About The Programme
What is the series about?
When will the series be on TV?
When will the winner be announced?
Which endangered species will be featured?
Why have you chosen these animals?
Which celebrities will be appearing?
Which animals will appear on which programme?
I see you have a link to the William Hill website. Are you receiving any money for this?

Voting/Donating
How can the audience vote or donate?
I voted under the impression that my money was going to the project featured on the programme. Is this the case? If not, why not?

Donations
If I donate online is it secure?
Can we claim gift aid from the voters?
Can we claim gift aid from the donors?
Will my donation go to the specific species or to general funds?
How will the voting money raised be allocated?
I would like my donation to go towards one specific species - can you make this happen?
How much money will be raised?
Who manages the funds raised through this series?
Is WWF making a profit from this series?

Production Issues
Why did WWF agree to participate in the series?
Who is paying the costs of making the series?
Who approached who?
How much control did WWF have over the content of the programmes?
Which other organisations are featured?
You must have contributed to carbon dioxide emissions as this series was filmed around the world. How can you justify this?
Aren't the celebrities just a gimmick to give the programme a more popular and tabloid appeal? Also - why are you using celebrities when celebrities on TV seem to be a massive turn off for viewers?
Are any of these species really going to become extinct?
When?
Surely this is bringing endangered species down to a game show level?
Why have you made it like I'm a celebrity get me out of here?
What can people do to help?

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About The Programme

What is the series about?
Extinct is a week long series about the threats faced by eight endangered species and the conservation efforts WWF and its partners around the world is doing to help them. Two animals will be featured in each programme, each championed by a celebrity, and the audience will be able to vote for their favourite.

The final programme will see the species gradually eliminated, with the audience voting for a final winner. Projects helping the winning species will receive 50% of the money raised through viewers voting. The remaining 50% will be split between the other seven projects.

When will the series be on TV?
Five prime time programmes will be broadcast on ITV in December 2006. The show will be launched on Saturday 9th December, 7.30pm, followed by 3 shows in the week on Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th at 8pm The final will be broadcast on Saturday 16th December at 7.30pm, where the winning animal will be revealed.

There will also be a supporting quiz show running the same week from Tuesday 12th to Sunday 17th at 5pm.

When will the winner be announced?
The Final will be on Saturday 16th December. During this show the voting lines will close and animals will be knocked out until two remain. The voting lines will then reopen and votes will be taken for the remaining two animals, the winner will be announced at the end of the show.

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Which endangered species will be featured?
The following eight species will be featured. A celebrity will be taken to the mentioned area to see the threats for themselves. Further discussion and pictures will be shown in the live show.

• Anneka Rice will be visiting the WWF Arctic Programme in Svalbard, Norway, in partnership with the Norwegian Polar Institute to observe the polar bears
• David Suchet will be visiting WWF-China and the Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in Woolong, China
• Michael Portillo works with WWF-Brazil and Projeto Arara Azul (Hyacinth Macaw Project) in the Pantanal, Brazil
• Sadie Frost visits orang-utans in Borneo with WWF-Indonesia in Borneo Betung Kerihun National Park
• Graeme Le Saux joins mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park, Rwanda with WWF-East Africa and IGCP (International Gorilla Conservation Programme)
• Miranda Richardson visits Asian elephants in the Kaziranga National Park, India, with WWF-India and the Wildlife Trust of India (funded by IFAW)
• Dermot O'Leary goes to Junquillal Beach, Costa Rica to join WWF-Central America, the Junquillal community and the Cuajiniquil fishing community to meet the leatherback turtle
• Pauline Collins travels to Terai Arc, Nepal to look for Bengal tigers together with WWF-Nepal and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal

Why have you chosen these animals?
Five of the animals featured are 'flagship species'. They are the Bengal tiger, the mountain gorilla, the giant panda, the Asian elephant and the orangutan. The other three play a major role in the environment and are deemed to be seriously at risk of extinction.

'Flagship species' are charismatic creatures that inspire conservation efforts for themselves - and for the thousands of lesser-known, but vitally important, plants and animals with which they co-exist. WWF works with these animals not only to protect them but also because they represent some of the most important habitats on earth. By protecting the flagship species and its natural environment, we are protecting the entire eco-system.

Good news stories featuring conservation successes will also be mentioned, in the form of short films. They will focus on the Grey Wolf, White Rhino, Cheetah and European Otter.

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Which celebrities will be appearing?
Sir Trevor McDonald and Zoë Ball will be hosting the series from the main studio. The following people will be filming on location:

Polar Bears - Anneka Rice
Giant Pandas - David Suchet
Macaws - Michael Portillo
Orang-utans - Sadie Frost
Gorillas - Graham Le Saux
Elephants - Miranda Richardson
Turtles - Dermot O'Leary
Tigers - Pauline Collins

Which animals will appear on which programme?
Saturday 9th December - Polar Bears, Giant Pandas
Tuesday 12th December - Orang-utans, Hyacinth Macaws
Wednesday 13th December - Mountain Gorilla, Asian Elephant
Thursday 14th December - Leatherback Turtles, Bengal Tigers

I see you have a link to the William Hill website. Are you receiving any money for this?
William Hill will donate £30 to WWF for every qualified account opened from 6th December to 16th December, via the WWF website. To qualify, you need to visit the William Hill website via their logo on the WWF website, open an account and bet at least £5 in the same transaction.

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Voting/Donating

How can the audience vote or donate?
You can vote by phone to the following numbers:

09011 3211 01 - Polar Bear 09011 3211 05 - Mountain Gorilla
09011 3211 02 - Giant Panda 09011 3211 06 - Asian Elephant
09011 3211 03 - Hyacinth Macaw 09011 3211 07 - Leatherback Turtle
09011 3211 04 - Orang-utan 09011 3211 08 - Bengal Tiger

Or you can text either POLAR, PANDA, MACAW, ORANG, GORILLA, ELEPHANT, TURTLE, TIGER to 63334. Calls and texts will cost 50p (charge at BT standard rate, mobile charges will vary) with at least 30p going towards helping these endangered species.

Each is an automated service with no data capture.

I voted under the impression that my money was going to the project featured on the programme. Is this the case? If not, why not?
This should not happen as it will be made clear that the money is going to the kind of project featured in the show - not the exact project. The projects will address the needs of the species featured in the programme. Projects change and different funding priorities will appear. Viewers can be assured that the money will be used in the most efficient and beneficial way to conserve these animals , protect their habitats and address the global threats that affect them.

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Donations
Viewers will also be invited to donate online through www.itv.com/extinct or via the telephone on 08456 021 021.

If I donate online is it secure?
Donors will be directed via www.itv.com/extinct to a donation form on the WWF website at extinct.wwf.org.uk. The payment section of this form will be processed by World Pay - a fully secure website. World Pay take 1% of each donation. This is a special charity rate and they have waived the set up fees.

Can we claim gift aid from the voters?
No - we are not capturing any contact data from voters so we are unable to claim Gift Aid.

Can we claim gift aid from the donors?
Yes, where donors confirm they are UK taxpayers and have opted in to Gift Aid, along with giving us their name, address and postcode, we will be able to claim 28% on their donation from the Inland Revenue .They will receive a written confirmation from us.

Will my donation go to the specific species or to general funds?
The money raised from voting will be split between the eight featured species. However donations will be to our unrestricted funds. This means your donation will support all of WWF's work including its vital projects around the world to conserve endangered species, protect threatened habitats and address global threats such as Climate Change. Your money will be used where it's most urgently needed.

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How will the voting money raised be allocated?
Each project has already prepared an indicative plan of activities that would be undertaken. These activities are all additonal to, but will complement, those already scheduled to be undertaken with existing funds. Once the level of funding availabile from the Programmes becomes clearer, a more detailed refined version of the indicative plan will be prepared for approval. This will essentially constitute the work plan for the funds raised.

I would like my donation to go towards one specific species - can you make this happen?
All donations made will go into WWF unrestricted funds.

How much money will be raised?
This depends on how many votes are received and if any viewers choose to give additional donations. At least 35p from every 50p telephone call and 30p from each text vote, will be donated by ITV / Endemol.

Who manages the funds raised through this series?
All voting revenue is managed by ITV and will be distributed by means of a donation to WWF and the organisations involved that Endemol / ITV have negotiated with. WWF will only fund WWF approved projects and will not fund other organisations featured in the series if they are not WWF supported projects , individuals and NGO's

All revenue raised through donations and additional fundraising activity will be managed by WWF for use as unrestricted funds i.e. the donation will be used where it's most urgently needed.

Endemol / ITV will also donate proceeds from the sale of ethically sourced Extinct merchandise and competition proceeds to WWF to be used as unrestricted funds

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Is WWF making a profit from this series?
WWF is a registered charity and as such is not a profit making entity. The money which WWF receives will go to the projects which WWF runs, although a small proportion will be used to offset expenses incurred by WWF in producing this series with ITV and the production company. At all times, WWF will act in accordance with UK charity law and applicable charitable fundraising codes of conduct.

For every £1 we raise, we spend 2p on support, 28p on raising another £1 and 70p on delivering our programmes.

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Production Issues

Why did WWF agree to participate in the series?
WWF believes the series will help raise awareness about our work around the world dealing with threats to endangered species, protecting and their habitats and addressing global threats. It will also raise desperately needed funds to help ensure that some of the world's most endangered species are not lost forever.

Who is paying the costs of making the series?
WWF has not paid for this series - Endemol were commissioned by ITV.

Please refer any questions on this issue to ITV:
ITV Helpdesk - visit www.itv.com and select contact us to fill in the online enquiry form.
Or write to Duty Office, Gas Street, Birmingham, B1 2JT Tel: 0870 600 6766
Email: dutyoffice@itv.com
You can also contact your regional ITV company at itv.com/regions.

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Who approached who?
Endemol approached WWF with an idea for a show around animals and the threat of extinction. WWF worked with Endemol/Cheetah Television to develop the concept and the pitch to ITV, who then commissioned the programme.

How much control did WWF have over the content of the programmes?
WWF worked closely with Endemol and ITV in devising the entire series, suggested the wildlife and the projects (Where WWF are featured) that should be visited, accompanied the film crews to the projects to ensure that they were properly represented and had factual sign-off of the films' content. WWF were not involved with the OrangUtan Foundation International filming, locations and messaging

Which other organisations are featured?
During the orang-utan programme, the Orang-utan Foundation (OFI) is also featured. They run orang-utan sanctuaries and Cheetah Television decided that they could help highlight particular aspects of the orang-utan story. In return, they will receive a percentage of the money raised via the orang-utan voting.

If orang-utans win, the OFI will receive 20% of the winners' 50%, 80% will go to WWF. If Orang-utans do not win, OFI will receive 40% of the 1/7th of the remaining 50% to be shared by the runners up.

WWF is not involved with the Orang-utan Foundation, but we respect its work and hope that the substantial quantity of revenue it gains from Extinct will be helpful.

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You must have contributed to carbon dioxide emissions as this series was filmed around the world. How can you justify this?
ITV and Endemol are committed to making Extinct the first ever 100% Carbon Neutral TV programme and are following WWF's advice on how to achieve this. This includes the Quiz Show prizes, press and media trips.

WWF is taking responsibility for offsetting its own footprint for this show. WWF uses the carbon offsetting Gold Standard scheme as a standard, this is the best offsetting scheme in WWF's opinion. For more information on this scheme, please see their website: www.cdmgoldstandard.org.

Aren't the celebrities just a gimmick to give the programme a more popular and tabloid appeal? Also - why are you using celebrities when celebrities on TV seem to be a massive turn off for viewers?
Celebrities can play an important part in raising the profile of important issues like this. In particular they are an effective way of broadening the appeal of a subject that is traditionally taken up in specialist magazines and media outlets and those (in dwindling numbers) who visit zoos. We have approached these particular celebrities because they have a specific interest in wildlife conservation. As such we think their role in the programme is an important and valid one.

Are any of these species really going to become extinct?
They all face extinction if we don't take steps to ensure they survive.

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When?
This is impossible to answer, as it depends on a huge number of factors, but it is reasonable to predict that, at present rates of decline several of them may be gone by the end of this century.

Surely this is bringing endangered species down to a game show level?
The series extinct highlights the work of WWF and show cases a number of projects we work on around the world. The format is designed to be informative and entertaining, which is a trade mark of most programmes. It also has an element of fundraising which will help support WWF in the work we carry out and will directly fund the projects shown.

Why have you made it like I'm a celebrity get me out of here?
Celebrities can often highlight projects and causes, focussing attention on a particular problem. The show may pick a winner, but all the projects shown will receive money to help fund needed conservation work.

What can people do to help?
If you want to help and support these programmes you can vote for your favourite animal, join WWF and become a member and help our conservation and environmental campaigns that are helping save endangered species, habitats and reduce the threats that impact on them.

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