Airdate: Christian the Lion
Seven slates a special on the "lion reunion" that became a YouTube hit.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Programming
Get me Whitney Houston! Seven has slated a special built around Christian the Lion, that YouTube hit clip,about a lion raised by two Aussies in the UK in the 1960s, who reunited in the African wild.
The special will air at Tuesday, May 5th at 7.30pm (bumping a planned return of The Zoo).
The two Aussie ex-pats, John Rendall and Ace Bourke, found a lion cub for sale in a London department store (as you do) and raised it until it was later released in Kenya. When the two went to look for the adult lion years later cameras captured a remarkable reunion with the lion recognising its former owners. The clip became a big drawcard on YouTube and shown in TV specials around the world, including with a schmaltzy Whitney Houston song.
Last year the two men visited Sydney and appeared on Mornings with Kerri-Anne.
This TV special also includes interviews with Virginia McKenna (star of landmark 1966 film Born Free) and controversial Kenyan-based game keeper George Adamson, who would become Christian’s saviour.
Altogether now: “and IIIIIIIIII-ye-IIIIIIIIII will always lurrrrrrrrve yooooooooou”
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- Tagged with Christian the Lion, Mornings with Kerri-Anne
10 Responses
I have seen it once before and it made me cry. Somthing that we call wild and could never show liking to a human. Had that kind of emotion, it was amazing. I missed it on sunday. Will it ever air again?
I can’t wait… it’s the most gorgeous story of the freedom we once had to do something as odd as take a lion cub home and release it into the wild where it should have been from the start. Watch it and enjoy it -something real life and not some reality bullshit TV or sadistic cartoon political incorrectness. Find your heart.
What’s next: a Susan Boyle special? Or a new series highlighting youtube finds?
Friday Night Download!
gah; i hate this. They see a good thing and exploit it. It’s an amazing story; but we’ve all seen it/heard it now. Leave it alone!!!!
I saw a bit of this on Kerri-Anne the other day. Now, the first Youtube video has Aerosmith instead of Whitney.
What exactly are they going to fill a whole hour with? Definitely not on my must-watch list.
Would have been better as a Sunday Night story rather than one hour special. I think 60 minutes have done this story, and I saw one recently on US Nightline or US 20/20 (forget which). 15 mins enough to cover it.
lol i was wondering wat the hell you were goin on about at the end there David, then got it. Ah k so is this half an hour?
I do go on sometimes.
Nope it’s an hour.