The Sun’s TV Mag reports ITV plans to revive the Wild at Heart TV show. Set in South Africa, Wild at Heart features an English ex-pat veterinarian, who along with his family, sets out to rehabilitate a game reserve and start an animal hospital.
The cast of Wild at Heart includes: Stephen Tomkinson, Deon Stewardson, Nomsa Xaba, Thapelo Mokoena, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Hayley Mills, Amanda Holden, and Olivia Scott-Taylor. Holden broke the news in a weekend interview.
The Sun’s TV Mag says:
Amanda Holden has revealed that there are plans for a revival of much-loved ITV drama Wild At Heart.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge played Sarah Trevanion of the popular show for three series before being forced to quit the show to focus on ITV’s talent competition.
Despite her character being tragically killed off in a shock storyline which saw her burned alive, Amanda has teased that producers have approached her about returning to her role.
She told TV Mag exclusively, which is available in Saturday’s edition of The Sun: “I went out in spectacular fashion. I was burned to death. But now I think they’re thinking of bringing it back.”
“The producer told me: ‘We never found your body!’. I’m like: ‘Film it in Cape Town and I’ll come back!’ It’d be like Bobby Ewing in the shower [in Dallas] – I’ll bob out of the bush having been nurtured by a family of cheetahs.”
Back in 2012, when it was announced that the seventh season of Wild at Heart would be the last, some people pointed to ITV’s expensive Titanic mini-series from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Here is more from an April 2012 article, in Daily Mail:
After becoming a washout with viewers, Julian Fellowes’s poorly received remake of Titanic has reportedly caused further casualties.
The big budget ITV mini-series has been blamed as the reason behind the popular Wild At Heart being scrapped.
[…]
Insiders on the wildlife drama have pointed the finger at Titanic and its mammoth production cost as the sole reason the seventh series of the show will be its last.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ‘The feeling is that they sunk so much money into Titanic that they are having to make savings elsewhere and we are bearing the brunt of that.’
Wild At Heart proved a ratings winner with its family orientated story lines and it had an average audience of 7.5 million, which was over twice the amount of people that watched the finale of Titanic.
The source told the newspaper: ‘We’re all gutted that it has come to this. There are shows that would kill for 7.5million viewers.’
The programme, which also stars Lucy-Jo Hudson, Jill Halfpenny and Olivia Scott-Taylor, will now end in a two-hour special to be filmed this later this year which will bid farewell to the safari park where Wild At Heart is based.
With claims that the £11 million Titanic has forced ITV to make savings wherever they can, 64 episodes and seven series have been brought to a premature end.
What do you think? Were you a fan of the Wild at Heart TV series? If ITV brings Wild at Heart back for an eighth season, will you watch? Tell us!
Loved the show…hated the finale and losing Dup…I would like a season 8, but show will suffer without Deon.
Yes, I would definitely watch it. It’s a shame to end a winning series for one that didn’t come close to the number of viewers who watched it.
Perhaps you need to rethink that decision and bring back Wild At Heart.
It’s time the programme came back, sadly missed especially in these difficult times. Would love to see how the family have developed, sadly without Deon and the progress made
Would love to see it. I hated seeing it end!
yes I would Love to watch Wild At Heart Loved watching all seasons of it I want more and for it to continue please.
Yes!!! I loved it!!! I was sad when it ended….
Yes, I would for sure continue to watch. Please bring back.
Loved lwild at heart
Loved Wild at Heart!
Please bring it back!!!
I’ve watched all 8 seasons loved it hope you bring more seasons out so I can watch
Please bring back this show now. Its been a few years. We need it! Please bring it back!
Please please bring this show back!!!! So much violence on TV now adays this show is fantastic
Please bring wild at heart back to our tvs it was such a breath of fresh air each week beautiful programme
Please bring Wild at Heart back with the same characters, it was a clean, good family oriented show, and of course the animals were spectacular
I just found Wild at Heart and watched nonstop all 7 seasons. It’s a fantastic series with fabulous characters. I wish there coulsd be more seasons with 8 and more. I know it’s bee off for a wild miracles do happen about funding more seasons. I would watch it with commercials.