Unlucky Giraffe’s are Wild At Heart

Last year the shows popular Giraffe Hamley died when he was struck by lightening and his female counterpart, Lucy, has also taken a tumble into a watery problem on the set of ITV’s popular drama, Wild At Heart.

Last year the shows popular Giraffe Hamley died when he was struck by lightening and his female counterpart, Lucy, has also taken a tumble into a watery problem on the set of drama, Wild At Heart.

“Filming Wild At Heart under the unrelenting heat of the African sun can cause even the most professional of actors to seek out a place to cool down between takes. Unfortunately one of the larger, four legged stars took it one step too far,” ITV say.

The cast and crew of the popular Sunday evening saga were apparently amazed to find a nine-year-old Giraffe called Lucy used within the programme had decided to go on her own expedition and had broken in to the Leopard’s Den set.

Unfortunately for the long-necked telly star she also ended up seemingly auditioning for a part in BBC One’s Casualty emergency drama when she took a tumble and ended up stuck in the swimming pool.

Producer Adam Friedlander says, “We are not 100% sure how she fell into the pool but we think she may have been drinking from it and with her head being too low became disorientated and fell in.”

He continues: “The animals on the reserve roam free and we are of course very mindful of their safety and try to interfere with their habitat as little as possible. However, accidents can happen and it appeared Lucy had managed to squeeze through the fence before falling into the pool.”

The crew had to work in to the night in a desperate attempt to free her. They first drained the pool and built steps out of sandbags in the hope she would walk up them but abandoned the idea amid concerns that Lucy would slip and fall over. Eventually the Fire Brigade had to be called out to help with the increasingly desperate situation.

The team then decided to dig a trench at one end of the pool hoping Lucy could be tempted out with some food. Eventually after three hours the rescue attempt finally succeeded and the Giraffe was able to safely walk out of the pool unscathed.

Stephen Tompkinson who plays Danny Trevanion on the show was on his way home when he was told about the situation and returned immediately to help with the rescue: “It was such a bizarre sight – as soon I walked round the corner all I could see was this great neck sticking out of the pool! She remained really calm throughout the whole thing and after draining the pool and digging a trench for her to walk up she emerged, all be it awkwardly, out of the pool unharmed.”

To add to the real-life drama on the set of the fictional drama, Lucy is 14 months pregnant to the late Hamley who fathered her offspring before his sudden death at the hands of a thunderstorm where he was struck by a fatal lightening strike last year.

A new ten-part series of Wild At Heart returns to ITV in 2012.