FROM the little boy who once badgered his parents to bring him on holiday to Bournemouth so he could hunt for snakes in the Winter Gardens, Chris Packham’s passion for all things really wild has made him a household name.

The Hampshire-based television presenter will return to our screens on Monday with the annual animal soap opera that is Springwatch coming back to BBC Two, meaning high drama and more than a little patience.

“It's surprising the range of emotions you get for a natural history programme,” says producer-turned-presenter Martin Hughes-Games. “You get awful disasters, terrible deaths and moments of great joy.”

“And on that note, we're opening a special helpline this year – Springwatch Samaritans,” jokes co-host Chris Packham. “If you've been concerned by any of the issues in this programme, we'll console you.”

It’s this natural banter between the presenters of the live show, as well as the up-close views of nature’s biggest events, that make it such compelling viewing.

Packham, who’s just turned 50 and feels he’s “moving into my autumn”, recently accepted a special Bafta award for the programme, which is on almost every week night for three weeks, and places its success firmly at the feet of all those involved.

“Across the board, down to the people that do the washing-up, there’s a great sense of event, it’s almost like a little World Cup,” he says.

This year, the action is moving from Norfolk's Pensthorpe nature reserve, home to the show for three years, to the RSPB-managed Ynys-hir nature reserve in mid Wales, where viewers could be in store for some Springwatch firsts, including wood warblers and nuthatches, as well as lesser-spotted woodpeckers and red kites.

The second to last day in May might seem like a strange time to start looking at spring, which has well and truly sprung in many parts of the UK thanks to the weather, but the team insist there'll still be plenty to see.

“Every year we panic, going ‘Oh my God, there’s going to be nothing nesting, everything will be done' and this could be the year that happens, but we won't know that until we get to Wales,” says curly blonde Kate Humble, 42, who also hosts Lambing Live with farmer Adam Henson.

“The truth is wildlife takes advantage of a good situation, we’ll hopefully see birds that have multi-broods, on a second or third brood. That’s the beauty of Springwatch, it’s a surprise every year.”

Packham concedes: “Had we been banking on the usual suspects, some might have fledged. But we're moving a bit further north where things might be slower, and we’ve gone for birds that have their young in the nest for long periods, like kites and herons.”

Packham and Hughes-Games have also filmed a couple of boys’ weekends away, which see them zooming around the Isle of Man on a motorbike and sidecar.

“You were like the two fat ladies,” says Humble. “No, we were Marlon Brando and Paul Newman,” counters Packham. “It was more like Wallace and Gromit to be fair,” admits Hughes-Games.

“We saw fantastic chough, fish parasites, my first coralroot orchid and seal poo with fish ear bones in it,” says Packham, looking pleased as punch.

“If you section a fish ear bone, you can determine exactly how old a fish is, not in terms of years, but in days... Now how about that eh? You’ll be tuning in for that one!”

Packham's favourite encounter for this series so far has been with a fellow naturalist who has studied adders for 30 years.

“She knew them as individuals from their unique head patterns and had a crumbling notebook with photos of all them,” he says.