Who is BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham? His autism diagnosis, nature activism and family

Beloved host of long-running children's nature series The Really Wild Show Chris Packham has become an increasingly outspoken voice for wildlife and the planet in recent days.

On Wednesday (4 October) the conservationist and TV presenter issued a legal challenge to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, threatening court action if he did not reverse his "reckless and irresponsible" decision to delay phasing out new gas boilers and petrol cars.

Just last week, the BBC Springwatch host lead a protest outside Defra's London headquarters against funding cuts for nature work and softened environmental policies - like recently revealed plans to make building developers improve wildlife habitats - on the back of a devastating report revealing one in six UK species is faced with extinction.

But who exactly is Chris Packham, and why has he taken such a stand for nature? Here's everything you need to know:

TV career

Packham is perhaps best known as the host of BBC's Springwatch - an annual primetime documentary series focusing on UK wildlife.

But he has been involved in a number of other programmes - largely for the BBC - with a TV career that began in 1983, as a part-time camera assistant for wildlife filmmaker Stephen Bolwell.

He is best known as a presenter on environmental shows, with some of his better-known projects including the long-running children's favourite The Really Wild Show on BBC; Wild Shots on Channel 4; Secrets of Our Living Planet, Inside the Animal Mind, Animal Einsteins, Earth, and parts of Our Changing Planet and Earth Proms for the BBC; as well as taking part in a number of National Geographic productions.

Packham has regularly hosted Springwatch - and its sister shows Winterwatch and the now-cancelled Autumnwatch - since 2009.

Autism diagnosis

Packham was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in 2005, which falls under autism spectrum disorders, when he was in his forties.

In 2017, he presented a BBC Television special called Chris Packham: Asperger's and Me, on his experience with high-functioning autism. He told of how he had struggled in social situations, had difficulty with human relationships and was, by his own admission, "a little bit weird".

Packham also said his diagnosis cleared a lot of things up for him, including his depression and how much he had struggled to connect with his peers as a child, the Evening Standard reports.

He has since become an ambassador for the National Autistic Society, and this year produced another two-part series for the BBC, called Inside Our Autistic Minds - a plea for more understanding towards autism, and what neurodiverse people can offer society.

Family and background

Packham grew up in Southampton, where he later studied zoology at the local university. He was born in May 1961, making him 62 years old.

His younger sister, Jenny Packham, is a British fashion designer - well-known for making wedding dresses.

He has long spoke of his affinity for wildlife growing up, from collecting insects in his backyard, to caring for an injured kestrel as a teen.

Chris now lives in New Forest with his dogs, but is in a long-term relationship with animal sanctuary owner Charlotte Corney.

He has a stepdaughter, zoologist Megan McCubbin, and the pair have co-hosted Springwatch together, as well as appearing on Celebrity Gogglebox.

Activism and controversy

Packham once infamously said in an interview that he would "eat the last panda" if it meant the money that had gone towards saving them would be redistributed to other conservation causes. He later apologised for the comments.

Earlier this year he was reported to police for "sniffing" a protected goshawk chick on BBC's The One Show, which were being legally tagged by conservationists, which Raptor Persecution UK slammed as merely "the latest attempt to discredit his reputation and integrity".

Packham has been targeted a number of times for his environmental work and activism. In 2021, his home was the target of a suspected arson attack by two masked men, but local police were unable to track down anyone to press charges.

He has said he frequently finds dead badgers and foxes strung up on his front gate - with Packham frequently speaking out about controversial issues like fox hunting and badger culling -but said while he sometimes feared for the safety of himself and his family, he would not fighting for nature.