''Extinct'' is a British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

series that aired on ITV in 2006. It features eight celebrities highlighting the plight of some of the world's most endangered species and was presented by

Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' and '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show '' Live ...

and

Sir Trevor McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald (born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with ITN. McDonald was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism. Career ...

. During the series, the public were asked to phone in and vote for which animal they wanted to receive 50% of the money raised through the phone votes, via the charity WWF. The winning animal got over £178,000 and the remaining seven shared £178,000. A sister programme called ''Extinct - The Quiz'' also aired at the same time.

Format

In the first four episodes, two celebrities presented the case for their animal. A short video documentary was shown, where the celebrity was seen travelling to the land of the animal, explained why the animal is in danger and what can be done to help save. The eight celebrities were; *

Anneka Rice Anne Lucinda Hartley Rice (born 4 October 1958), known professionally as Anneka Rice, is a Welsh-born television and radio presenter, broadcaster, journalist and painter. Early life and education Rice was born in Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wales ...

, television presenter - polar bear *

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial ''Oppenh ...

, actor -

giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes u ...

Sadie Frost Sadie Liza Frost (née Vaughan; born 19 June 1965) is an English actress, producer and fashion designer, who ran fashion label Frost French (until its closure in 2011) and a film production company (Blonde to Black Pictures). Early life Frost ...

, actress and fashion designer -

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the gen ...

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and ''Great Continental Railway Journ ...

, former MP -

hyacinth macaw The hyacinth macaw (''Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus''), or hyacinthine macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about one meter it is longer t ...

Graeme Le Saux Graeme Pierre Le Saux ( ; born 17 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer and television pundit. As a versatile left sided player he played most of his career at left back with two spells at Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, South ...

, footballer -

mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018. There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Centr ...

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress. She made her film debut playing Ruth Ellis in '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985) and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for '' Damage'' (1992) and '' Tom & Viv'' (1994). ...

, actress -

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in ...

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ' ...

, television presenter -

leatherback sea turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights ...

Pauline Collins Pauline Collins (born 3 September 1940) is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1973) and its spin-off, '' Thomas & Sarah'' (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography, ...

, actress -

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

Episodes

Final

In the final programme, after each celebrity explained why the public should vote for their animal, the three with the most votes were the

Giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes u ...

, the

and the

Mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018. There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Centr ...

. The most votes went to the

, which Pauline Collins had campaigned for.

''Extinct - The Quiz''

''Extinct - The Quiz'' was a five-part 60 minute

quiz A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities ...

programme that accompanied ''Extinct''. It was hosted by Zoë Ball and featured four families being tested on their wildlife knowledge and competing to win a holiday. The first four episodes aired each day at 5pm from 12 to 15 December. The first two programmes featured four families each day, with the next two programmes being semi finals. The final was on 16 December at 4.00pm.

Reception

Winnie De'Ath, then Director of Communications for the WWF, praised the programme for giving WWF "a fantastic opportunity to reach a high audience". She also said that ''Extinct'' had "enabled us to highlight the reality of our work on the ground - showing issues such as people struggling to make a living from their natural resources. The response has been fabulous, and has raised vital funds to help us continue our urgent work."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Extinct (Tv Series) 2006 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings 2000s British television miniseries English-language television shows ITV documentaries Television series about mammals Television series by Endemol