Kate Humble Reveals Why She Left Springwatch in Heartfelt Admission

Kate Humble has opened up about her emotional decision to leave Springwatch in 2011, describing the experience as “a bit like leaving home.” In an exclusive interview with Reach plc, the Animal Park host shared that her departure from the beloved BBC show was driven by a desire for new challenges after the job “stopped scaring” her.

Humble, who co-hosted Springwatch with Bill Oddie from its inception in 2005 until Oddie’s departure in 2009, made the tough decision to leave the show despite her deep connection to it. Reflecting on her time with the program, she said, “It was a bit like leaving home, I loved Springwatch. I was enormously proud of it and it was enormously challenging in all the best sorts of ways”, told Daily Express.

She reminisced about the unpredictability of working with animals on live television, recalling, “I would hear the countdown to on-air in my ear and think, ‘I have literally no idea what’s gonna happen.’” She also expressed her admiration for the naturalists, conservationists, and filmmakers she collaborated with during her time on the show, calling it “amazing.”

However, Humble realized it was time to move on when the show no longer brought the same sense of excitement and fear. She cited a famous quote often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do something that scares you every day,” explaining that when Springwatch stopped scaring her, she knew it was time for a change. “I thought, ‘this is such an important program, it has done so much,’” she said. “All programs need refreshing, a new approach, a new set of eyes.”

Humble emphasized the importance of Springwatch continuing without her, stating, “When it stopped scaring me, I thought this is the time that I need to step away and someone else needs to come in because they’ll keep it going and that’s the most important thing—that Springwatch keeps going.”

Though the decision was challenging, Humble admitted it was ultimately the right choice. “It was a really hard decision in some ways. But also it was a really easy decision because I knew for me it was the right thing to do, even though as I say, I felt bereft.”

Now deeply involved in wildlife and environmental causes, Humble continues her work with LNER and fronts the BBC’s Animal Park. Despite her fond memories of Springwatch, she has no plans to return to the show. “I kind of think there’s no reason for me to go back to Springwatch,” she said. “It is done beautifully. It still entrances and inspires, and that’s what it’s always done. I need to just keep doing what I do—trying to tell stories and inspire people to look after this incredible planet that we live on—in the best way that I know.”