Chris Packham explores the story of evolution in new OU/BBC series

Posted on 9 July 2026 • TV and radio

A new OU / BBC series, Evolution begins Monday 13 July at 9pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Chris Packham reveals the epic, 4-billion-year story of life on Earth. From humble origins to the complex creatures we see today, shaped in surprising ways by the unstoppable force of evolution.

Across five episodes, Chris explores some of evolution’s most remarkable achievements through a series of intriguing questions: how did the bat become such a formidable hunter, the dolphin so intelligent, the elephant so enormous, the horse so fast, and the ostrich come to lay the world’s largest egg? Tracing the four-billion-year history of life on Earth, the series reveals how key evolutionary innovations shaped the extraordinary diversity of animals we see today.

The series was supported by Dr Hannah Gauci, Senior Lecturer and Staff Tutor In Life, Health and Chemical Sciences and Dr Thomas Stubbs, Lecturer in Biology, who provided the academic expertise for the programme.

Dr Thomas Stubbs said:

“The extraordinary diversity of life on Earth today is the result of evolution, the central unifying concept in biology. This new series explores that idea using natural history, the latest scientific discoveries, and visual storytelling to reveal how life has changed over billions of years.”

Dr Hannah Gauci added:

“The series explores how some of our most familiar animal species came to be. The scientific evidence behind each of their stories is explained and demystified, hopefully inspiring the next generation of evolutionary biologists!”

“It’s been fascinating to see each species’ evolutionary history brought to life through amazing visual reconstructions and Chris’ fun explanations. By the end of the series, viewers can see how these interconnected stories form part of the tree of life.”

Supporting Online content:

Discover The Archosaur Story on our Broadcast & Partnerships site OU Connect and explore our interactive evolutionary tree where you can meet Earth’s Ruling Reptiles. From giant dinosaurs to modern birds, archosaurs have dominated Earth’s ecosystems for over 250 million years!

This series was commissioned by Broadcast & Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), with particular relevance to R58 BSc (Honours) Biology, Q64 BSc (Honours) Natural Sciences (Biology), and W89 Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) Biology.

The Open University has produced a poster exploring evolution, biodiversity and the tree of life. Discover how species are connected, uncover the story of Earth’s changing life forms and explore billions of years of evolutionary history through stunning illustrations and expert insights from Dr Hannah Gauci and Dr Thomas Stubbs. To order your free copy call 0300 303 3460 or visit our Broadcast & Partnerships site OU Connect

Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Director, Broadcast & Partnerships

• Academic Consultant: Dr Hannah Gauci and Dr Thomas Stubbs

• Media Fellow: Dr Zhraa Alhaboby 

• Broadcast Project Manager: Laura Connor

• Supporting Online Content: Matthew Ray

Image Credit: BBC Studios