{"id":9465,"date":"2026-07-01T10:19:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T10:19:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/?p=9465"},"modified":"2026-07-01T10:19:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T10:19:45","slug":"the-big-cat-investigator-heads-to-bbc-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/07\/01\/the-big-cat-investigator-heads-to-bbc-one\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Cat Investigator heads to BBC One"},"content":{"rendered":"

Air TV’s latest documentary is released this month, as The Big Cat Investigator heads to BBC One.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s one of twelve new programmes making up the latest series of Our Lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Builder by day and big cat investigator by night, Gary Ridley has spent the last 17 years on a quest to solve one of Britain\u2019s enduring mysteries. Are big cats roaming freely in the countryside?<\/p>\n

At his side is Corrinne, his second-in-command at Surrey Panther Watch. Their weekends are spent loading their van with wildlife cameras and heading into the Surrey hills to scan the fields after dark.<\/p>\n

For Gary, this has never been just a hobby. Growing up, he had heard the tales of the Surrey Puma, dreaming of what might be walking across the landscape. Over time, Gary\u2019s curiosity hardened into a need to know the truth. Corrinne\u2019s path was different. Her battle with cancer left her determined to seize life, and in the search, she found purpose. There is no conclusive proof of big cats such as panthers and lynx living wild in England, but together they\u2019re certain big cats are out there. They want to prove it.<\/p>\n

In 2026, the group pools resources for its biggest effort yet, concentrating everything on a single hotspot in the Midlands.<\/p>\n

As the big day nears, Gary meets the people behind the sightings. One has captured footage he analyses on the spot. Another is a retired police officer who helps him trace how these creatures might have ended up on English soil. To bring science to the search, Gary meets Professor Robin Allaby of Warwick University \u2013 the scientist who DNA-tests samples from big cat enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

On a Staffordshire farm, the team deploys a full arsenal: thermal drones, night-vision cameras, and for the first time, Gary\u2019s unique cat-calling device.<\/p>\n

Now Our Lives heads into the undergrowth with these investigators. Will Gary finally find what he has been searching for \u2013 or face another 17 years of waiting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Big Cat Investigator is on at 7pm on Monday 20th July and iPlayer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Air TV’s latest BBC documentary is released this month, as The Big Cat Investigator heads to BBC One.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9465"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9467,"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9465\/revisions\/9467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airtv.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}