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“So it’s bound to feel like we’re breaking new stories, because it’s the only major series on this scale and on that subject being shown on British television. The historians we’ve been talking to in Africa don’t realise how little is known by us. When we make it clear that people don’t know there is such a place as Nubia, or that Ashanti was a kingdom they’re probably more surprised by that than anything else.”
But in spite of the very important educational role that Africa is playing, the series promises to be more than a dry and dusty documentary.
“One of the ambitions behind the series,” Goold continues, “is that although the spine of each story is about the history of a place, the series itself should hold all the pleasures of a trav- el programme. That’s something that visually we focus on in every way, to draw in audiences who might not otherwise watch history programmes.
Our hope is that if they’re not keen on the history, they will be drawn by the extraordinary landscapes and sense of adven- ture that comes from a travel series set across Africa.”
With the final instalment about to be filmed, the ongoing post production process will see the programmes finally finished in October. It promises to be a landmark series, crammed with fascinating stories and positively breathtaking scenery.
“For me,” Goold recalls, “one of the highlights of the trip was watching the moon rise while we were camping in an oasis in the Sudanese desert. That was a pretty amazing experience. But then I think this series will confound peoples’ expections
of Africa in many ways. For a lot of people, myself included, the history has been the real revelation - its richness is something
I’ve found constantly surprising.” ■ ANWAR BRETT Africa was originated on
Fujicolor Motion Picture Negative.
Photos opposite page: Henry Louis Gates relaxing in Swahili; and testing the terrain in Mali; above: on his way up the Niger to Timbuktu.