The excitement builds ...
There’s a certain air of anticipation around the centre this morning – almost like the calm before the storm, but with a heavy chunk of excitement! Yesterday was a hive of activity on site, with cables laid, lights rigged, sets built and, when darkness fell the lights and cameras were tested. A quick peak at the monitors in the Outside Broadcast truck saw Slimbridge bathed in stunning studio lights, to the bemusement of the swans preparing to settle down for the night on the main lake outside the centre. In fact, our webcam looks out onto one of the main areas where the live programme will be broadcast from tonight so, if you take a peak later on this afternoon you will almost certainly catch a peak of the crew and presenters rehearsing.
Check out the Autumnwatch Behind the Scenes page to see the webcam.
The set arrived yesterday afternoon and the designers spent several painstaking hours putting it together and dressing it so that on screen tonight, it will look exactly like the familiar Autumnwatch set we all know and love. And the great thing is, the BBC will be leaving much of the set in place – all month – so visitors to Slimbridge will be able to come down and see the set, even have their pictures taken with it – almost as if they were an Autumnwatch presenter themselves! And speaking of Autumnwatch presenters, we’ve a lifesized cut out of Chris, Michaela and Martin in the centre, so visitors can come down and have their picture taken with the trio – and if you’re down here on a Friday, you might even catch a glimpse of the real thing.
