SUPER NATURAL
MARTIN HUGHES-GAMES, MICHAELA STRACHAN, CHRIS PACKHAM AND GILLIAN BURKE ARE BACK ON THE WATCH…
Have a notepad ready and keep your eyes on the garden (or the nearest patch of greenery) because Springwatch is back this week, and it has a new home. For the first time ever, an entire year’s ‘Watches’ (Spring, Autumn and Winter) will all be based in the same location: the National Trust’s Sherborne Park Estate.
“We see wildlife throughout the country, whether in the city or in a rural environment,” Chris Packham tells Inside TV. “But what we’re doing here is we’re going to explore the bigger picture of what the UK countryside is really about.”
“Our wildlife camera teams have already been down there, and they’re notorious for being negative,” grins Michaela Strachan. “But they came back really excited, and that’s the most positive thing. That’s what our show relies on – the heart of the show is the storylines of the animals, and our camera teams are excited, so I’m really excited!” After joining the team during
Autumnwatch last year, Gillian Burke is getting ready for her first full series of Springwatch, and she’s very enthusiastic about the job ahead of her.
“I’m sat next to some real pros, so I feel like I’m in good hands!” she chuckles. “I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’m looking forward to it. Although I did a few location reports for last year’s Springwatch, in terms of being involved in presenting the live shows, I only did Autumnwatch and
Winterwatch. Those two are just one-week runs, so three weeks of presenting
Springwatch will be an interesting exercise in pacing!”
While the main show will be based in Sherborne Park, the team are determined to cover as much of the country as possible – so Martin Hughesgames is taking on the role of the show’s roving reporter…
“I’m aiming to be with the team at the beginning,” he informs us. “Then I’ll go to North Wales, to Scotland, and hopefully the Isles of Scilly. It will be quite tricky – it’s a problem trying to get a satellite truck on to St Agnes island, where there are no roads!”
OUR CAMERA TEAMS ARE EXCITED, SO I’M REALLY EXCITED” MICHAELA