Growing up on a farm on a small island off the West Coast of Scotland, Rowan’s love of nature blossomed at an early age. She is a graduate of the University of St Andrews and cut her storytelling teeth writing for children's comic books, before joining the BBC in 2009.

Since then Rowan has delivered content across genres as diverse as entertainment, live and ‘as live’ productions; observational documentary, magazine and presenter-led shows, to world class natural history programming, including a two year stint on the revered Natural World strand. She has worked with global clients; is experienced at winning new business; and as a Producer Director has helped deliver BAFTA, RTS West and Panda Award winning series.

Now a full-time Series Producer in the BBC’s Natural History Unit, in her spare time she enjoys hiking, cycling, and days on the beach with her mischievous Spanish rescue dog.

What can you tell us about the series?

The series is a truly global exploration of the wild canids. It immerses us in their world from the outset and I hope by the end, it makes viewers feel they’ve become part of the pack. We wanted to reveal the astonishing diversity within this family, and part of that is the geographical reach of this group of animals. They are found on six continents; in deserts, up mountains, in forests and in cities. This series is an exhilarating journey through these different environments, and many more, proving how unbelievably adaptable, and as a result successful, this family is.

Why do you think there hasn’t been a single species series about dogs before? Why now?

Never has the nation been so obsessed with dogs! Following the pandemic puppy craze, there are now more than a billion domestic dogs across the globe – making now the ideal time to delve into the world of their wild cousins. We hope to reveal where the intelligence, agility, loyalty and sheer ‘doggedness’ of the wolf in your own living room really came from.

Sadly however, whilst domestic dogs are growing in number, our wild species are in decline. Almost a third of wild dog species are now listed as threatened or near-threatened with extinction. Some species have less than 20 individuals left in the wild. And this decline is almost always directly down to us humans. If we love our pet dogs so much, it’s really important that we recognise the pressure their wild cousins are under - and hopefully a series like this will inspire people to do something about it.

Where did you film the series?

We filmed all over the world for this series, and in some truly spectacular locations. From Australia to the Arctic, the Sahara desert to the banks of the River Danube, we filmed 22 species across six continents. One of the toughest places to reach was probably the Tibetan plateau to film the extraordinary antics of the Tibetan Fox. Throw Covid-19 into the mix, and this was doubly difficult. Another tricky spot was the remote island of Chiloe off the west coast of Chile. It took our team almost three days to reach the location in search of the tiny forest dwelling darwin’s fox. But perhaps the more surprising sequences in the series were filmed in more familiar places - like the red foxes - we followed in the streets of London, or the secretive tanuki that have successfully colonised the busiest city in the world, Tokyo. Wild dogs are incredibly adaptable, so much so that they can now live alongside us in some of the most densely populated places on the planet.

How long did it take to film?

We had a filming window of roughly one year – February 2021 to February 2022 – which in wildlife filming terms is not long very long at all. This meant for any seasonal behaviour we were trying to film, we only had once chance to capture it, so every shoot really had to count. Despite filming through a global pandemic, and also dealing with some difficult and unseasonal weather in America and the Arctic, we were thankfully able to capture everything we wanted to across the year. This is real testament to an incredible production team who came up with plenty of plan Bs, Cs and Ds when hurdles came up along the way.

How did you chose which dog species to film for this series?

We wanted to film as many canid species as we could, to try and give a real understanding of this amazing animal family. One of the reasons the canids haven’t been filmed extensively before is because they are incredibly difficult to film. They are found across the globe, living in some of the hardest places to reach, and they’re fantastically mobile, making them almost impossible to follow. Add to that their intelligence and ability to avoid humans when they want to (even when living right on our doorstep), this made filming any of them a real challenge. Our ambition was to show the diversity of the family as a whole, so we chose to focus in on the species that showcased traits that were either unique to that one wild dog, or common to the canid family as a whole. And overall I think we’ve achieved that.

Which wild dog from the series was the hardest to film and why?

The hardest of all the species to film was probably the Fennec Fox. This is the smallest of all the dogs and lives in the blistering heat of the Sahara Desert. They are tiny - roughly the size of a walking boot. Imagine trying to find that in the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert. They are also incredibly shy and have an acute sense of smell, so even once the team had finally located a burrow, they weren’t guaranteed more than a glimpse. It took them almost two weeks to get their first usable shot on camera, and it took all of their patience and resolve to keep going. In the end it paid off. Not only did they capture a beautiful insight into how these animals survive in one of the most inhospitable places on earth; but they also created a second sequence, revealing the devastating human impact tourism is having on this tiny animal. A powerful sequence that as a team we are all very proud of.

What challenges did you face whilst filming this series?

We filmed the whole of this series during the Covid-19 pandemic. This made travel pretty much impossible for most of our production team, and instead we had to reach out to contacts, camera crews and producers around the world to help us achieve our filming goals. This was nail-biting to say the least. Where normally our producers would be in the field directing and troubleshooting to capture footage, for this production they were directing sequences remotely, relying on WhatsApp and other means of communication to stay in constant contact with crews working on the ground. In some instances we had no idea what the footage actually looked like until it had been filmed and sent back to the production office after the shoot.

Another huge challenge was the mobility of the dogs themselves. They often live in huge territories, in places difficult for vehicles or even crews on foot to penetrate, eg. the Okavango Delta, or the vast grasslands of the Cerrado in Brazil. We had to rely on detailed local knowledge to keep track of our filming animals, and in some instances we were able to team up with scientists studying specific animals. This allowed us to tap into their use of radio collars to keep track of individuals. Without this help some of the sequences we captured would not have been possible.

Were there any standout or memorable sequences for you in this series?

The dingo sequence in episode one, for me, is one of the most memorable – and I think most beautiful in the series. This is kind of a redemption story for this species. They’re not popular in Australia and generally speaking have a bad reputation, yet here we’ve shown how important they are in keeping a delicate ecosystem in balance. Their good looks, coupled with the stunning location of K’gari Island in Queensland and it’s feast for the eyes.

Another sequence that I found fascinating is the broken heart syndrome in the African wild dogs story in episode three. Not only is this truly surprising science, but it’s also proof that dogs have feelings. They need their family and friends – their pack – not just physically to hunt together etc, but they also need each other emotionally to survive.

What do you think Chris Packham brings to the series, as the narrator?

I couldn’t think of a better person to narrate this series than Chris. He’s mad about dogs. And of course brings a font of knowledge on this animal family himself. We really wanted to immerse viewers in the world of the wild dogs, meaning the narration had to be warm, intimate and engaging. Throughout production I could hear Chris’ voice and turns of phrase bringing alive the characters of each individual species while we were writing the scripts, so he was the natural choice. His personality also feels like the perfect fit for these animals. Clever, witty, a little bit cheeky and a little bit shy; just like the wild dogs themselves.

Are there any important conservation stories you wanted to get across this series?

We wanted to flag the pressure wild dog species are facing across the board. All of them in their own way are facing challenges. Where some species are declining, others are finding ways to fill that gap, but it’s never long before they’re up against their greatest threat – us. Space, or lack thereof, is arguably the biggest issue. Humans create problems of varying degrees for these animals at almost every turn. Episode three delves into these issues in more detail, and shines a light on the individuals and organisations working to try and resolve some of these issues. It’s a powerful and enlightening watch.

Which is your favourite wild dog story from the series?

This is a tough one. But I think my favourite story from the series is probably the Bat-eared Fox sequence from episode one. They’re such a characterful little species with their big ears and bushy little bodies. Their sequence is a lovely portrait of life in Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana, with a sprinkle of romance to top it off. What I like most about them is that of all the species we filmed, and despite the dangers that surround them every day, they seem fairly laid back and relaxed. Which is not a trait I really associate with any of the other wild dog species.

What do you hope viewers will take away from watching Dogs In The Wild?

I hope viewers will take away a better appreciation of the canid family as a whole. But also a greater understanding of some of its more abstract, or perhaps maligned species, like the dingo and red fox. I also hope, from a bigger picture point of view, that it makes viewers think more about how we are impacting the world, environments and animals around us. Whether that be in the form of mass agriculture, or simply the impact our own pet dog at home might be having to the presence of wildlife in our back garden.