star has broken her silence following the “sad and disappointing” axe of .
Last year, bosses announced that they have cancelled the beloved wildlife show in order to invest more money into Springwatch and Winterwatch. The programme aired for 17 years and was fronted by Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams.
A statement from the channel said: “These are challenging times financially. 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”.
But viewers didn’t say goodbye to the nature show completely, with host Chris Packham going on to share Autumnwatch segments on The One Show across the season.
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Megan McCubbin has broken her silence following Autumnwatch’s axe (Image: BBC/Jo Charlesworth)
Despite its return, viewers were devastated by the news, with hundreds calling for the show to return to our screens for good. Now, zoologist Megan has lifted the lid on the “sad and disappointing” news for the first time.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk – ahead of her Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show in NEC Birmingham this week – the broadcaster shared the real reason why the show came to an end.
She told us: “We are passionate about all the Watches and I think we all really loved Autumnwatch. I love the colours of Autumn, you get different behaviours and everything.
“Sadly, three seasons was incredibly special and obviously we’re very sad to see Autumnwatch go, but it’s kind of a product of the times we’re in”.
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The nature show was cancelled after 17 years on the airwaves (Image: BBC/Pete Dadds)
The wildlife specialist explained that Autumnwatch isn’t the only show who has been impacted by the lack of funding. She went on: “The whole industry at the minute is struggling, there is a lack of funding, there is a lack of commissions, just generally because it’s a hard time.
“And I think this is not just something that’s being experienced by natural history television. It’s experienced across the entertainment and comedy and everything else as budgets are getting cut and things are getting a bit tighter.
“But we really want the shows that we do have, and still have, we want to make sure that they are still of the highest quality. So, we’re putting our effort in to make sure that we’re still delivering the same kind of quality and really challenging ourselves to make it even bigger, brighter, and better than ever”.
Megan teased that the Autumn show may not be gone for good, adding: “It was sad and a shame to see it go but you never know what’s in the future.
She hinted that the show may make a comeback in the future (Image: BBC)
“Ultimately, spring and winter are excellent and, you know, spring’s right around the corner and then I’m sure you know it’s gonna be all hands-on deck to make it as exciting as it always is, which I’ve no doubt it’s going to be good.
Zoologist Megan McCubbin will be speaking at the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show on Saturday, February 22 about wildlife and her experiences camping and campervanning.
Speaking about her upcoming show, she gushed: “I’m really excited to be speaking on the Saturday for the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show. It’s a really cool exhibition filled with all these different campervans and camping equipment, everything that you might need to go on your holiday.
“I’m really excited about it because I think people are looking more towards going on holidays locally and I’m a big champion for people appreciating what’s on their doorstep.
“So, if you can go in a campervan or go camping in some of the most beautiful places that the UK has to offer, and you can travel sustainably to part of Europe to go camping there, then why not?
“It’s an amazing thing to do and I think people will be surprised to learn about the biodiversity that we have here. So, I’ll be talking a little bit about my experiences out in nature when I’ve been camping while up in Scotland and the wildlife that I got to see and how important it is that we unite together to be able to protect it.”
The show returns to the NEC Birmingham from Tuesday, February 18 to Sunday, February 23 2025, and tickets are now on sale at