appeared in British online newspaper articles in February 2012 that Wild at Heart would be axed after Series 7. In April 2012, similar statements appeared, but ITV did not publish a formal press release confirming that the show was cancelled. The two-hour finale special was filmed at Leopards Den in September 2012 and aired on 30 December 2012 on ITV. ITV's Head of Drama Series Steve November said: "Wild at Heart will end on a high thanks to the fantastic cast, crew and writing team who produce the drama. We couldn't wish for a better script to celebrate an immensely successful series for ITV." The finale special was followed on 31 December 2012, by a one-hour documentary titled Wild at Heart: Filming With Animals (see below). In a BBC Radio 2 interview with Simon Mayo on 24 October 2012, Stephen Tompkinson said, "We got back [from South Africa] about three weeks ago [after filming the finale special]. It was very sad to say 'goodbye'...We are ending it in a way that will let you know it's really the end. We're not sort-of loosely hanging on to go try and get a Christmas Special or a Valentine's Day Special out of it. This is it. It ends with a lovely wedding; I'm not going to say who." (Note: BBC Radio 2 makes their interviews available via iPlayer for only a brief period and this interview is no longer available.) Wild at Heart aired as a simulcast on TV3 Ireland. The pilot episode was remade for an American audience, with a predominantly American cast, different characters and a loosely similar plot line. It succeeded enough for a first full series to be commissioned with the title Life Is Wild. It aired on The CW Television Network in the U.S., the Hallmark Channel in the United Kingdom, Skai TV in Greece and Warner Channel in South Africa. However, ratings were low and the show was cancelled after Series 1. The animal action was monitored by the Animal Anti-Cruelty League. Cast and characters Ratings NOTE: All ratings retrieved from http://www.barb.co.uk and include ITV1 HD and ITV1 +1 for series 6 onwards. (BARB website does not allow capture of page URLs for specific rating sets.) Series synopsis Documentary A behind-the-scenes documentary titled Wild at Heart – Filming with Animals aired on ITV on 31 December 2012, the evening following the Finale Special. Narrator Stephen Tompkinson,