Springwatch's Michaela Strachan speaks out on 'baffling' show axe

26 May 2023 , 13:48

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Springwatch's Michaela Strachan speaks out on 'baffling' show axe

Michaela Strachan joined Loose Women on Friday to talk about the new series of Springwatch, which begins on Monday, but during the chat, the presenter addressed the BBC's decision to axe the sister show Autumnwatch.

BBC viewers were outraged earlier this year when the BBC announced its plans to scrap Autumnwatch while invest more money into its sister shows Springwatch and Winterwatch.

During her appearance on Loose Women, panellist Jane Moore asked: "I'm baffled – why did they axe Autumnwatch? What was the thinking behind that?"

Michaela explained: "It's all to do with budget and if you think what the BBC has put on this year, there's been a lot of expense."

"People love that show," Jane interjected. "People love both [Springwatch and Autunwatch]."

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Michaela continued: "We have to be realistic, less people are buying the licence, there is more choice of what to watch, budgets have got smaller and we the production was given a choice of either, cutting the budget on everything or getting rid of one of them."

Autumnwatch was scrapped after 17 years (BBC/Jo Charlesworth)

The nature lover revealed she believes the production team behind Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch "made the right decision".

"Springwatch, which starts on Monday I'm really looking forward to it, is at the heart of the 'watches' and it's the season I love best because we can really get into the stories of the wildlife."

BBC sparked outrage earlier this year when it announced it was axing Autumnwatch after 17 years.

The official statement reads: "These are challenging times financially and we need to make difficult decisions and focus our resources on content that has the highest impact. Sadly, this means that Autumnwatch will not be continuing. Instead, we are investing more money into Springwatch and Winterwatch, as they are most popular with audiences.

"We are incredibly proud of the Watches and would like to thank the presenters and production team who will continue on Springwatch when it returns in May for three weeks, and Winterwatch when it returns next year for one week, reduced from two weeks."

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Charlotte McIntyre