Role Naturalist Partner Charlotte Corney | Website www.chrispackham.co.uk Siblings Jenny Packham Name Chris Packham | |
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Occupation Nature photographer, television presenter, author Books 100 Things That Caught My Eye Parents Rita Packham, Colin Packham TV shows Springwatch, Autumnwatch, The Really Wild Show, The Truth About Wildlife Similar People | ||
Chris packham naturalist and wildlife filmmaker bbc hardtalk
Christopher Gary "Chris" Packham (born 4 May 1961) is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work including the children's nature series The Really Wild Show from 1986 to 1995. He has presented the BBC nature series Springwatch since 2009.
Contents
- Chris packham naturalist and wildlife filmmaker bbc hardtalk
- Visiting professor chris packham opens the joseph banks laboratories
- Education
- Television
- Wildlife
- Personal life
- Honours
- Books
- Papers
- Video
- References
Visiting professor chris packham opens the joseph banks laboratories
Education
Packham was educated at Bitterne Park Secondary School, Taunton's College and the University of Southampton, where he received a BSc in Zoology. After graduating he cancelled his study towards a PhD to train as a wildlife cameraman.
Television
Packham is known for his television work, notably in the BAFTA-winning BBC1 children's programme The Really Wild Show and nature photography series Wild Shots on Channel 4, as well as the BBC One series The X Creatures and BBC Two's Hands on Nature and Nature's Calendar. He was the lead presenter on the BBC South's Inside Out, and also works on BBC South East Inside Out with Kaddy Lee-Preston. Since June 2009, he has co-presented the BBC Two nature programme Springwatch – and its sister programmes Autumnwatch and Winterwatch – along with Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games.
He formed the production company Head Over Heels with producer Stuart Woodman, making wildlife programmes for Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and the BBC.
In 2011, Packham won an episode of Celebrity Mastermind. His specialist subject was the Battle of Rorke's Drift. He also presented the BBC programme The Animal's Guide To Britain.
In 2013 he presented a four-part documentary series entitled Secrets of our Living Planet which demonstrated the complex relationships upon which apparently unconnected species, such as tigers and crabs, depend.
In 2014, Packham presented a two-part documentary in which he, Martha Kearney and Adam Hart revealed the mysteries of the honeybee, as well as a series on animal cognition, called Inside The Animal Mind, which partly featured his own pet dogs. In 2014 he presented a 10-part series The Wonder of Animals for the BBC. It included episodes on birds of prey, dolphins, crocodiles, great apes, elephants, foxes, ants, big cats, bears and penguins.
In 2016 Packham co-presented a 2-part series for the BBC, Cats v. Dogs: Which is Best?, along with Liz Bonnin. The programmes compared cat behaviour and relationships with humans, against those of dogs, in the format of a mock contest. It also explored some recent research on the subject.
Wildlife
Packham is president of the Hawk Conservancy Trust and the Bat Conservation Trust, vice-president of the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts, Butterfly Conservation and the Brent Lodge Bird & Wildlife Trust and patron of Population Matters (formerly the Optimum Population Trust). He is also patron of the Woolston Eyes Conservation Group, which manages Woolston Eyes Bird Reserve. He was president of the Hawk and Owl Trust between 2010 and 2015.
Personal life
He is the brother of fashion designer Jenny Packham. He lives in the New Forest with his girlfriend, Charlotte Corney, owner of Isle of Wight Zoo, and his two pet poodles, Itchy and Scratchy.
Packham has suffered with Ménière's disease since the age of 37. In 2003, at the age of 42, Packham began seeing a therapist after the death of his dog, Fish. As his work with the therapist concluded in 2005, Packham was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. He also revealed he has suffered from severe depression and had twice contemplated suicide.
Honours
In 2011, he was awarded the British Trust for Ornithology's Dilys Breese Medal for his "outstanding work in promoting science to new audiences".
In December 2013, Packham was made an honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Southampton, having originally graduated from the university more than 30 years earlier.
In December 2014, Chris Packham was voted "Conservation Hero of the Year" by readers of Birdwatch magazine in association with the online BirdGuides website for his work in publicising the illegal slaughter in Malta of millions of migrating birds.