted to know more about the history of Human Zoos for a long time, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the opportunity to go beyond the surface of what was already known. Going on this journey has afforded me the chance to shed some of the secrecy and find stories that were touching and upsetting, but that also went against my own preconceptions. To give light, agency and dignity to members of these Human Zoos who came here in a vastly different time is a real privilege.”

Lucy Pilkington, Founder and Managing Director, Milk and Honey Productions said: “It has been a privilege to recover these pioneering people’s stories, not just as strange and horrifying one-offs but as an integral part of history, because the history of Britain and Africa are inseparable.”

Britain’s Human Zoos is Executive Produced by Paul Berczeller for Red Bicycle and Lucy Pilkington for Milk & Honey. It was directed by Yasmin Hai and Paul Berczeller.  The Documentary was commissioned by head of Specialist Factual Shaminder Nahal for Channel 4.