After 17 years on the air, the popular BBC show Autumnwatch will no longer be shown. The BBC made the announcement that it will be cancelling the show.
Although Winterwatch will return the following year, the amount of time it airs will be cut from two to one week due to the increased funding that will be allocated to its sister programmes.
A statement from the broadcaster said: ‘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.’
The well-liked wildlife series tracked the animals and plants in its natural environment in real time as fall progressed, making live broadcasts of the footage available online so that viewers could get a better look at the natural world.
The camera crews, along by presenters such as Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, and Gillian Burke, travelled all across the United Kingdom to record animal behaviour that had never previously been captured on film and to share remarkable stories about the country’s diverse wildlife.
It wasn’t until the following year, in 2006, that Springwatch was expanded into a full-fledged series after initially debuting in 2005 as a one-off special. Winterwatch then began in 2012.
The news comes after Chris made the announcement that he will be taking a much-needed sabbatical from television after admitting to feeling a bit “burnt out.”
The 61-year-old actor stated in a recent interview that he wants to get ‘off the treadmill’ since he is beginning to feel a little bit ‘burnt out.’ However, he joked that he is not going to purchase a Ferrari and run off with a 20-year-old in order to celebrate his retirement.
‘I’ve never taken three months off work. Never. I can barely sleep I am so excited. I might have to ban [partner] Charlotte [Corney] from the studio,’ he told The Mirror.
‘I don’t want any interference or disruption, I want to get on with it. It will be good to clear my head and focus on something completely different.’
Autumnwatch is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
