Chris is on watch

THE Oddie effect on watching wildlife is far from over, even though Springwatch presenter Bill Oddie is stepping down to be replaced by TV’s Really Wild Show host Chris Packham.

With ex-Goodie Oddie opting for a break to seek treatment for his long-term battle with depression, Packham reveals that the two men have been friends for years and he’s keen not to change the format for a series which has millions of loyal fans.

Springwatch, which started in 2005, will run Monday to Thursday over three weeks from Monday and Packham says: “Bill has been a great mentor to me over the years, as well as a keen and great champion of British wildlife. We’ve been friends for a long time – we’ve campaigned together and we’ve birded in some disreputable parts of the country.

“I remember sneaking under some barbedwire fence with Bill down in Barnes, south London, long before the Wetland Centre was there. He showed me a red-headed smew on a reservoir,” he adds.

“I like to think I’ve had the thumbs up from him for a while. We’re from different generations – he’s an old hippy and I’m an old punk – but our passion comes from the same place, and it’s a lifelong one. When it comes to trying to fill his plimsolls, I wouldn’t try, as they’d probably be smelly,” he adds, laughing.

“If I can bring that same passion and enthusiasm and a determination to communicate that to an audience, then I will, but it will come with my flavour rather than his. “It’s all about enthusiasm and access, that’s the key to the programme,” he says. “Springwatch is designed to show wildlife that’s already accessible to everyone – whether in their garden, over the fence, down the lane, or maybe on a wetland reserve or on a patch of wasteland – but with our cameras, we can allow people to have a look at them a lot more closely.

Packham says their aim is getting people out there looking at nature themselves.

“Wildlife is great on TV, but it’s even better first hand, and we very much want people to go out and engage with wildlife. We can sow the seeds for proper conservation. We get people interested, and then when someone enjoys something, they naturally want to protect it.

“Springwatch is incredible because viewers can switch on and see drama played out by species they can relate to. It’s far easier for most people in the UK to relate to a blue tit than a Sumatran tiger for example.”

Springwatch and Autumnwatch will still be presented by Kate Humble and Simon King who will also be joined by cameramanturned- presenter Martin Hughes-Games.

Humble wasn’t so sure she could go on without her old on-screen sparring partner Oddie.

“It was a bit discombobulating if I’m honest. I worked with Bill for a long time, and he’s an incredibly inspirational person,” she says.

“Yes, he could be tricky it was unpredictable, never boring working with Bill but he is totally passionate about British wildlife, and one of the best communicators on that subject there is.

“When he made the decision not to come back, I did think What am I going to do without Bill? Can I do it without him? but then Chris came along,” she continues, glancing across to her new co-presenter.

“Close your ears to this next bit Chris, I don’t want you getting big-headed...

“It had to be the right person that took over from Bill, and Chris is that person. They come from the same place, they believe in the same things. We did some tests to make sure we didnt look weird together, and everyone seemed to think we looked OK, and it all felt very natural. Hopefully well do all right,” she says, grinning.

As before, the bulk of presenting will be done from Springwatch’s Norfolk base, but viewers will see broadcasts from all over the country. For the past few years, renowned naturalist Simon King has studied various species in Scotland. This time, he will travel to Wales where he will investigate wildlife like the red kite.

Regarded as one of the most beautiful of birds of prey, there were just six pairs in Britain when King, then just 13, first saw them.

“I was only a teenager, making a series called Man And Boy,” says King, now 46. “We had to get extraordinary permission to look at the birds from around seven miles away with this ridiculous telescope. Now, it’s a common species all over Britain. You can see them flying around the M4. It’s an incredible success, but we’re going right back to the heart of the story.

“We were in Wales last year to look at a ravenry, but we’re really getting under the skin this time, properly examining the Welsh flora and fauna. I’m hoping we can uncover something like a goshawk,” says King, who also presents the BBC series Big Cat Diary.

“And polecats. Do we have them in the UK?

Yes, in Wales, but they’re about as rare as unicorns, so we might not see one, but we have the people and technology to achieve that.

“There are also a lot of other things to see, such as seabirds. We’re seeing huge changes in the population of seabirds. It’s possibly to do with climate change, so we’ll investigate.

■ Springwatch, BBC2, Monday-Thursday, 8pm