Springwatch star reveals 'real reason' why she quit BBC show after seven years – admits series 'scared' her

BBC presenter Kate Humble has revealed the real reason why she quit the popular nature programme Springwatch.

She hosted the show for seven years, from 2005 to 2011.

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The presenter, 55, still works for the BBC specialized in nature and science programs.

She appears most notably in Animal Parkwhich she presented together with adventurer Ben Fogle since 2001.

However, Kate recently spoke about her time at Springwatch and why she decided to leave the series 15 years ago.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun's TV magazine Last week, Kate admitted that the nature series really “scared” her at first, but that it ultimately wasn't challenging enough for her.

She later explained what she meant by this, telling Reach PLC that the decision to leave Springwatch was a very difficult one.

“It was a bit like leaving home, I loved Springwatch, I was hugely proud of it and it was hugely challenging in all the right ways.

Reflecting on various aspects of the show, she added: “I mean, it's terrifying. You're working with animals on live television and you can't have them show up at eight o'clock and do something spectacular.

“I heard the countdown to the broadcast in my ear and thought, ‘I literally have no idea what’s going to happen.’ And you know, working with all these incredible naturalists, conservationists, filmmakers and all the people I’ve worked with over the years – it was amazing,” Kate recalls.

Her biggest motivation for working on the series, however, was the feeling it gave her: fear.

But eventually that went away.

Kate admitted: “The honest truth is that it didn't scare me any more. There's a quote that people attribute to Eleanor Roosevelt, which is, 'do something you're scared of every day', and I really live by that, and when Springwatch stopped scaring me I thought, 'this is such an important programme, it's done so much.'

“I mean, I still get people coming up to me saying, 'I work in conservation because of Springwatch', and I knew that all the programmes needed a refresh, you know, a new approach, a new perspective.

“And when it stopped scaring me, I thought, this is the time to step back and get someone else involved. They will carry it on and that’s the main thing that keeps Springwatch going.

Despite it being a difficult step, Kate felt she had to distance herself from Spring Watch when she did that.

“It was [a] really a tough decision in some ways. But it was also a really easy decision because I knew it was the right thing for me to do, even though I felt, as I say, robbed.”

After her departure, Kate was replaced by Chris Packham, who remains a regular presenter of the nature programme.

Meanwhile, Kate has presented shows such as Kate Humble's Coastal Britain and Kate Humble: Good Life, Green Life, and Animal Park.

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