according to The Mirror, Bill Oddie is leaving Springwatch
29/01/2009 12:00 GMT

Posted by lisa

The following appears in the 30 Jan 2009 edition of The Mirror (at http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/01/30/bill-oddie-quits-springwatch-115875-21081620/):


Bill Oddie quits Springwatch
Exclusive by Nicola Methven 30/01/2009

Bill Oddie is spreading his wings and leaving the Springwatch nest after four years to “take a breather”.

The nation’s favourite TV twitcher will continue to front other natural history programmes for BBC2.

Fans will miss Oddie and co-host Kate Humble’s gentle bickering and bosses are looking for a replacement to work with her.

Candidates include the show’s roving reporter Simon King, wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan, Countryfile’s Ben Fogle and even ITV chat-show host Alan Titchmarsh.

Yesterday Oddie, 67, said: “I’m really going to miss working with Kate, Simon and the team but after an amazing four years of really intense work it feels like the right time to take a  breather and recharge my batteries.” The new series will kick off in May with a special to celebrate the former Goodie’s  most memorable moments from the shows.

The dedicated naturalist is planning new editions of Bill Oddie’s Top 10, in which he picks his favourite wildlife.

Springwatch launched in 2005 and became a hit thanks to the combination of bossy Oddie and exuberant Humble.

Live every weeknight for a month, it regularly attracted four million viewers.

Last night the Beeb’s natural history unit head Neil Nightingale said: “Bill’s style, in-depth expertise and unflinching dedication helped establish Springwatch and Autumnwatch as two of the nation’s favourite natural history programmes.”

BBC2 boss Janice Hadlow paid tribute to Oddie’s “amazing ornithological knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject”.