Yours 194

Happy birthday As the show celebrates its tenth birthday, presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan chat to Yours – and Chris gives an update on his Malta birds’ campaign

By Alison James t’s one of the highlights of the TV calendar. Yes Springwatch is back on air for the 10th year running – and still going strong. As the programme enters its second decade presenter Chris Packham sings its praises.

“Springwatch has the potential to go on and on,” he enthuses.

“British wildlife is endlessly fascinating and so much of what we show is accessible to everyone.”

The first episode was screened in 2004 with Bill Oddie and Kate Humble at the helm. (Bill returns to this year’s show as a guest presenter detailing how wildlife in Britain has changed since Springwatch started in 2004). “I took over from Bill in 2009,” Chris (53) recalls. “He’s a great friend so it was very important that he gave me his blessing. His advice was ‘Go for it!’. I felt there was no point trying to imitate Bill, who’s a legend, so I put all my energy into thinking about what I could bring to the show.”

So what does he think his contribution has been? “My aim has been to give the programme a more scientific slant. It’s a given

I

‘We Brits love our birds and make a huge effort to protect them’ 16

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that it should be entertaining and engaging but I’ve always felt strongly there should be an educational element to it, too.

There are new discoveries about British wildlife all the time so I drop in little scientific gems of knowledge at every opportunity.

I also try to reference other elements of British life – film, music, football – to help reach those who aren’t that interested in wildlife. If I can get their attention, then maybe I’ll get them interested in what’s happening on Springwatch, too.”

His passion for wildlife certainly got the attention of the nation recently when he hit the headlines after police held him for more than five hours in Malta following a confrontation with a bird hunter. He had travelled to the island to highlight the massacre Bill Oddie is back of thousands of migrant with special reports birds. Together with a team of campaigners he filmed a daily video blog, entitled Malta: Massacre on Migration, documenting the struggle to save rare birds.

“I have wanted to bring this massacre in Malta to public attention for a long time. Every April, more than 10,500 hunters armed with shotguns carry out one of Europe’s most shameful slaughters of threatened birds

at the time when they are making their way north from Africa on their return migration to their breeding grounds throughout Europe.

Legally, the hunters are only supposed to hunt a certain amount of Quail and Turtle Doves in the three-week period but thousands of migrating birds, many of them rare and protected species, are indiscriminately killed for sport. Many breeds migrating to the UK from Africa never make it back here because of this barbaric practice which many Maltese citizens are against and it MUST be stopped.”

The campaign has drawn huge support – more than 3.2

❙ star chat ❙

Springwatch ‘It’s a show without egos’

Springing into action: Presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan

million tweets were received on his Twitter account and more than £66,000 raised to employ someone to work in Malta full time for the Bird Life charity.

“We Brits love our birds and make a huge effort to protect them so I wasn’t surprised how supportive everyone has been.

We intend going back to Malta next Spring to support the Bird Life Malta charity. There’s also the possibility of using some of the footage on Springwatch.

The programme is about British wildlife but some of the birds who should be in our gardens this summer won’t be there because

Eggstra special: The shy Water Rail

they’ve been shot down in Malta.”

Returning to our shores, I ask Chris for his most memorable Springwatch moments? “Many!” he replies, “but last year, we got a camera inside the nest of a Water Rail, an extremely shy bird whose nests are almost impossible to find. We came across one accidentally – naturalists can go for years without ever seeing one.

We had the incredible privilege of witnessing her atop her eggs.

Even better, her eyes were closed and she was twitching every now and then – we could tell she was dreaming. What a unique phenomenon to see. You couldn’t help but wonder what she was dreaming about! Springwatch technology made it all possible.”

This year the team – including fellow presenters Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-

rhino but in many ways the lifecycle of humble garden animals like the earthworm are more fascinating.

“You’d never get a feature about back garden beasties on wildlife shows in South Africa!”

So what is she looking forward to most? “The drama! So much happens when birds are nesting and you can never predict how it will go.”

Michaela took over from Kate Humble (below)

Games, are at RSPB Minsmere on the Suffolk coast. Chris says: “It boasts an unprecedented array of internationally important habitats, from sand dunes, shingle beaches and saline lagoons to reed bed heathland, woodland and grassland.

“The cast of characters include rare birds such as marsh harriers, avocets and bitterns, as well as badgers, otters and red deer.

Minsmere is open to the public so when the viewers have seen us there, they can visit the reserve themselves.”

So will he still be presenting the show in 2024? “Who knows!” he laughs. “I never make those kind of plans. It’s vitally important that Springwatch continues to evolve and change – and that goes for presenters, too!”

✢ Springwatch is on BBC2 until June 12. ✢ For more information about Malta: Massacre on Migration, visit www.chrispackham.co.uk. Chris can be tweeted @ChrisGPackham.

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PICS: MASTERFILE; REX FEATURES; BBC & ALAMY

Stepping into the formidable shoes of Kate Humble wasn’t easy for Michaela Strachan (48), but she now feels part of the Springwatch furniture. “I feel like an integral part of the show now,” she says. “Chris, James and I make a very good team – but that’s true of everyone involved in the programme. It is a show without egos!”

Michaela’s current home is in Cape Town, South Africa where she lives with her partner Nick and their eight-year-old son, Oliver. “Coming back to the UK to do Springwatch really makes me appreciate British wildlife and countryside,” she says. “Ok, so we don’t have big, exotic beasts like lions and

The wonder of

Grace As another film biopic hits the headlines, we celebrate Grace Kelly’s real and lasting legacy

By Valery McConnell he made just 11 films and died nearly 35 years ago – and yet Grace Kelly still fascinates us today. Just two years ago the Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition of her clothes drew record crowds. And now a film, with Nicole Kidman playing Grace, is putting her life centre stage again. Controversy rages around the film – mainly over the truth of how she is portrayed. But here we celebrate the true legacy of Grace Kelly. The woman of whom costar and friend Jimmy Stewart said at her funeral, “she brought into my life, as she brought into yours, a soft, warm light every time I saw her.”

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The film star

The camera loved Grace. According to photographer Cecil Beaton she had the perfect face for camera angles – square but with delicate features, so her small nose, “it hardly existed at all in profile” didn’t cast awkward shadows. She seemed to glide, rather than walk across the screen, more princess than mere mortal – no wonder Prince Rainier was intrigued.

And there was that voice that sounded like nobody else’s.

As a childhood sufferer of asthma and sinus problems she had always had a thin, high and reedy voice. Her slow delivery with slightly elongated vowels was the result of long work to bring down her voice pitch and create a more powerful sound.

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Nicole Kidman as Grace in the new film

❙ star power ❙

The fashion icon

Her classic understated style became known as ‘the Grace Kelly look’.

She was in films at the height of Hollywood’s elegance and was lucky to have many of her clothes designed for her by Hollywood’s best – Edith Head, who was responsible for the costumes on both Rear Window and To Catch A Thief. Edith paid Grace the compliment: “I’ve never worked with anybody who had a more intelligent grasp of what we were doing.”

Grace’s fairy-tale wedding dress, with its fitted lace bodice and bell-shaped skirt was the epitome of romance and still influences designers today. Her literal legacy is a certain leather bag, made by Hermes, that she carried throughout her first pregnancy, probably to shield herself from the camera. It made the bag so popular it was named The Kelly Bag.

The charity worker

Grace founded the charity AMADE Mondiale, to help protect vulnerable children around the world, work which the current President, Grace’s daughter Princess Caroline still maintains. She also set up The Princess Grace Foundation to help young talent in film, theatre and dance; it is still active today.

Grace’s top five films Dial M for Murder (1954) This tense thriller was originally offered to Deborah Kerr, but she was unavailable. There were rumours that Grace had an affair with co-star Ray Milland.

Style highlight: The stunning red lace dress with fitted bodice she wears when she meets her lover. Sizzling!

Rear Window (1954) Co-star and friend James Stewart said of her at this time that she was “Too talented. Too beautiful. Too sophisticated.” She gave one of her best performances in this murder thriller.

Style highlight: The ‘New Look’ white-tulle cocktail dress with fitted black bodice, designed by Edith Head.

To Catch A Thief (1955) Grace and Cary Grant were voted number eight in the Top 25 Sexiest Movie Couples Of All Time for their performance in this stylish crime caper set on the Riviera.

Style highlight: The Edith Head-designed gold masquerade ball-gown (right). Over the top in the best possible way.

The Swan (1956) She played a Princess torn between duty (Alex Guinness) and love (Louis Jourdan). The film had its premiere on Grace’s actual wedding day!

Style highlight: All the Helen Rose outfits – see how they echo Grace’s real wedding dress, which she also designed.

High Society (1956) This was her last film – made after she had accepted Prince Rainier’s proposal. She wore her own engagement ring throughout the film.

Style highlight: the Helen Rose designed pleated white wrap ✢ Grace of Monaco, that turned Grace into a Greek goddess. starring Nicole Kidman, in the title role is released in British cinemas on The celebrity Princess evening Diana wore June 6 Grace Kelly was the first true celebrity the notorious strapless princess – but just like Princess Diana, black gown that caused her marriage was the subject of gossip a press furore (below left). and speculation. Many say Princess Grace comforted Diana when, in Grace regretted giving up her freedom private, she broke down in tears at all and felt stifled. There are also rumours the attention. Grace told her gently but of early unhappiness, cruelty and with a smile, “It will only get worse”. infidelity on the part of Prince Rainier.

Diana had found a kindred soul – and Diana and Grace met in 1981 – the when, the following year, Grace was tragically killed in a car crash aged just 52 – Diana insisted on going to her funeral. Who could have foreseen that Diana’s own life would be cut short in the same terrible way, and that, as with Grace, hundreds of millions worldwide would watch her funeral, too.

PIC: ALAMY, GETTY IMAGES, REX FEATURES

She made three classic films with Alfred Hitchcock who called her ‘a snow-capped volcano’. They got on splendidly and he made the most of her unique ‘elegant sexiness’. In 1962, when she had been a princess for six years, she planned a film comeback and was the first choice to play the heroine in Hitchcock’s Marnie. Although she had originally given up films at the behest of her husband (who banned them from being shown in Monaco), Prince Rainier was said to have agreed to her returning to filming again. But the people of Monaco were so against it that she eventually turned it down.

But she was more than just beautiful. It’s significant that Cary Grant, who played opposite Katharine Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman among others, said, she was his all-time favourite actress: “She had serenity.”

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Style notes

For versatility, choose soft figurehugging dresses with sleeves that will flatter all year round.

Jacqui wears:

Fashion Editor’s tip...

Pencil skirts are flattering when the hem is just below the knee, to highlight the slimmest part of your legs.

Floral print dress, £45, 8-22, Bhs; shoes, £25, 3-8, Bhs; pearl earrings, £2.50, Primark; bracelet, £2.50, Primark Kaftan and smockstyle tops are fab for hiding a rounder tummy, but team with fitted trousers to slim the look.

PHOTOGRAPHY RUTH JENKINSON; STYLIST FIONA PARKHOUSE; HAIR AND MAKE-UP HANAN TOUHAMI. PIC: ALAMY ALL DETAILS CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS.

Miche le wears:

Lilac fine wool jumper, £45.99, s-xl, Zara; lace skirt, £39.99, s-l, Zara; shoes, £35, 3-9, Faith at Debenhams; bag, £22, Littlewoods

Figure flattering

Feel body confident whether you’re making the most of summer at h 40

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Jacqui wears:

Cream top, £19.99, s-xl, Zara; stripe maxi skirt, £18, 6-22, Dorothy Perkins; sandals, £15.99, 3-9, New Look; pearl earrings, £2.50, Primark; bangle, £12, Debenhams; bag, £18, M&Co

Michele wears:

Kaftan top, £29.99, s-l, Zara; capri trousers, £26, 8-22, M&Co; sandals, £7.99, 3-9, New Look

Pale colours can be slimming, just make sure they’re not too tight, otherwise they’ll highlight lumps and bumps.

A-line skirts are great for hiding problem areas, including the tummy, hips and thighs.

Maxi skirts are great for less than perfect legs – a column shaped skirt will smooth curves without adding bulk.

Jacqui wears:

Michele wears:

Striped cardigan, £18, 8-22, M&Co; skirt, £59, 8-18, Phase Eight; tan wedge shoes, £19.99, 3-9, New Look; belt, £6 (pack of two), M&Co; bag, £35, Betty Jackson.

Black at Debenhams

Pale green beaded top, £28, 6-22, Next; white jeans, £19.99, 6-18, New Look; sandals, £19.99, 3-9, New Look; bangles, £8.50, Dorothy Perkins

summer buys

mer at home or away

By Fashion Editor, Michelle Nightingale

STOCKISTS: Bhs 0844 411 6000 www.bhs.co.uk; Debenhams 0844 561 6161 www.debenhams. com; Dorothy Perkins 0844 984 0261 www.dorothyperkins.com; Littlewoods 0844 822 8000 www.littlewoods.com; M&Co 0800 031 7200 www.mandco. com; New Look 0844 499 6690 www.newlook.com; Next 0844 844 8000 www.next.co.uk; Phase Eight 0207 471 4422 www.phase-eight.co.uk; Primark 0118 9606 300; Zara 0800 014 2993 www.zara.com

Five

fresh fruity puds Scrumptious desserts that will bring you a taste of summer New York Style Cheesecake Has a secret ingredient that's better for you than cream cheese, but you won’t know the difference!

Serves 12

Per serving 462 cals

Fat 19g

Sat fat 10.7g

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour, plus 8 hours chilling

■ 125g (4oz) digestive biscuits, broken up ■ 70g (2¾oz) caster sugar ■ 50g (2oz) unsalted butter, melted Topping ■ 1kg (2lb) Quark ■ 85g (3½oz) unsalted butter, softened ■ 225g (7½oz) caster sugar ■ 3 large eggs, plus 2 yolks ■ Finely grated zest of 1 lemon ■ 2 tbsp vanilla extract 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5, and grease a 23cm (9in) tin. Line the sides with non-stick baking parchment.

2. Pulse the biscuits and sugar into fine crumbs. Mix in the butter, then press into the tin and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown and set. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.

3. Beat the quark, butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, then the lemon zest and vanilla extract.

4. Wrap a large piece of foil tightly around the bottom and sides of the tin, to prevent any water leaking into the base.

Set in a roasting pan, pour cheesecake filling into the tin, and smooth the top.

5. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan, to come halfway up the sides of the cheesecake.

6. Bake in the oven for 1 hour until golden brown and set, but slightly wobbly. Let cool completely, then chill overnight or for at least 8 hours.

7. Top with seasonal berries to serve. © www.LakeDistrictQuark.co.uk

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notes

Strawberry, Fig and Rosewater Salad A healthy and unusual combination that works as pudding or breakfast Serves 4

Per serving 202 cals

Fat 2.8g

Sat fat 2g

Preparation time: 5 minutes

■ 100g (3½oz) caster sugar ■ 100ml (3½floz) water ■ 1 tsp rosewater ■ 500g (1lb) strawberries ■ 4 figs ■ 200ml (7floz) Greek yogurt 1. Firstly make the syrup by combining sugar and water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Remove from the heat and add the rosewater. Cool completely.

3. Hull the strawberries, leave them whole and arrange with the figs, quartered.

4. Sprinkle over rosewater syrup and serve with a side of yogurt. © Sophie Michell, www.sweetevestrawberry.co.uk

TOP TIP: Rosewater completes this dish and is available in most supermarkets

Raspberry Yogurt Ripples A healthier alternative to ice cream!

Serves 4

Per serving 111 cals

Fat 6g

■ 4 tbsp fat-free vanilla yogurt ■ 2 tbsp crème fraîche ■ 150g (5oz) frozen raspberries ■ 2 tbsp honey ■ Selection of chopped nuts

Sat fat 3g

Preparation time: 10 minutes Freezing time: 2-3 hours

1. Blend the yogurt with the crème fraîche and 1 tbsp honey.

2. Separately, blend the raspberries with the remaining honey until smooth. For an extrasmooth finish, strain the mixture through a sieve to remove any seeds.

3. Fill lolly moulds with mixture, alternating between fruit purée and yogurt.

4. Set to freeze, with a stick in the centre.

5. Once ready, serve with nuts for dipping as the mixture slowly melts. © www.onken.co.uk

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❙ Your home ❙

HOME

notes

IDEAS • KNITTING • CRAFT

SAVE vs SPLURGE EVENING GLOW

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Time to enjoy stylish outdoor living

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Give it a go... ✢ For a cheap way to make your garden sing, plant a colourful flower in an old teapot.

A great way to re-use chipped china – or buy bright pieces from charity shops.

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£15.95 86

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TOP IMAGE: Cotton bunting from £12.99 each, Lakeland BOTTOM IMAGE: Helston three-piece bistro set, £159.99, The Range

❙ Your home ❙

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STOCKISTS: Aldi 0800 042 0800, www.aldi.co.uk; Cargo 0844 848 3300, www.cargohomeshop.com; Catesby’s 01223 237783, www.catesbys.co.uk; Garden Trading 0845 608 4448, www.gardentrading.co.uk; George, 0800 952 3003, www.george.com; John Lewis 0845 604 9049, www.johnlewis.com; Lakeland 01539 488100, www.lakeland.co.uk; Laura Ashley 0871 983 5999, www.lauraashley.com; Marks & Spencer 0845 609 0200, www.marksandspencer.com; The Range 0845 026 7598, www.therange.co.uk; Wild & Wolf 01225 789909 www.wildandwolf.com Details correct at time of going to press

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mfrom y lessons life…

Eggheads’ Daphne Fowler, who is stepping down from the hit BBC2 show after more than ten years, talks to Yours You can’t just rely on intelligence or a good memory; I’ve always done my research. When Eggheads started it was obvious Judith and I would be picked on for sports questions, so I made it a priority to learn as much as I could. There were a lot of crestfallen male faces!

✢ … but retirement’ s great I did my final recording of Eggheads in April last year though it won’t be seen until this month.

At 74, the travelling and long recording sessions were getting more and more exhausting.

I’ve no regrets; it has given me more time to relax with family and it’s nice to read novels, not encyclopedias!

✢ Nothing beats being with family I never forget how lucky I am that I have a wonderful husband, Pete, five children, ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren all in good health. In addition to my brood I have two beautiful step-daughters and a stepgranddaughter. I spend as much time with them as I can; I’m at my happiest surrounded by family.

They’re the most important thing in my life.

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✢ I’ve no regrets about dropping out of university

National treasures: The Eggheads team, and host Jeremy Vine, below right

✢ SatNav is a Godsend!

According to my husband I’ve no spatial awareness at all.

I failed my first driving test because I turned left not right. On my second attempt I wrote ‘L’ and ‘R’ on my hands… and passed!

I tend to rely on a SatNav when directing my husband in the car!

✢ Winning makes a big difference The prizes were the main reason I started entering quiz shows. My first husband was in poor health at the time and I had five children.

The best prize was coming home from Australia with £23,000 – enough to buy my council house. I didn’t have to worry any more.

All I ever really wanted to be was a secretary like my mother. It was the best thing I ever did. I got my job at NatWest and was invited on to a quiz team, which was how I discovered my talent. Things have a funny way of working out sometimes.

✢ We’re always learning My three youngest children got me onto my first quiz show by writing to Winner Takes All in 1979, saying: “Our mum should be on your show because she knows everything.” But I don’t! ✢ Eggheads runs from Monday to Friday at 6pm, on BBC2.

Daphne’s last episode was Tuesday, May 27. ✢ She was talking to Carole Richardson.

WHAT MADE YOU WHO YOU ARE TODAY? I think it’s my personality. I am an optimist; I always go with my instinct and I’m very decisive. When I make up my mind I never have second thoughts. I married my first husband five weeks after we first went out and we were married 29 years. After he died I met my second husband a year later and he moved in 12 days after our first blind date.

PICS: ALAN PEEBLES/EGGHEADS

✢ Hard work’s the secret of success…