‘We have to make people really fall in love with wildlife’, says Strachan
As Autumnwatch returns to BBC Two, Danielle de Wolfe speaks to the show’s presenters
As temperatures dip and British wildlife begins to nestle down for the winter, the hard work is only just beginning for the BBC’S Autumnwatch team.
Returning for two weeks as part of the show’s annual installment, the BBC Two staple is once again set to highlight the wonders of the natural world – with a number of Covid-related tweaks.
“It’s not just a job for us, we absolutely live and breathe it,” says Autumnwatch presenter Michaela Strachan.
It’s a statement made all the more poignant by the fact Strachan, 54, found herself locked down in South Africa where she lives with her family for the show’s previous edition, Springwatch.
“To not be able to be part of the team because I couldn’t get there was extremely frustrating. But I have to say, I felt part of the team because I watched it every day and I was so proud of what they managed to achieve at such a difficult time.”
The show – which has been enjoyed by millions since its launch in 2005 – will feature footage collected from remote cameras, alongside pre-recorded features and new live segments from presenters located across the country.
Autumnwatch 2020 will see Strachan broadcasting from Tentsmuir Forest in Fife, a location renowned for its picturesque landscape and thriving seal population.
“I’m going to miss Chris (Packham, her co-presenter), I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be very different,” says Strachan of the new Covid friendly setup, which sees all four presenters bid farewell to the central studio.
“But because I am doing cute baby seals, oh boy am I going to go on and on about how cute they are!” she laughs.
Joined by Packham, who is set to report from his home in the New Forest, Iolo Williams from the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales and Gillian Burke at RSPB Old
Moor in South Yorkshire, the show is set to showcase the true beauty of Britain’s native wildlife.
Packham, 59, says “Thinking back to Springwatch, we faced an enormous challenge technically to get the programme on the air under those circumstances.
“Communicating with one another was far more difficult. We couldn’t just go and meet in the portacabin as we normally would. And I think that sometimes, those sorts of tests, those sorts of trials, bring out the best in people because they make everyone sit up and try harder.”
With live cameras located on a wild Scottish island in the Firth of Forth set to capture dramatic footage of grey seals pupping.
“With all the negativity that’s going round, the last thing we want to do in our programme is just throw all the negativity at you and add to the Covid problems, the recession problems, the Brexit problems, America problems – because obviously the election is happening during Autumnwatch,” says Strachan.
“We have to make people really fall in love with wildlife, weave the conservation stories in with it and make people care and really want to make a difference. It’s something that we’re very aware of.”
● Autumnwatch returns to BBC 2 on Tuesday October 27