TV naturalist Chris Packham says he has similarities to Jeremy Clarkson

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

Springwatch presenter Chris Packham has said he has similarities with Jeremy Clarkson, despite the former Top Gear presenter mocking him on social media.

The 64-year-old naturalist has often been a target for jokes by Clarkson, who last year posted on X that he was only on the social media platform “because I know it’ll wind up Packham”.

Speaking to the UK's Telegraph, Packham said: “Everybody expects me to hate Jeremy, but we worked together and he was extraordinarily hospitable.

“And he’s like myself, he sometimes sees the need to antagonise a situation to promote a conversation.

“In recent times, we’ve seen him swinging more in my direction. He made the comment last August about the badger cull being ineffective, which as a farmer is very valid, and for him to have said that is great.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Packham added that criticism does not bother him and added that he felt people and newspapers had the right to oppose his views.

He added: “People think that I should, but I don’t. If people print things in the paper and have opposing views, that’s freedom of the press, frankly. I don’t hold grudges. It’s just the way the world works.

“The newspapers have a job to do and so do I. We don’t have to see eye to eye. I don’t imagine my name’s on a board at the office with others that have to be demonised. It doesn’t work like that.”

Along with presenting Springwatch since 2009, Packham also hosts the BBC’s Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, having also presented the children’s nature series The Really Wild Show from 1986 to 1995.

Packham is also known for his wildlife conservation and environmental activism.

Clarkson presented BBC motoring show Top Gear from 2002 to 2015, before going on to work on Prime Video’s The Grand Tour from 2016 to 2024. He now presents ITV game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Clarkson’s Farm on Prime Video.