Dippy in Rochdale to hit the small screen once more

Dippy in Number One Riverside

Dippy the dinosaur is continuing to make waves after leaving Rochdale, with his adventure in the borough set to feature in a Channel 5 documentary series airing this week.

Natural History Museum, World of Wonder, is a six part series which focusses on the famous London museum and its many special artefacts, with film crews getting special behind the scenes access to the institution’s treasures.

In episode two, which airs this Thursday (14 January) at 8pm, the team will feature Dippy’s visit last year to Number One Riverside as part of a national tour.

The team filmed the 21 metre long dinosaur cast, alongside local visitors, and had a chat with Councillor Janet Emsley, Rochdale’s cabinet member for a safer and inclusive community, and Lorraine Cornish, head of conservation at the Natural History Museum, as part of their episode about dinosaurs and other prehistoric treasures.

Dippy opened in Number One Riverside in February last year, alongside the accompanying exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale. The experience was closed in March to protect the public amid the coronavirus pandemic, but reopened later in the year for a short time, with safety measures in place.

It’s the second time Dippy’s stay in Rochdale has featured on national television, following his appearance on Blue Peter late last year, where viewers tuned in to see young dinosaur fan, Warwick Carter, join presenter Ritchie Driss to place Dippy’s head on at the end of the build.

Councillor Janet Emsley, cabinet member for a safer and more inclusive community at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “I’m not surprised that Dippy’s legacy is continuing, even now that he’s left our borough and I’m looking forward to catching up with my favourite dinosaur once more, albeit through my television. Last year was a very difficult year, but Dippy was unquestionably a rare highlight, and it will be wonderful to be reminded of this wonderful exhibit and what a special time it was for our borough.”

Although Dippy was not able to open for the whole run during his time in Rochdale, the famous cast proved a smash hit in the North West, the seventh of his eight stop UK tour. Over 122,000 people visited Number One Riverside and more than 46,000 went to see the exhibition at Touchstones. 8,000 schoolchildren visited with their classes and hundreds engaged with special zoom sessions organised by the council’s children’s services team to enable children to engage with Dippy during lockdown.