Kooky Chris!

Springwatch’s Chris Packham started as a TV presenter in the mid-80s. His love of wildlife has made him a housewives’ favourite. Chris, 56, lives in the new Forest with his girlfriend, Charlotte Corney, owner of Isle of wight Zoo, and his pet poodle, Scratchy.

I got into wildlife when I was very young. my parents say i used to crawl around the garden, picking things up. it was certainly before i remember! But when i was five at school, i was obsessed with bats and lizards. as kids we weren’t allowed to cry about anything, we weren’t allowed stitches, we just had to get on because everything was just a flesh wound. Things would be different now!

when I came on to The Really Wild Show, it was on the back of the punk movement. i had blonde spiky hair and was into the whole punk thing. i don’t know if it helped me – maybe with the older kids. i used to get crazy fan mail when i started. i didn’t know what to make of it!

I’m passionate about sofas and collecting old furniture but I wouldn’t make a show about it. i do specialist TV – it’s like cooking and gardening. i don’t do things outside wildlife as i don’t consider myself an expert. i’m just an enthusiast.

apart from my dog Scratchy, I don’t keep animals. my partner charlotte keeps the isle of Wight zoo so i don’t have to keep animals! She does that part of it. i haven’t got a farm like Brian may.

a number of people had asked me previously to write an autobiography. But i think anyone under 50 that does that is a little bit presumptuous! i steered clear of that. i’m 56 now. Time goes fast. i don’t worry about getting old or dying. When your time’s up, your time’s up.

✱ Springwatch airs from 29 may on BBC2 at 8pm