18 October 2023 , 08:50
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Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison has quit the show after 13 years hosting the BBC series.
Writing her last ever Countryfile magazine column, Ellie explained her reasons for stepping down and revealed quitting wasn't a decision she made lightly. The journalist, who has co-presented Countryfile since 2009, also promised viewers she would "see you again someday" when announcing her exit.
The BBC star penned: "After 13 years, my final column is a fond farewell to Countryfile - I'll miss the people, places and stories. Thirteen-and-a-half years after I arrived four hours early for my first Countryfile shoot, which culminated in me commuting up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) to deliver Matt Baker a sandwich of freshly harvested mushrooms, it has come time for me to bid you farewell.
The Countryfile presenter on the Balmoral Estate hoping to see a Monarch of the Glen for the BBC show (BBC)"It has been a decision I've drawn out, such is the bond with the programme, and boy will I miss the geography field trips. But like all endings, I'll take all the lessons from these days forward with me on my journey." Ellie continued to reflect on environment issues and reminded readers that "our countryside is a gift", before going on to detail her reasons for bid farewell to the show.
"There are many things I'll miss," Ellie penned. "I've come to realise that I don't need to navigate to a whole new ocean or even a new sea, but to chart a new course somewhere in these waters, raising my three wonderful children, growing our family business and following my own creative calling to produce art of my own making.
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She added: "The winds of change are blowing, my hands turn the tiller and I close my eyes to take comfort from Invictus: 'I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.'" Ellie signed off her final column for Countryfile magazine telling fans: "I'll see you again someday."
Ellie ended her column on a sweet note (BBC Studios/Pete Dadds)Ellie joined the Countryfile team in 2009 after starting her TV career on Channel 5, where the mum-of-three hosted the children's show Milkshake! In addition to fronting Countryfile, Ellie has hosted many other BBC shows, like Secret Britain in 2015, and in the same year made Dinosaur Britain, a two-part documentary for ITV.
Countryfile's current presenting line-up consists of John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker, Tom Heap, Paul Martin, Helen Skelton, Charlotte Smith, Steve Brown, Sean Fletcher and Anita Rani. The long-running BBC series first aired in July 1988, with the accompanying magazine releasing its first issue in 2007.
Strictly Come Dancing 2022 winner Hamza Yassin also works on the show as a cameraman and guest presenter, with the dancing champion, who is tipped to become the next Sir David Attenborough, recently revealing some scenes on wildlife shows are often manipulated to create drama.
Speaking at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Hamza said: "The amount of times we'll film a cheetah family, and she's got three babies, and we just zoom in slightly and crop out the last baby. Then you bring in a lion and the lion goes 'Grr' and you think, 'Oh, the lion's killed the baby!' And then, five minutes of drama, and we just zoom back out again and then you say, 'Ah, it's all a happy story'. No. That didn't happen. We are dramatising what we are seeing."