Living with 200 Wild Animals

Art lover Bill Bailey matches ordinary people who have extraordinary stories with some of the country's most talented portrait artists. In this episode, Kaiser Chiefs singer Ricky Wilson takes up the artistic challenge.

Lindsay runs a 60-acre wildlife rescue centre for exotic animals on the Welsh border. Her labour of love started with a chance encounter with a raccoon. Today, she provides sanctuary to a host of animals, including apes, monkeys and mountain lions, all with little to no hope of ever being returned to the wild.

Largely self-funded, the centre consumes every part of Lindsay’s life. She lives on site, rarely leaves and devotes everything she has to caring for animals others have left behind. Now, she is determined to take her fight further, campaigning for a change in the law and petitioning Parliament to make the sale of wild animals illegal.

Bill pairs Lindsay with fellow animal lover Ricky Wilson. Before becoming the frontman of the Kaiser Chiefs, Ricky trained as an artist and taught art at university. He still paints for relaxation while on tour.

Ricky soon faces an artistic dilemma. Lindsay wants the portrait to focus on the animals she has dedicated her life to. But Ricky believes that it is Lindsay herself who is truly extraordinary and should be at the centre of the painting. Can he find a way to honour her wishes while staying true to his own artistic instincts?