Programme Information

A dream come true for Jimmy Doherty

Jimmy Doherty In Darwin's Garden

Day and time to be confirmed BBC TWO

• Programme copy

Jimmy Doherty's childhood fascination with the natural world led him to take a degree in zoology and study entomology, eventually leading to the establishment of his Essex farm, run on organic principles, featured in BBC Two's documentary series Jimmy's Farm.

In Jimmy Doherty In Darwin's Garden, part of the BBC's season marking the 200th anniversary of the great Victorian naturalist, Jimmy sets about recreating some of the experiments that underpin Darwin's On The Origin Of Species, which was published 150 years ago.

"Darwin was an amazing scientist who developed the most amazing theory that changed the world," Jimmy tells Programme Information. "Doing this programme was a dream come true because it allowed me to see him in a different light."

Tell us about the idea behind recreating some of these experiments

"Everyone thinks of Darwin the explorer going to the Galapagos on the Beagle and, suddenly, hey presto it's The Theory Of Evolution. In fact it was all the hard work he did in his house and garden for years afterwards that pulled the whole thing together.

"Like anyone on a journey, he came back with more questions than he set out with – how does evolution work? How do changes happen? What bits are missing? This programme gives us an understanding of how he used these small-scale experiments to underpin his theory. The important thing is making it accessible; we're not talking about a guy in history who has died and gone, it's a living, breathing theory, relevant to everyone."

Have these experiments been recreated before?

"A number probably have, but we also carry out some that Darwin never had time to do, which was a real privilege. One of the things I found astonishing throughout this project was how often Darwin was correct in his guesswork – it was often only through later discoveries and advanced technologies that his theories could actually be proved... For example, Darwin didn't know anything about genetics or DNA. His view that humans originated from Africa was pretty controversial at the time but he was found to be right – he also predicted the discovery of fossilised humans at various stages of development, which has also happened."

Talk us through some of the experiments...

"We go from the weedy patch experiment, clearing an area and then allowing it to grow freely, which shows the survival of the fittest, through to the process of working out the age of the South Downs. Before that, everyone thought the Earth was 6,000 years old – not enough time for evolution to have happened – so Darwin was constantly pushing at these barriers. The leap of imagination was amazing. We take it for granted now but, back then, people had never really asked questions like that before.

"Darwin wanted to see how intelligence evolved by seeing it in other species. So, playing a bassoon to worms was about looking at testing their intelligence and what sounds they'd respond to – they don't hear like we do, but sense vibrations. People wouldn't have assumed intelligence in worms, but he showed that they had enough to know one end of a leaf from another.

"We also looked at curiosity in monkeys to see how you could observe the evolution of emotions through different species. Monkeys are usually scared of snakes, so we showed them a snake, put it in a box and waited to see how long it would take for the monkeys' curiosity to overcome their fear. Sure enough, they go and look in the box and even though they are scared, they still go back and have another peek. You can see a similar connection in children."

Discovering 140 species living in one meadow is quite remarkable...

"It's incredible. To look at a meadow and see the diversity of life poses the question: 'Why are there so many different organisms?' It's because there are so many different little jobs in one ecosystem, little niches, and a thousand ways of making a living. As a farmer, you always want a diverse meadow because the grasses produce sugars at different times of the year. Diversity is hugely important because it means the meadow is productive throughout the majority of the year. If you have one single species of grass, that's hard to achieve."

How much pressure was Darwin under from the theological and scientific establishment of the time?

"Most religious bodies would see [the theory of evolution] as a threat because it offers an explanation of the origins of life on Earth without the need for God or some kind of supreme being. For most people, that was pretty hard or even impossible to take because it undermined everything they believed in – Samuel Wilberforce [Bishop Of Oxford] was vehemently against his theory. You can understand why there was a huge debate; and it has been raging ever since publication.

"Darwin wasn't one for confrontation – he was going to go into the church himself at one point. He dealt with it by going back and doing even more research. He also had some strong supporters, such as [biologist] TH Huxton, who became known as 'Darwin's bulldog'."

How do you think people view Darwin now?

"He doesn't always get the credit for being one of the greatest scientific figures of all time. People sort of recognise him on the back of a tenner and think: 'Darwin... beard... Victorian... bald head... quite important', but they don't often think of him as this young, dynamic scientist. He was only in his twenties when he went to the Galapagos."

Darwin explains how inter-connected everything is, how concerned are you about population decline in bees and other insects?

"Mass extinctions are no big thing for the Earth – they've happened a number of times in the past. But, for humans, I think we should be extremely worried. I think we have a certain amount of arrogance as a species – but we hugely depend on other organisms doing their jobs to keep us alive. If we died out, honey bees wouldn't care, but if honey bees died out then a third of all crops wouldn't come to fruition."

Is there a solution?

"More research and development in agriculture is definitely needed, especially when we're being faced with some big problems in terms of population increase... we've all got to be fed from somewhere."

What will you do next, are there other scientific heroes you'd like to cover?

"I'm working on a project about global agriculture and we'll also be doing some filming on the farm, although it won't be another series of Jimmy's Farm. I think Richard Dawkins is colossal in terms of explaining the theory of evolution. I remember watching his Royal Institute Christmas lectures when I was younger and I found him captivating. Also I think Alfred Russel Wallace should be better known. He's one of the guys who inspired Darwin to publish, because he came up with the same theory totally independently. He doesn't really get the credit due to him."