Chris Packham talks about impact of car blast on his family

Chris Packham said that he has been the victim of hate campaigns after years of criticism for his strong environmental views.

The Springwatch presenter, 61, said he and his family have received death threats, dead animals have been left at his home and arsonists set fire to a car outside his gate.

During his recent libel trial, Chris told the High Court that he often fears: “Is today the day that a psychopath fuelled by all this hate turns up and kills me?”

His stepdaughter Megan McCubbin, 28, has been a pillar of support for the naturalist and was in the courtroom as often as she could be during the 10-day trial.

On Thursday, Chris won his libel claim against a website that alleged he had misled people into donating to a wildlife charity. He was awarded £90,000 in damages.

Speaking to Express.co.uk before the judgement was reached, Megan opened up about her pain at watching Chris be targeted by such abuse.

She lamented: “I think with any family member, it’s horrible to see what people say and what lengths people will go to. It’s a shame that it got to this point, it didn’t have to

“It is obviously a worry and we do feel very protective of him and making sure that he’s okay and safe. We always look out for each other.

“But, you know, we’ve got to keep talking about the environmental issues because we have to have a healthy environment to live in.

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“I totally respect what he does and what he says and how he does it. So yeah, we will just be one another’s support system and keep spreading that message.”

As for how Chris is coping, Megan says he is “doing really well” and that the case had been “a long time coming”.

She continued: “We’re very good friends more than anything else. We’re very close and we’ve got an understanding of one another that is really great.

“We’ve got really brilliant relationship, a very unusual relationship in many ways, but we have a lot of fun and we do support each other unconditionally.”

Chris will now return to TV screens on Monday to kick off the new series of Springwatch. Megan, on the other hand, has confirmed that she is “no longer part” of the BBC Two series after hosting it since 2020.

Elsewhere in her career, Megan has published her first solo book, An Atlas of Endangered Species.

The volume explores 20 species and details the stories of scientists, rangers and conservationists who are fighting to save the animals from extinction/

On what she hopes readers will take away from reading it, Megan said: “I hope people will connect to the animals and why they’re in trouble.

“But most importantly, I hope they’ll be empowered to do something. I hope they’ll be empowered to use their voice to say what’s wrong and what we’d like to change.”

The book has also been made with dyslexic readers in mind. The font style, colouration and spacing on the page is designed to make it easier to read.

An Atlas of Endangered Species by Megan McCubbin, published by Two Roads, £20

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