Much loved BBC show returns after 25-year absence

A much-loved BBC series is making a dramatic return with a new prehistoric tale based on real fossil discoveries and cutting-edge science.

Sea Reptile Birth - Walking with Dinosaurs in HQ - BBC

It’s been 25 years since Walking With Dinosaurs roared onto our screens and changed the game for prehistoric documentaries. Now, the much-loved BBC show is back – and it’s bigger, bolder, and even more jaw-dropping. The six-part reboot kicks off with the story of Clover, a three-year-old orphaned Triceratops who lived 66 million years ago. Alone and vulnerable, she’s stalked by none other than the king of predators – the fearsome T-Rex.

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The episode flips between Clover’s desperate fight for survival and real-life palaeontologists uncovering her ancient remains in Montana’s Hell Creek Formation – an area rich in dino history and not far from the bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex. An adult Triceratops would have weighed around eight tonnes and stretched nearly nine metres in length, complete with metre-long horns and a dramatic frill. But young dinosaurs like Clover were known to be little more than prey.

The six-part reboot kicks off with the story of Clover, a three-year-old orphaned Triceratops (Image: BBC studios)

Executive Producer Helen Thomas said: “The story of Clover is so fascinating because, like the whole series, it is based on the real finds from a unique dig site.”

She added: “In the case of Clover, finding the bones of a very young Triceratops is rare in itself as so many ended up as lunch for the many predators roaming north America in the late Cretaceous.

"But Clover’s story was something even more special – close to her dig site the team found remains of the most infamous predator of them all – T-Rex.

"Unearthing the bones of predator and prey so close together enabled us to reveal the latest science of these iconic species and tell their extraordinary stories.”

This time around, producers have added something new – footage from real fossil digs.

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Showrunner Kirsty Wilson explained: “This allowed us to tell the most amazing dinosaur stories, but also viewers will literally be able to see the scientific evidence these narratives were based on emerging from the dust for themselves.”

Walking With Dinosaurs returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 25th May at 6:25pm (Image: BBC studios)
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One unforgettable moment in the first episode involves palaeontologists measuring and analysing a 26.5-inch slab of fossilised dinosaur poo – or coprolite.

Narrator Bertie Carvel teases: “It may look like a non-descript bit of rock but the shape and texture tell the experts this is a coprolite – fossilised faeces.”

Experts Eric Lund and Aubrey Knowles examine the ancient dung and declare it came from a meat eater. Lund added: “The only large carnivorous dinosaur that could have possibly dropped this would be a T-Rex. So very, very cool.”

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The team also found small bones embedded in the dung, believed to be from the predator’s unfortunate prey.

The series promises more prehistoric heavyweights in future episodes, including the Spinosaurus – a predator even bigger than T-Rex – the spike-covered Gastonia, and the colossal Jurassic plant-eater Lusotitan.

Walking With Dinosaurs returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 25th May at 6:25pm.

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