ITV are said to be hoping to cash in on the success of Netflix hit Tiger King with a UK-based version.
With actor-turned-documentary-maker Ross Kemp attached, the series is set to feature British versions of Joe Exotic – the titular Tiger King from the US version.
A source told The Sun: ‘Ross loves getting under the skin of gritty topics and interviewees. And given how big Tiger King was last year, this seems a good idea.
Grrrrr! ITV are said to be hoping to cash in on the success of Netflix hit Tiger King with a UK-based version with actor-turned-documentary-maker Ross Kemp attached
‘No one has really delved into the lives of British Joe Exotics and what possesses them to keep these creatures in the way they do.
‘There are numerous examples of Brits having all sorts of animals, and this doc will look at some of the characters involved.’
The series has allegedly started production, slated for a 2021 air date.
MailOnline has approached reps for comment.
Average Joe? The new series is set to feature British versions of Joe Exotic – the titular Tiger King from the US version
A source told The Sun: ‘Ross loves getting under the skin of gritty topics and interviewees. And given how big Tiger King was last year, this seems a good idea’
The source added: ‘No one has really delved into the lives of British Joe Exotics and what possesses them to keep these creatures in the way they do’
It’s said that Ross, 56 – who played Grant Mitchell in EastEnders – has already interviewed Reece Oliver, who has two rescued African lions and a puma in his garden in Nottinghamshire.
Last summer he hit headlines when he applied for planning permission for a 400 metres squared enclosure behind his stables, which was to be used for the 28-year-old’s show-jumping horses.
Neighbours became rattled when they discovered it in fact housed a puma, called Rogue, and that two lion cubs, Rocky and Rora, would be added.
Some 14 neighbours objected that the enclosure was too close to the adjoining bridleway, and having so many predators less than 45 metres from the nearest house would be ‘unsafe’.
Hit! Joe Exotic is seen at the zoo he used to run in Wynnewood, Oklahoma
On the show? It’s said that Ross, 56 – who played Grant Mitchell in EastEnders – has already interviewed Reece Oliver, who has two rescued African lions and a puma in his garden in Nottinghamshire
Even so, Reece won the battle to keep his enclosure, with the 3.85 metre-high perimeter fence.
Reece lives in a barn conversion with his mother Karen, who owns a string of children’s nurseries, his dad Gary, a heating engineer, girlfriend Annie, his grandparents — and two squirrel monkeys, called Ronnie and Reggie.
He rescued the four-year-old puma ‘from the illegal pet trade’. And within two years, Rocky and Rora will be twice the puma’s size, with male Rocky weighing up to 30st.
Tiger King became a worldwide sensation on Netflix as it chronicled the lives of big cat owners Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and Doc Antle.
Exotic has served roughly two years of a 22-year sentence after he was convicted on 17 federal charges in 2019 for animal abuse and an attempted murder-for-hire plot on Baskin.
Pussy galore! Last summer Reece hit headlines when he applied for planning permission for a 400 metres squared enclosure behind his stables to house a puma, called Rogue, and two lion cubs, Rocky and Rora
Catty! He rescued the four-year-old puma ‘from the illegal pet trade’. And within two years, Rocky and Rora will be twice the puma’s size, with male Rocky weighing up to 30st
Exotic recently lashed out at Donald Trump for deciding not to pardon him, accusing the former president of homophobia and saying he only pardoned his ‘corrupt friends’.
The reality TV star, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, had desperately hoped for a reprieve from the outgoing president.
‘I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump,’ he tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
He bitterly referenced the former president’s son, who said he felt Exotic had been treated harshly.
‘I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post.
‘Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first.’
Sentence: Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, has served roughly two years of a 22-year sentence after he was convicted on 17 federal charges in 2019 for animal abuse and an attempted murder-for-hire plot on Carole Baskin (pictured in show still)