Danger! Dorset Naga on TV

LOOKING at the British Universities Film & Video Council website, I saw this trailed:

Little Howard’s Big Question

Episode: What is the World’s Most Dangerous Food?

Broadcast Info: Wednesday, 15 Sep 2010, 16:00 (30 mins), BBC1

Synopsis: More adventures with the inquisitive six-year-old cartoon boy. A sudden fear of coconuts sends Little Howard off on a quest. What’s more dangerous – honey gathering in Nepal or eating a Dorset chilli?

And at this point, I thought Woo… That must be the Dorset Naga (one of the hottest chillies in the world).

The Dorset Naga. Photograph copyright Sea Spring Seeds.

So I phoned up Michael Michaud at Sea Spring Seeds in West Bexington, and he said: “Yeah, that’s us. They came down to see us. It’s a kind of half-cartoon, half-real-person thing. I ended up talking to a cardboard cut out and they filled it in with this little kid. It’s fun!”

Michael said the programme was shown last year but I never heard about it and, now it’s being repeated, I thought you might like to know to about it too.

“What I like about it is, it’s not patronising,” said Michael. “It doesn’t talk down to kids.”

I didn’t ask him which activity was judged to be most dangerous – honey gathering or Naga eating. I’d guess the former - what always surprises me most about the Naga is how fruity it is, not simply how hot - but we’ll have to see.

PS: While we’re on the subject of children’s TV programmes, it’s also worth watching out on CBeebies for Nuzzle and Scratch. Partly filmed in Weymouth, it’s about two alpacas who get sent out from an employment agency to work for different clients. It’s very funny. I particularly recommend the cinema episode.