Really Wild Show hosts Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan in talks about TV comeback 11 years after BBC show was axed
FROM hanging out with porcupines and big cats to cuddling crocodiles, nothing has quite gripped young wildlife fans since The Really Wild Show was axed 11 years ago.
But viewers keen for a nostalgia trip could be in luck as presenters CHRIS PACKHAM and MICHAELA STRACHAN are in talks with the BBC about a TV comeback.
The iconic BAFTA-winning series ran for 20 years and also starred veteran naturalist TERRY NUTKINS, who passed away in 2012, aged 66.
Now telly bosses think it’s time the show returned to screens to deliver its particular brand of animal magic to a whole new audience.
Springwatch host Chris said: “There have been a few chats about bringing The Really Wild Show back.
“There is a certain amount of nostalgia for it.
“Obviously, our co-host Terry Nutkins died a couple of years ago so it would be down to Michaela and I.
"But there’s a huge adult population that remember the show with enormous fondness. Virtually every time I go out someone talks about it.
“They say, ‘Oh, we watched you on The Really Wild Show and now we watch you and Michaela on Springwatch with our kids’, and it’s sort of fulfilling a circle for them.
“We hopefully inspired them when they were kids and now we’re helping to inspire their own kids.
"So, yeah, we have been thinking about bringing The Really Wild Show back, which could be quite good fun.”
The show was a kids’ TV staple and for many youngsters it was their first introduction to wildlife and the natural world.
The new show will also be hosted by NICK BAKER and STEVE BACKSHALL, who fronted later series of the original run.
Chris, who also hosts Earth Live on Nat Geo Wild on July 23, added the show would be screened on the BBC, but it could end up on the CBBC channel.
They should bring it back for the theme tune alone.
READ ON FOR THE REST OF DAN WOOTTON'S BIZARRE TV COLUMN
Cowell's time out for acts
X FACTOR boss Simon Cowell is plotting to phase out warbling acts by timing auditions.
The music mogul, 57, is getting ruthless after years of wasting valuable time listening to hopefuls prattle on and wants to put them out of their misery.
Wannabes will now face the daunting prospect of impressing Simon and his fellow judges against the clock after a large digital timer was placed in the audition rooms.
An X Factor insider said: “Simon has been in millions of these auditions and basically just wants to speed them up.
“Artists don’t know they’re being timed, so viewers should expect some brutal cutting from Simon.
“He’s sick and tired of hearing contestants spiel as well as long, droning, performances eating up time.
“So being able to keep track of how long they’re taking means he can speed them up once they’ve gone on for extra minutes.”
Simon is also hoping the timed auditions will cut out waffling from his panel of judges, which includes Sharon Osbourne, 64, and Louis Walsh, 64, who’ll also be monitored to ensure their feedback doesn’t take too long.
The introduction of a digital clock is Simon’s latest tactic to freshen up the show and halt the slide in ratings.
Last year’s final, won by Matt Terry, only attracted seven million viewers - less than half of the show’s audience for the 2010 final which was watched by 14.3m.
Simon has axed performance-only Saturday episodes, invited chart stars to appear on both weekend live shows - which have been cut from ten to six - and also hold some auditions at Thorpe Park.
The show’s boss is also to rid the upcoming series of novelty acts, such as last year’s standout performer Honey G who he recently ditched from his Syco record label.
Soapbox
IT’S all getting too much for pregnant Courtney in HOLLYOAKS as her gran advises her to leave the village and return to Scotland to bring up her baby.
She’s in two minds whether to keep it as she’s not sure if she’s ready for motherhood.
Meanwhile, Grace returns to The Loft, much to Sienna’s shock.
She ends up sleeping with Warren, but calls him “Trev” by accident, which completely alarms him.
On CORONATION STREET Dev is excited to reopen his shop and ropes in an unenthusiastic Erica to hand out promotional fliers.
During her rounds she drops in on Liz, who is busy packing, to tell her how down in the dumps she is feeling.
A Gem of a dress
LEAVING Emmerdale seems to have suited GEMMA ATKINSON.
Since shooting her final scenes as Carly Hope on the ITV soap, Gemma has been throwing herself into training as a cage fighter, doing Thai-boxing classes three times a week.
She also signed up for a juice detox retreat in Portugal.
And on Saturday night the actress showed off the fruits of her labour in a tight dress during an evening out in Manchester.
Gemma tweeted that she and her pals were going “out out”.
Let’s just hope yesterday’s hangovers were not too bad.
Biz bit
UNLIKE many celebs who get trolled, MAISIE WILLIAMS – Game of Thrones’ Arya Stark – defended social media for its tolerance.
The 20-year-old said: “My generation don’t segregate people because they’re different.”
Danny blasts brush-off
FORMER EastEnders cast members seem to be falling over themselves to say what they really think of axed executive producer Sean O’Connor.
First ROSS KEMP branded him “a schoolteacher” and now DANNY-BOY HATCHARD has confessed he was “disappointed” by how he was written out of the show this year.
Danny’s character, Lee Carter, ran away from his mental health problems in February after a suicide attempt.
He said: “He could have left a little more attention to detail. I feel it got a little brushed off.
“It was Sean’s decision and I had to respect that. But if I had written it I’d have written it differently.”
At least Lee wasn’t killed off – so he could make a surprise return.
MOST READ IN BIZARRE
– AGATHA Christie’s murder mystery gets an all-star comedy makeover with Gold’s one-off drama Murder on the Blackpool Express.
The whodunnit, which airs in the autumn, stars JOHNNY VEGAS, SIAN GIBSON of Car Share, NIGEL HAVERS and UNA STUBBS.
Johnny and Sian play Blackpool tour guides on a coach trip whose passengers start dying one by one.
Johnny has promised a hilarious ride.
He said: “Laugh-out-loud writing, what’s not to be excited about?”
Must-watch
WHAT? How to Retire at 40, Channel 4, 8.30pm.
WHY? ANNA RICHARDSON meets people who found ways to retire early, including a man who made a fortune sending spuds in the post and a family who only spend money two days a week.