Philip Stevens looks into producing live nature series Springwatch in extraordinary times
By Philip Stevens
Published: June 3, 2020
Philip Stevens looks into producing live nature series Springwatch in extraordinary times
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Philip Stevens looks into producing live nature series Springwatch in extraordinary times
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/keeping-a-watch-during-lockdown title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Springwatch returned to BBC Two on Tuesday 26th May for a three-week run. The series, produced by BBC Studios, is broadcast Tuesdays to Fridays until 12th June, along with three daily live digital shows every weekday, in addition to the 24-hour live streams.
Now in its 15th year, this educational, entertaining, live, nature series is designed to give audiences a fascinating insight into the science behind the UK's wildlife.
However, as with many other programmes, production has been affected by the restrictions required to cope with Covid-19.
We are continuing to provide best of British wildlife viewing with expert presenters, hidden cameras and, this year, stories from special guests' presenters based all over the UK, explains BBC Studios executive producer Rosemary Edwards. At a time when many UK residents may be suffering a sense of isolation, this year's Springwatch is helping to alleviate some feelings of loneliness as it joins the nation through stories of our doorstep wildlife. The series is offering people a chance to join in the celebration of our native wildlife during this period of lockdown.
Rigging for bird's nests requires a head for heights Edwards goes on to say that because of the coronavirus crisis the BBC needed to find an innovative new way to ensure the series' core USP (Unique Selling Point), to stream live on social media, BBC iPlayer and the Springwatch webpages continued for a month - alongside the live BBC Two broadcasts. In addition, with the presenters no longer able to gather together at a Springwatch hub, they are filming on home-turf and broadcasting live from their local areas, across the country.
Across the UK The presenters broadcast live from around the UK. Chris Packham is in the New Forest, Iolo William is in the west Wales, and Gillian Burke is at the Cornwall Beaver Project near her home.
Chris Packham, Gillian Burke and Iolo William present this year's Springwatch In addition to this, we have three guest presenters - wildlife presenter Steve Backshall joins the team from his home patch on the Thames, ecologist Ellie Harrison from her Cotswold base and wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan covers nature stories from Loch Lomond and The Trossochs National Park, Scotland, explains Edwards. Michaela Strachan, who is in lockdown in South Africa, also appeared in the first episode, calling in from South Africa to present some of her favourite moments from past series. There are very small camera crews with each of the presenters, that includes guest presenters.
Throughout the making of this series the Springwatch team followed all the advice laid out by the UK government to ensure no one was put at any risk. These guidelines include maintaining the appropriate social distance at all times, only travelling to film when necessary, and constantly interrogating the distance people needed to travel.
The series also features a number of pre-recorded films, captured prior to the Government restrictions on social distancing. More recent content being shot in accordance with official guidance.
The habitats Part of the appeal of the series is the live shots of various wildlife habitats. So, has this been possible to the same extent with the revised format?
Yes. We have a highly experienced wildlife and nest camera team who have been working together for over a decade, says Edwards. This year the extra guidelines on social isolation and travel have been considered when choosing locations where remote cameras could be sited. Together they have successfully rigged cameras in two key wildlife areas of the UK, one in the Mendip Hills and the other in Monmouthshire, Wales. Using new technology, we have been able to ensure the team that monitor these cameras 24 hours a day are able to individually view them remotely in a safe environment. The output is then fed into the live gallery in London where staff are also following strict social distancing measures.
Specialist teams install cameras to capture 24-hour coverage. A small team of key production workers are required to travel to this centralised gallery. The BBC has ensured that the same team has been kept together to further avoid multiple contacts and has travelled to the studio location independently. As the gallery environment is large this can accommodate crew across multiple rooms to ensure social distancing.
There are currently no government guidelines on wearing of face masks. However, should that advice change then they will be provided. We are constantly reviewing government guidance, says Edwards.
World class Julian Hector the head of BBC Studios Natural History Unit added, We are so proud to be able to share the wonderful wild characters of British wildlife to the nation. Live natural history television is testing at the best of times, so to broadcast Springwatch during a global pandemic is driving our teams' imagination, innovation and technical expertise to a new level - and all within the social distancing instruction of the UK government. The world class Springwatch team bring the joy of our natural world to everyone in a surprising and utterly brilliant way.
Edwards concludes, In these extraordinary times, we have found ourselves engaging with the wildlife in our nearby surroundings like never before. We're thrilled at how well Springwatch is do
Most recent headlines
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
20/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking ProRes RAW recording from the...
20/12/2025
CJP Broadcast has completed the digitisation of the European Gymnastics tape archive, converting 328 tapes containing more than forty years of recorded material...
20/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced the launch of the Stream Lab MCP Server, to give AI agents and large language model...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
Philip Stevens looks into producing live nature series Springwatch in extraordinary times
