Strictlys Hamza Yassin gives heartwarming response to new project

Official trailer for Sky TV's Predators documentary

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Hamza Yassin remains the favourite to lift the Glitterball Trophy on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. Yet viewers have a lot to learn about his other passion in life, which is the natural world. He worked as part of the film crew on the upcoming Sky Nature series, Predators.

Predators was created across two years, with the animals being followed by camera crews for at least a year.

Hamza worked on a polar bear episode within the five-part series, with scenes filmed in Canada.

At the screening for the upcoming series, Hamza revealed why he dedicated his life to filming fascinating animals.

He explained how he had moved to the UK from Sudan when he was eight years old and could not speak any English.

However, he added: “I would watch nature documentaries and could understand the beauty and what the pictures were telling me.

“That spark was lit in me and here I am now, working as a wildlife cameraman and presenter.

“So it is about inspiring the next generation and lighting that spark to get them to take on the baton that we have at the moment.

“The generation before passed it to us and hopefully we can pass it on, we are just a voice for the natural world.

“People can speak for people, but who is speaking for the natural world? Hopefully, that’s us.”

The star is predominantly a long lens and drone specialist and he builds his own drones, called First Person View drones.

He explained: “These drones give the viewers a different feel.

“We want to immerse the viewers in these stories and FPV drones do exactly that.

“These drones are super quiet and they have a little bit of a zoom in them so you can get pretty beautiful images of these animals without them knowing you are even there.”

He opened up about flying drones in very harsh conditions in Canada.

“We were in the middle of February flying them at -43 degrees,” he said.

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“Your battery life is certainly a lot shorter at that particular time but if you know how to fly them correctly you can get some incredible footage with them.

“We did a polar bear hunting beluga sequence and if I’m not mistaken it might be the first time it’s actually been captured from a drone.

“It gives the viewer a completely different perspective to what you normally see.

“I had the ability to reach out and film the whole hunt from the air and see the belugas interacting with the polar bears.”

Actor Tom Hardy narrates the Sky Original series, which follows five apex predators facing the ultimate test of survival.

Sky explained: “Five apex predators face the ultimate test to survive as their rapidly changing world impacts both their own lives and that of the wild kingdoms over which they rule.

“Those at the top are now being challenged. Territories are being redrawn and new relationships formed.

“In this ever-shifting landscape, each predator must overcome new challenges and grasp new opportunities.

“For polar bears in Canada, wild dogs in Zimbabwe, pumas in Chile, lions in Botswana, and cheetahs in Tanzania, this is the ultimate power struggle.

“The stakes have never been higher – who will win and who will lose?”

Strictly returns to BBC One on Sunday, December 11. Predators also airs on Sky Nature from December 11.

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