IN a new six-part series on ITV Wales, presenter and interior designer Anna Ryder Richardson and her Glaswegian husband Colin tell the story of their zoo at Manor Park, St. Florence.

In an unique behind the scenes look, the programme will show what life is really like in a zoo, the ups and downs, the happy and sad times.

In the first episode, we hear how Anna and her restaurateur husband Colin bought the zoo three years ago and inherited a psychologically damaged Gibbon called Steve. After many thousands of pounds investment in a new island retreat, a mate and a new heated home, they are dismayed that Steve will still not take a single step out from his cage, leaving Steve's island the exclusive reserve of his long suffering child bride, Lisa.

However this year they have recruited the help of a new head keeper, Ross Brown, who is something of a specialist in primates. Ross warns Anna that Steve is so damaged that he may never go onto the island, but over the next few weeks Ross devotes himself to trying to help Steve take that all-important first step.

• 'Anna's Welsh Zoo' can be seen on ITV Wales on Tuesday, November 2, at 7.30 pm.