Springwatch presenter Chris Packham has opened up on his complaints to Ant and Dec about I’m A Celebrity
The Springwatch presenter has said his one complaint about I’m A Celeb(Image: PA)
Chris Packham has shared the biggest complaint he has about I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.
The BBC presenter and the animal activist, 65, isn’t on board with the idea of the show because he believes that the animals are being used “purely for entertainment”.
Speaking to Radio Times, the star admitted that every year he writes a letter to Geordie duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, who host the ITV hit reality show.
As the show is set to return to our TV screens for a brand new season soon, Chris will again send his annual letting.
Explaining why he has decided to get a message across to show bosses and the hosting duo, he said: “(It) reinforces negative stereotypes about [certain] sorts of animals, where animals are being used purely for entertainment.”
Ant and Dec haven’t responded to any of Chris’s letters (Image: ITV)
Unfortunately for Chris he is yet to receive a reply from Ant and Dec, but it’s clear that isn’t going to stop him from trying again.
Back in 2023, Chris wrote a furious letter to the I’m A Celeb presenters, saying: “I’ve tried to be polite but my patience has run thin.”
At the time, he took to X, formerly Twitter, to share his strongly-worded letter to the Geordie duo as he furiously branded ITV’s I’m A Celebrity “grotesque” and “exploitative” over its use of animals for entertainment.
He went on to plead with the channel’s bosses to “listen to the voices of concern [and] read the writing on the wall” as he pointed out the falling viewing figures.
The BBC presenter is set to front a brand new BBC science show titled Evolution,(Image: BBC)
In 2023, ITV responded with a statement that read: “We are always fully transparent about our protocols and we have a very strict environmental plan in place on the show.
“As a production, we comply with all regional and national laws concerning the use of insects, animals and reptiles.
“Welfare and safety is always the primary priority on any of our programmes, and at any Bushtucker trial that features animals, we have qualified and experienced animal handlers on site at all times.
“We inform the RSPCA NSW of all of our activities on the show and they have an open invitation to attend the site at any time.
The reply concluded: “We cannot stress enough that we have rigorous protocols in place to ensure that animals are handled safely at all times, before, during and after any filming has taken place, in compliance with all regional and national laws.”
It comes as Chris is set to front a brand new BBC science show titled Evolution, tracing four billion years of life on Earth through five creatures.
Creatures in focus on the show will include the bat, the peacock, and the kangaroo, with each episode of the new series focusing on a different animal’s history.
Chris spoke to Radio Time ahead of his new BBC show(Image: Radio Times)
Along the way, the series also gave him pause to place his own neurodiversity in an evolutionary context.
He explained: “I mean, why wouldn’t we be neurologically diverse, so that in a time of crisis, a percentage of our population would be better equipped to deal with it and more likely to survive?
“Neurodiversity must have been advantageous throughout the course of our species’ history.”
Evolution begins at 9pm on Monday 13 July on BBC Two and iPlayer.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.walesonline.co.uk ’
