Tune in for some animal magic with a less pristine edge
NATURE lovers across the country settled down in front of the new series of last night, with a change to the format of the popular BBC Two show designed to make viewers rethink the way they interact with wildlife.
For the programme’s three-week run this year, the team has swapped pristine nature reserves for a working countryside estate, with a new home at National Trust property Sherborne Estate in the Cotswolds.
Built as a grandstand in the 17th century, the area is now used for farmland and tourism. By choosing a location accessible to the public, series producers hope to connect viewers with common animals from childhood books such as and the Beatrix Potter titles.
For the first time, the team will also have a base for a full year, enabling them to chart the adaptations of wildlife to different seasons on companion shows
later in the year. Presenter Chris Packham, who has been with the programme since 2009, says: “One of the problems that blights us right now is that we partition our expectations. If we want to see art, we go to an art gallery; if we want to see history, we go to a stately house or museum. We’ve got ourselves into a state of mind where if we want to see and nature, we go to a nature reserve, and that depresses me because we should have an expectation to see wildlife wherever we are.”
One of the team’s major aims is to give viewers a reality check on the health of the UK’s countryside, and look at how it can be managed in a sustainable way.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people look outside, see it’s green and think it’s OK. But I’m afraid it isn’t,” says Packham.
“The exciting thing is that we have the knowledge and technology to make changes. But we can’t do it without public support and awareness.
“We want viewers to take a second look at the countryside, to recognise the good bits and ask for more of them.”
While Packham and Michaela Strachan are holding fort at Sherborne, roving reporter Martin Hughes-Games will be travelling up and down the UK, filming pine martens and beavers in Scotland, meeting reintroduced red squirrels in the Scilly Isles, and tagging jellyfish. “I had no idea you could do that!” he admits.
The former producer, who is now part of the furniture, has been overwhelmed by his growing fan base. Last year, when rumours hinted he might be dropped from the show, a furious Twitter petition was launched to keep him on screen.
The team’s relative newbie, Gillian Burke, has also been out and about on location creating animal diaries, and says filming emperor moths on Dartmoor was a reminder that she has one of the best jobs in the world. “I got completely absorbed,” she gushes, recalling the recording of the UK’s only silk moth in breeding season.
“Hang on, Gilly,” says Packham, interrupting her momentary idyll. “You were working with our best crew, the moths turned up and did their thing and it didn’t rain. You’ve just got lucky so far!”
It’s typical Packham tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. The quick-witted 56-yearold presenter is well-known for his on-screen game playing, going off on a tangent and inserting song lyrics into conversations.
“I thought I might do it again this year,” he says. “The problem is my interest in music is relatively narrow in its scope, so there are lots of bands which I could do but no one else would know.
“I did run through a few where I thought there was sufficient crossover between my music and that of the wider public.
“Now we’re left with just a few bizarre indie bands. So I might do film titles...”