Written by and starring Mark Gatiss, this drama tells the little known story of Apsley Cherry-Garrard's epic hunt for penguin eggs during Captain Scott's polar expedition of 1910–1913.
Prior to Scott's attempt on the South Pole, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, together with Dr Edward Wilson and 'Birdie' Bowers, embarked on an extraordinary scientific quest. It was thought that experiments on penguin eggs would help test whether an evolutionary link existed between birds and reptiles. During their expedition the men underwent terrible privations; man-hauling sledges in total darkness for a full month and enduring extreme temperatures. This film is a quintessentially British tale of an ill-equipped and resolutely amateur team of adventurers battling the elements.
Cherry returned to a world he no longer recognised and spent the rest of his life struggling with feelings of guilt and alienation. Some years after the experience, encouraged by his friend George Bernard Shaw, Cherry wrote about the polar expedition in his book The Worst Journey in the World.
The Worst Journey in the World was directed by Damon Thomas and produced by Suzanne Lavery. It is a Tiger Aspect production for BBC Four.
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Apsley Cherry-Garrard Mark Gatiss Dr Wilson John Arthur Birdie Bowers Lee Ingleby Angela Turner Julia Dalkin Wentworth Ian Hallard Curator David Ryall Mrs Cherry-Garrard Barbara Kirby Captain Scott Alexander Kirk
