BBC Unveils Link-Up With National Trust
BBC1 and the National Trust have unveiled a collaboration called To The Manor Reborn, a 4 x 60-minute series looking at the process behind bringing an historic property back to life.
Presented by Penelope Keith and Paul Martin, To The Manor Reborn will see a team of historians, experts, and volunteers refurbishing 500-year-old Avebury Manor in Wiltshire, putting the country house into a national perspective.
From the age of Elizabeth I through to the eve of the Second World War, the series will reflect on the story of Britain across five centuries, exploring a wide range of craft and furniture-making skills and revealing the invention of "the home". The house will be restored as an immersive experience – it will be one of few National Trust properties open for the public where they can touch, sit on and enjoy all aspects of the house.
Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One, said: "Our partnership with the National Trust on this ambitious project encapsulates so many of the BBC's ambitions. The channel aims to keep engaging audiences in new ways and this series offers them the chance to follow the story on screen, and to experience it first hand."
Sarah Staniforth, Museums and Collections Director for the NT, added: "The National Trust is delighted to partner with the BBC. It is not only a unique opportunity to engage viewers in the history of interior design and architecture but is also a way for the Trust to push the boundaries in bringing properties to life."
To The Manor Reborn has been commissioned by Mark Bell, Commissioning Editor, Arts. Basil Comely is exec producer and series producer is Kate Shiers. The series is produced by BBC Vision London Factual and will TX this year.
