New Forest resident Chris Packham has bodyguard for Winterwatch filming after threats against him and family
New Forest environmental campaigner Chris Packham has had to be given a personal bodyguard to protect him during filming of the latest TV series after threats were made against him and his family.
The TV star revealed he had been targeted by “specific threats” which he had reported to the police.
As a precaution the BBC has hired a security guard to shadow Chris while he is filming the show from the RSPB in Arne, Dorset, this week.
Talking to the Mirror, Chris, who previously had his New Forest home firebombed by pro-fox hunters, said there had been two threats against him within the last month alone.
He said: “A couple of times recently before the Watches we’ve had specific threats for me. So, we’ve had a person who’s there and stays at the hotel and then goes with me to the place.”
The bodyguard then stays with Chris on set while he films the show before returning to the hotel with him.
The climate campaigner says the threats were made in emails “unbelievably” adding: “We’ve got the person’s email address. Obviously, I’ve reported them to the police. I haven’t heard back from the police, but they’ve acknowledged receipt of them.
“So, we’ve had two in the last month saying ‘I’m going to harm you and harm your family’.
The behind-the-scenes drama does not seem to have affected Chris while filming. This week he was seen excitedly talking about a fox and a buzzard which were filmed in the Forest.
Chris’s front gate was set on fire in October 2021 after a car bomb exploded outside his house. He believes the attack was as a result of him being opposed to fox hunting. He said: “They know who these people are – ish. They don’t know precisely which person it is, but they said that, you know sometimes, these things play out over a couple of years, because eventually they might fall out with one another and then they will grass one another up, they are career criminals.”
Last year Chris was investigated by police after sniffing a protected goshawk during the filming of Springwatch. A viewer made a complaint that Chris should not have handled the bird in the way he did.
Police later ruled that he had done nothing illegal.