BBC's Hamza Yassin admits some wildlife scenes faked to gain viewers' sympathy

16 October 2023 , 08:17

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BBC's Hamza Yassin admits some wildlife scenes faked to gain viewers' sympathy

Hamza Yassin admits all may not be as it seems with some of his wildlife scenes 'dramatised' to create a story.

The 33-year-old BBC star, reigning Strictly Come Dancing champion with pro partner Jowita Przystał, explained why there's an element of fakery in what viewers watch. Crafty edits are made to make those at home feel more emotional about what they see as execs try to gain sympathy from the audience.

Hamza, who has worked on Animal Park and Countryfile, recently helped create Strictly: Birds of Prey documentary. He's been explaining more about the filming process and why what we see maybe didn't quite happen like that in reality out in the wild.

Hamza Yassin says some of his wildlife scenes are faked in order to elicit sympathy (BBC/Silverback Films/Ellie Jo Hilton)

Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, cameraman Hamza explained: "The amount of times we'll film a cheetah family, and she's got three babies, and we just zoom in slightly and crop out the last baby. Then you bring in a lion and the lion goes "Grr" and you think, 'Oh, the lion's killed the baby!'.

"And then, five minutes of drama, and we just zoom back out again and then you say, "Ah, it's all a happy story" - no. That didn't happen," he told people at the event this weekend. "We are dramatising what we are seeing. I want to tell the truth. I want to say what's happening in this world."

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Hamza spoke to The Mirror on the Pride of Britain red carpet and revealed he has struggle with fame since winning Strictly. "I’m just a normal person and hearing everyone shout my name, I’m still not used to it," he said after being quizzed on how he has dealt with having the spotlight focused on him.

"Whenever I get the time I escape to the peace and quiet of the wild. Strictly’s raised my profile a thousand times more than I was expecting, I’m using it to the best of my advantage and just trying to show the British public and the world how important mother nature is."

He revealed that dance partner Jowita had also helped him, explaining: "Jowita was phenomenal, she just told me 'Be yourself, enjoy the process' and that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I gave each week as if it was my last. So yeah, just be yourself and enjoy the process, it comes around very quickly."

Hamza is still in contact with the Strictly pros and celebrities, but admits that they're all a little busy this year. "Yeah, we’re all on one big WhatsApp group and we constantly chat to one another. They’re all a bit busy with their new partners this year but I’m constantly in chat with them."

Sam Elliott-Gibbs