AFTER a bust-up with other members of the team, ornithologist and entertainer Bill Oddie was dropped as
presenter of the TV shows, Springwatch and Autumnwatch, in
favour of Chris Packham, a parting of the way that still causes him
anguish.
Although he says he
has "never been able to work out" why the Beeb dispensed with his services, he
acknowledges that he had become difficult to work with - largely because of a
mental condition, bipolar disorder, which subsequently twice resulted in his
being admitted to a private clinic for his own safety.
Now fully recovered,
the 71-year-old has published his latest book, Unplucked - an
entertaining insight into some of his wildlife-watching
experiences around the world.
One particularly
memorable occasion came in Portugal when he saw the following exotic species
perched on the same length of power line - bee-eater. woodchat shrike, southern
grey shrike, hoopoe, roller, red-rumped-swallow and azure-winged magpie - plus a
little owl on the wooden pylon holding up the wire.
His description of
the moment: "Electric!"
Another time,
he and two birding colleagues were delayed at the airport in Ethiopian capital,
Addis Abbaba, because widespread civil unrest was disrupting aircraft
flights into and out of the country.
The trio
decided to fill in the time by birdwatching just outside the confines of the
airport - but were intercepted by armed guards and ordered back into the
building at gunpoint.
Determined not
to miss out, they decided to use the men's WC as an impromptu bird
observatory, spotting many rare species - including white-collared pigeon,
brown-rumped seedeater and
wattled ibis - through
an open window near the ceiling.
.
Not that
the experience was particularly comfortable for Oddie who, as is well known, is
of short stature.
He recalls the occasion
well. "I had no choice but to stand on the rim of the lidless toilet, steadying
myself by grabbing the cistern and risking pulling it off the
wall.
"On several occasions,
when I lost balance, I grasped at the chain which saved me from slipping down
the pan but, of course, kept flushing."
Oddie does still
occasionally make cameo appearances on TV shows and was invited to be a
contestant on I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here!
He says he declined
because the prospect of
"chewing live grubs and grasshoppers or crunching through barrels of
cockroaches" was not his idea of animal welfare
"I find the idea of any
living thing being sacrificed for laughs on a TV show - what's the word -
distasteful."
There was also an
invitation to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, to which
he gave more serious consideration until he was dissuaded by his wife and
three daughters, one of whom is a dance teacher and who warned him the hard work
could kill him as he was not particularly fit.
Bowing to their advice,
he states: "Imagine me in a
sky blue silk trouser suit with a neckline plunging to the waist revealing a
belly that could compete with a Christmas pudding . . . actually I wouldn’t
imagine that if you want to sleep tonight!"
Unplucked is
published by Bloomsbury at £14.99.
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