Dippy the dinosaur is continuing to make waves after leaving Rochdale, with his adventure in the borough set to feature in a Channel 5 documentary series airing this week.
Natural History Museum, World of Wonder, is a 6-part series which focusses on the famous London museum and its many special artefacts, with film crews getting special behind the scenes access to the institution’s treasures.
In episode 2, which airs on Thursday, 14 January 2021 at 8pm, the team will feature Dippy’s visit in 2020 to Number One Riverside as part of a national tour.
The team filmed the 21 metre-long dinosaur cast, alongside local visitors, and had a chat with Councillor Janet Emsley, Rochdale’s cabinet member for a safer and inclusive community, and Lorraine Cornish, head of conservation at the Natural History Museum, as part of their episode about dinosaurs and other prehistoric treasures.
Dippy opened in Number One Riverside in February 2020, alongside the accompanying exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale. The experience was closed in March to protect the public amid the coronavirus pandemic, but reopened for a short time later in the year with safety measures in place.
Dippy on Tour is being brought to Number One Riverside, Rochdale and visitors across the UK by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Garfield Weston Foundation, and supported by Dell EMC and Williams & Hill.
It’s the second time Dippy’s stay in Rochdale has featured on national television, following his appearance on the famous children’s programme, Blue Peter in late 2020, where viewers tuned in to see young dinosaur fan, Warwick Carter, join presenter Ritchie Driss to place Dippy’s head on at the end of the build.
Councillor Janet Emsley, cabinet member for a safer and more inclusive community, said: “I’m not surprised that Dippy’s legacy is continuing, even now that he’s left our borough and I’m looking forward to catching up with my favourite dinosaur once more, albeit through my television. Last year was a very difficult year, but Dippy was unquestionably a rare highlight, and it will be wonderful to be reminded of this wonderful exhibit and what a special time it was for our borough.”
Although Dippy was not able to open for the whole run during his time in Rochdale, the famous cast proved a smash hit in the North West, the seventh of his 8-stop UK tour. Over 122,000 people visited Number One Riverside and more than 46,000 went to see the exhibition at Touchstones. 8,000 schoolchildren visited with their classes and hundreds engaged with special zoom sessions organised by the council’s children’s services team to enable children to engage with Dippy during lockdown.
