Chris Packham is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author. He is best known for his television work including the CBBC children’s nature series “The Really Wild Show” from 1986 to 1995. He received the Dilys Breese Medal for his contributions to ornithological science and was made an honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Southampton. Chris Packham is currently dating his long-time girlfriend, Charlotte Corney.
Chris Packham started his career as a part-time camera assistant for wildlife filmmaker Stephen Bolwell working with him on “A Toad’s Tale.” He has also presented the BBC nature series Springwatch, including Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, since 2009. He was also the lead presenter on BBC South’s “Inside Out”, and has also worked on BBC South East’s “Inside Out” with Kaddy Lee-Preston. In February 2023, he will present Inside Our Autistic Minds, a two-part BBC documentary about autism.
Where is Chris Packham from?
Chris Packham was born on 4th May 1961 with the birth name of Christopher Gary Packham. He is from Southampton, Hampshire, England. He is British by nationality and his ethnic background is British-White. Chris is the son of his father, Colin Packham and his mother, Rita Packham. His dad is a marine engineer. He grew up with his younger sister, Jenny Packham who is a fashion designer. He is 61 years old as of 2022.
Chris Packham found his time at school very difficult, being socially excluded and regularly bullied by fellow pupils. At university, he embraced the punk rock scene. He was educated at Bitterne Park Secondary School, Taunton’s College and the University of Southampton from where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology. After his graduation, he cancelled his study towards a Doctorate of Philosophy to train as a wildlife cameraman.
How was the career of Chris Packham?
- Chris Packham, in 1983, was a part-time camera assistant for wildlife filmmaker Stephen Bolwell. He worked with Stephen on “A Toad’s Tale.” Likewise, he worked on “The Living Planet” series from 1983 to 1985 and appeared in “The Living Isles” for the BBC and “Ourselves and Other Animals”, a series for Channel 4.
- Chris came to fame as a TV presenter in 1986 appearing in the children’s programme “The Really Wild Show” (1986-1995) as well as in the nature photography series “Wild Shots” on Channel 4.
- Moreover, he wrote and presented the BBC One series “The X Creatures” and BBC Two’s “Hands on Nature” and “Nature’s Calendar.”
- Besides this, he has appeared in TV series including Go Wild (Live) and Travel UK for Central Television, Nature’s Detectives (BBC), Really Wild Guide (BBC2), The Great Dinosaur Trail, Watchout Series II and III, Animal Zone (BBC2), Postcards from the Wild and An Evening with Chris Packham, Flying Gourmets Guide (BBC1), The Great British Birdwatch (Live), Smokescreen for Harlech Television, Beachwatch (Live), Flamingo Watch (Live), Heading South (Live), and Behind the Scenes of the Lost World.
- In addition to this, he has been involved in other regional TV series including The London Wildlife Challenge, Anything Goes (Live), Birdwatch with Chris Packham, The Pier on Film, Wildwatch with Chris Packham for Meridian Television, Go for Green, Through Two Cameras, The Wild Garden, The Wood Worker, The Disappearing Down, Jewels in the Sand, Wildfowl Seasons and The Keepers of the Forest,
- Further, he was the lead presenter on BBC South’s “Inside Out”, and has also worked on BBC South East’s “Inside Out”.
- Not only this but also, but he has co-presented the BBC Two nature programme “Springwatch” and its sister programmes BBC “Autumnwatch” and BBC “Winterwatch” since June 2009.
- Besides this, he also formed the production company Head Over Heels making wildlife programmes for Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and the BBC.
- He won an episode of the BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind in 2011 and later presented the BBC programme The Animal’s Guide to Britain.
- Next, he presented a four-part documentary series entitled Secrets of Our Living Planet in 2013. After a year, he presented a two-part BBC documentary “Inside the Animal Mind”.
- After that, he presented a 10-part series “The Wonder of Animals” for the BBC in 2014. Also, he co-presented a two-part series for the BBC, “Cats v. Dogs: Which Is Best?” in 2016. In 2017, he co-presented “Earth Live” on Nat Geo Wild. He also worked with Jaguar Land Rover on a promotional podcast series called “The Discovery Adventures”.
- He presented a BBC Television documentary “Chris Packham: Asperger’s and Me” in 2017. In January 2018, he presented BBC Two’s “The Real T-Rex”. In January, he presented “Chris Packham: In Search of the Lost Girl” on BBC Two.
- After then, he co-hosted Yellowstone Live on National Geographic Channel with TV host Josh Elliott in August 2018. In 2020, he narrated a three-part documentary series called “Primates.” He also co-presented “Waterhole: Africa’s Animal Oasis”. In 2021, he presented a six-part BBC Two documentary series called “Animal Einsteins”.
- He co-presented a six-part series alongside stepdaughter Megan McCubbin titled “Chris and Meg’s Wild Summer”.
- He presented a segment filmed in Iceland for the first episode of BBC’s “Our Changing Planet” in April 2022. He also co-presented with Megan McCubbin on BBC’s “Earth Proms” in August 2022.
- He narrated the three-part BBC nature series Dogs in the Wild: Meet the Family from December 2022 to January 2023).
- He will present “Inside Our Autistic Minds”, a two-part BBC documentary about autism in February 2023.
Chris Packham Books
- The Flying Gourmet’s Guide (1985)
- Bird Brain of Britain (1988)
- Chris Packham’s Wild Shots, Collins and Brown Publishers, (1993)
- Chris Packham’s Back Garden Nature Reserve New Holland Publishers (2001) (Foreword by David Bellamy)
- Back Garden Nature Reserve (2003)
- Chris Packham’s Wild Side of Town: Getting to Know the Wildlife in Our Towns and Cities New Holland Publishers, (2003)
- Nature’s Calendar (2007)
- Chris Packham’s Nature Handbook (2010)
- The Wonder of Birds: nature, art, culture [Norfolk Museums Service] (2014) (Foreword by Chris Packham)
- Pets in Portraits by Robin Gibson (2015) (introduction by Chris Packham)
- A Misuse of Nature by Sam Langers (2015) (introduction by Chris Packham)
- Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir Ebury (2016)
- Back to Nature: How to Love Life – and Save It Two Roads (2020)
Chris Packham Awards and Achievements
- Awarded the Dilys Breese Medal, by the British Trust for Ornithology, for his “outstanding work in promoting science to new audiences” in 2011
- Received a Wildscreen Panda Award for Outstanding Achievement in October 2016
- Appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to nature conservation
Who is Chris Packham’s girlfriend?
Chris Packham is dating his beautiful girlfriend, Charlotte Corney. The lovebird is yet to get married and he is yet to take Charlotte as his wife. They both share a zoo named Isle of Wight Zoo. The duo has been in a relationship for over ten years. Charlotte is the owner of the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary. The couple has a deep love bond but the couple lives separately. Right now, Chris and Charlotte are enjoying their present life. He lives in the New Forest, Southern England, and has a pet dog (poodle).
Chris has a step-daughter, Megan McCubbin, a zoologist, who has appeared with him on “Springwatch”.
What is Chris Packham’s net worth?
Chris Packham is a naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author. He is well-famed for his work in The Really Wild Show, Springwatch, Autumnwatch, Winterwatch, and more. He has made a huge fortune from his appearance on television. He has owned a property in Bordeaux, France. In 2016, he lived in the New Forest with his pet poodle, Scratchy. In 2019, he shared his New Forest home with two miniature poodles, Sid and Nancy (named after Sid Vicious, the bassist with the Sex Pistols, and Nancy Spungen, Sid’s girlfriend).
Chris Packham has an estimated net worth of $4 million as of 2023. He is making around $500K annually at present. His main source of wealth comes from his wildlife photography career. He is living a lavish lifestyle from his earnings and he also does have branded and luxurious cars.
How tall is Chris Packham?
Chris Packham is a handsome man with an slim body type. He has light-brown-grey hair colour with a pair of blue eyes. He began suffering from the inner-ear condition known as Meniere’s disease at age 37. In 2003, at the age of 42, Packham began seeing a therapist after the death of his dog. He was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2005. He has also stated that he has had severe depression.
Chris stands at the height of 6 feet or 1.83 m and his body weight consists of 76 Kg. He has a charming smile with a glowing face attracting a lot of people towards him.
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