Chris Packham joins BBC’s ‘SPRINGWATCH’

Lifelong naturalist. photographer, author and broadcaster Chris Packham is set to join Kate Humble and Simon King for this season's popular live wildlife programme ‘Springwatch’ on BBC 2. Chris will take the sofa seat alongside Kate recently vacated by Bill Oddie who has left the series to take some time off.

Chris says ‘It’s a great pleasure to become part of such a successful programme and one that ticks all my boxes when it comes to revelling in the wonders of British Wildlife and engaging with a live and enthusiastic audience. For me it's all about getting the young and the casually interested onboard and empowering them to connect with the real wildlife that lives around them and ‘Springwatch’ is undoubtedly TV’s best vehicle for this ‘.

He adds ‘Bill Oddie has been a great friend and mentor for many years and he will be sadly missed by the ‘Springwatch’ viewers but I’m looking forward to working with Kate and a fantastically enthusiastic team to inject my own brand of passion for wildlife into the series. Doing live television is always a buzz but when you add the vagaries of wildlife and the Great British weather to the mix it gets even more exciting. I can't wait to get started!‘.

Zoologist Chris has been presenting wildlife on TV for the last 22 years and has fronted no less than 75 series and 500 programmes for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Discovery and National Geographic. Most recently he has been seen on ‘Nature's Calendar’ and ‘Nature's Top 40’ (BBC). He is known for his honest down to earth style, for leading rather than lecturing the viewer and for his surfeit of irreverent wit. He is an award winning photographer with an artistic style and a committed and outspoken conservationist, being President of The Bat Conservation Trust, London Wildlife Trust and Hampshire Ornithological Society, Vice- President of the RSPB, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Butterfly Conservation and The Wildlife Trusts and patron of many other charities. He lives by the mantra that one ‘should try anything once’ and has thus been skydiving, wing-walking, diving and clubbing in downtown Lima – the latter two more than once! He is perhaps best known as a keen birder but is excited by everything that slithers, slimes, scratches and stings and thus counts Hornets as one of his favourite animals.

www.chrispackham.co.uk

March 2009

Tony Blair speaks openly and frankly to Martin Popplewell about his religious faith, his conversion to Rome and the role of faith in politics. BBC 1 - Christmas Voices. Sunday 14th December at 10am.

BBC 1 - Christmas Voices »

More about Martin Popplewell »

December 2008

Five has revived the classic day-time quiz Going for Gold. The series, produced for Five by FremantleMedia, is presented by John Suchet and transmits daily from 13th October at 12.45pm.

Going for Gold is a live 60-minute general knowledge quiz featuring four studio contestants from throughout the UK who will compete to become the daily champion and win a cash prize.

The programme consists of three classic rounds, Beat-the-Buzzer, Four-in-a-Row, and Head-to-Head. The winner is given the chance to return on the next edition to defend their title.

John Suchet said: “I’m delighted to be presenting Going for Gold on Five. After years of reading the news this will be the first time I’ve hosted a quiz show so it’s a brand new challenge and I’m really excited to try something new."

Five’s Director of Programmes, Ben Gale, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing back Going for Gold to Five this autumn. It is a much loved and fondly remembered quiz show and to have someone of John’s experience to front the series will only add to its already iconic status.”

Going for Gold is a FremantleMedia production for Five. The Executive producers are Richard Holloway and Peter Cassidy. The series producer is Mark Noades.

More about John Suchet »

October 2008

David Foster Management are pleased to announce that they are now representing television presenter and naturlist Nick Baker.

Nick's highly successful television programmes have made him a household name who can be relied upon to guarantee excellent viewing. He has bravely addressed the less savoury, difficult aspects of the natural world and Man’s negative behaviour, by dealing with matters including zoonotic viruses and poaching.

More about Nick Baker »

September 2008

John Suchet wins Lifetime Achievement Award 2008

The Royal Television Society has awarded John Suchet its highest honour - a Lifetime Achievement Award. At the RTS's 2008 annual awards for excellence in television news, the judges praised John's 35 years as a television journalist, as both reporter and newscaster. They particularly commended him for his willingness to pass on his knowledge and experience to a new generation of television journalists.

John was described as a genuinely modest man with a boundless enthusiasm for his job. A short video was shown at the awards ceremony, showing highlights of John's long career. This included his live commentary on the funeral of Princess Diana, which was described as the most outstanding coverage of a live event in ITN's history. The audience also enjoyed seeing an excerpt from John's camera test in 1975, complete with long sideburns, wide lapels, and tinted glasses.

In his acceptance speech, John stressed that for him the essence of television news is teamwork, and he expressed his gratitude for the help shown to him over the years by camera teams he had worked with as a reporter, and programme editors he had collaborated with as a newscaster. As a surprise, the RTS had invited some of John's old colleagues from his ITN days, and the evening was a memorable and emotional occasion, full of reminiscences and laughter.

More about John Suchet»

February 2008