Why does everyone love Springwatch?
Springwatch co-presenter Michaela Strachan reckons there’s a very good reason why millions of us snuggle up to wildlife and nature shows
Michaela Strachan tells us there’s a very good reason…
When it comes to wildlife, Michaela Strachan really knows her stuff. She has come a long way since we saw her getting youngsters engaged with nature as a novice presenter of The Really Wild Show to the work she does now on Springwatch. There’s no denying, Michaela, 53, has inspired multiple generations to get up close and learn about the world we live in, highlighting the need to protect endangered animals and not forgetting her involvement on rehabilitating wildlife, from penguins to orang-utans.
In the ever-changing world, her job is never done and as she faced her own presenting challenges that came when she replaced popular Kate Humble on Autumnwatch, we caught up with Michaela to find out exactly why, particularly at this time of year, everyone can’t get enough of Springwatch...
I think there’s something comforting for viewers about Springwatch. If it has been a rainy winter, it’s dreary, it’s long and it’s dark. So without sounding corny, the first signs of spring put a spring in your step and a smile on your face. It’s the same with our show.
Interestingly, our best viewing figures are when there is either an election or Brexit going on. At the last election we got messages saying, “It’s such a relief to watch a feel-good programme with humour and you learn something.”
Presenting it has changed my life.
It’s amazing to have a job that pays you to get immersed in the seasons. However much of a wildlife lover you are, our lives tend to distract us with >>
“It’s a feel-good show and you learn something”
other stuff. This job has made me take more notice of what goes on around us.
You see so much depressing stuff about the state of the environment that sometimes you feel you can’t do anything about it. But what we do on this show makes people feel empowered. I think that’s part of its success. If we say there’s a shortage of berries, people put more berries out on their bird tables. A lot of the wildlife we focus on is familiar to them so they feel they can make a difference to those particular species and our environment.
I started off on TV on the Wide Awake Club, which was a magazine morning children’s TV show in the 80s. My first wildlife show was called Owl/TV. OWL stood for Outdoors & Wild Life. They basically wanted a well-known children’s presenter to front it and the rest was done by kids. At that stage I loved wildlife but I didn’t know very much about it. We’d go to zoos and do a piece on an orang-utan and read the information on the front of the enclosure then repeat it. My knowledge has developed since then. When I first met presenter Chris
Packham on The Really Wild Show he was this punky sort of bloke.
I thought, “Oh my God, he’s going to hate me.” I was Mrs Cheerful. I came in completely naive. He was a complex chap but we hit it off. We have the same sense of humour. He’s so knowledgeable. What Chris does, which most of us can’t, is he retains it all. I’ve never tried to compete with that but I try to complement it.
I was really grateful for Chris’s support when I first presented Autumnwatch after
Kate Humble left. I was getting some online stick from Kate fans. Chris kept saying, “Stop reading it!” Nowadays we love looking for the ones that are rude and slag us off. We think they’re really funny. But I didn’t find it funny back then. I found it hurtful. I thought, “Oh my God, clearly I irritate quite a lot of people.”
It was very interesting to see how that turned around. The first week was, “We don’t want this children’s presenter on our show. Where’s Kate?” The next week was, “Maybe we should give her a chance.” By the third week it was, “Actually we quite like her.” On the final week it was, “Who prefers Michaela to Kate?” It taught me a great lesson. People don’t like change and particularly the age group who is watching our show. I am that age group. I’m 53. We resist change. So I get it why they weren’t terribly happy with me taking over from Kate, who they all loved.
My 13-year-old son Olly has inherited my love of wildlife. Most of our family holidays are wildlife holidays. Olly gets really into them. I remember when the last World Cup was on and we were in Canada, my partner Nick and Olly wanted to stay in the hotel and watch the game. But when they heard me arranging a boat trip for myself to see brown bears they decided they didn’t need to see the football after all.
I’m vegetarian. It was funny this year because Chris did Veganuary. Chris asked me on social media in his blog why I wasn’t doing it as well. So I said, maybe a bit flippantly, that I really like my lattes. Oh my goodness. I was called a “cow rapist”. I was told I was selfish. On social media it’s all about what you don’t do. I’ve been a vegetarian for 32 years but there was no patting on the back for that. For me, my not eating meat is for the sake of the environment. More people can be fed on a plot of land if they ate vegetables than if they ate meat. Obviously, my argument does fall down because I drink milk, have eggs and eat cheese, but I am still making a difference by not eating meat.
This is my fourth decade with a career
in television. I think specialising in something has made a big difference. I know there are not that many female wildlife presenters around. I think that’s what has made me have longevity. I also think it’s taking opportunities and having a passion. That definitely helps. If you’re passionate about something, that comes across on the television.
“I don’t look back and I have no regrets”
I’m one of those people who doesn’t look back and have regrets.
I always make a point of looking forward. You learn from mistakes and you move on. I know if I’d studied zoology or some sort of “ology” then I might be doing slightly different programmes. But actually I’m very happy where I am. And I think that my role within these programmes is as important as somebody who is a lot more knowledgeable than me. It’s that balance that you need.
Springwatch is on BBC Two, 27 May-13 June