Airdate: Inside Chernobyl

On Monday Seven screens a Channel 5 doco Inside Chernobyl in which UK presenter Ben Fogle spending a week in Pripyat, the site of the Soviet meltdown of 1986.

This screened earlier this month in Britain where some viewers were shocked by the risks he took for cameras.

The Seven Network today announced it has acquired the exclusive Australian rights to the UK’s top-rating special, Inside Chernobyl, premiering 7.30pm Monday on Channel 7.

The feature-length special follows British presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle on a unique journey as he spends a fascinating week living inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, 35 years after the world’s worst nuclear accident.

Fogle gains special access inside the infamous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to see for himself the burnt-out remains of Control Room 4, experience standing directly underneath Chernobyl’s huge protective arch and comes face-to-face with the remains of the original Sarcophagus.

Exploring the enourmous human cost, Fogle meets a policeman on duty that fateful night who witnessed the explosion first-hand. Fogle also examines the ruins of Hospital 126, where first responders were treated in the immediate aftermath of the explosion. He also travels to the ghost town of Pripyat and its iconic fairground that never was, before meeting the incredible “Samosely” residents, who still live inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and refuse to leave.

Inside Chernobyl also uncovers the strange place Chernobyl has now become. Fogle joins a local police raid on “stalkers” who illegally enter the zone searching for thrills. He discovers people setting up make-shift homes inside the deserted buildings and even manages to arrange a rendezvous with a stalker to understand their motivation.

Fogle travels into Chernobyl’s forests to discover an amazing story of wildlife returning, from horses to wolves and bears. With the planet at tipping point, Fogle wants to understand what Chernobyl’s legacy means in today’s world, and whether he can find hope in the most unlikely place on Earth.

7:30pm Monday on Seven.