River Monsters!
We talk to the show’s star Jeremy Wade. It’s emotional!
We go behind the scenes on new series with Jeremy Wade
IN JUST a few days’ time the last-ever series of River Monsters hits our TV screens.
To celebrate, we caught up with charismatic presenter Jeremy Wade, who’s admitted to being both excited and emotional about coming to the end of an incredible journey that’s seen him bring fishing into the homes of millions.
Was it an emotional experience filming your last-ever series? It was, because River Monsters has been a big part of my life for many years.
When a series comes to an end it’s usually because viewing figures are on their way down, but this certainly isn’t the case with this series…it’s still so strong.
But it’s run its natural course and it feels right to finish on a high. The overriding emotion is most definitely pride, and here I know I speak for everyone who’s been involved in the show.
I’m still amazed that it’s been going for as long as it has.
What can viewers expect from the final series? It’s full of incredible fish stories and some of the most stunning venues I’ve ever visited.
I catch the biggest fish of my life, which makes for amazing viewing.
Plus, I dive down in a homemade submersible to depths of around 600 metres in the episode called Killers from the Abyss.
It was only made for two people but three of us went down into the depths with it.
It took us 45 minutes to reach the bottom and I had a cameraman sitting on my knee.
Being down there on the sea bed in the pitch black, seeing what was swimming around, was both unnerving and exhilarating – you have to see it.
Did you have a favourite venue? I’ve been to Papua New Guinea
before, but this time one of the shows takes me to one of its islands called New Britain.
As we all know, fishing isn’t just about catching – where you are and who you’re with is often just as important. This notion has been such a big part of River Monsters. I stayed in a village with people who dwelt on a coral island and lived from the sea. Such a simple, beautiful life… what an experience!
What was the most extreme fishing you encountered? Greenland is such an extreme and beautiful location.
At some points the temperatures plummeted to as low as minus 20 degrees, which makes any kind of fishing very difficult.
We were ice fishing at crazy depths. In fact I’ve never fished
“I dive down in a homemade submersible to depths of around 600 metres in the episode called Killers from the Abyss”
this deep before; it was as though the place was bottomless.
But, to be fair, there’s an extreme element to all the fishing in this series and that’s what makes it one of our very best.
What’s been the biggest challenge while filming River Monsters? This series has been a hit with both anglers and non-anglers alike and I’m very proud of that. For me this has been the biggest challenge.
It’s a really fine balance because there needs to be something to keep anglers engaged, whether that be a big fish, an amazing fight, or the location.
But on the other hand you can’t delve to deeply into tactics because then you lose people that don’t know the sport. I think we’ve pulled off this juggling act with every series.
Where does the man who’s caught fish and visited venues that most can only dream of want to go fishing next? I love fishing in the UK. There’s a small stream close to my house that holds some lovely brown trout, and I always really enjoy that particular challenge.
I’ve never done much barbel fishing but I visited the River Wye earlier this year for some filming – not for River Monsters – and was mesmerised by the river. That’s a box I’m going to have to tick.
A good friend of mine who I speak to a great deal on the phone about fishing has also got me really fired up about catching some big carp in the UK. There’s so much I want to achieve on home soil.
So what’s next for Jeremy Wade? Unfortunately, I have to keep my lips sealed for what I’ve got in the pipeline, but I can say that there is definitely life after River Monsters!