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Springwatch 2018 (2 Viewers)

cj.holder said:
I'm afraid Gillian has proved to be a weak presenter. It hasn't improved from last year. Her halting style of delivery, pausing in the wrong places in sentences is annoying, and in one short section, she used "Now" to start every sentence - 8 times in total. The shame is that it's detracting from what ought to be a highlight of the show - wildlife in the Shetland Isles, and particularly otters.
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That is the key point in all this. Whatever her talents, presenting to camera isn't one of them. That's not her fault. She was given an opportunity and took it, but it clearly isn't working. I don't do Twitter, but my daughter tells me there is a huge amount of criticism of her performance on there, too. Surely the people who put Springwatch together must take note.

Malcolm
 
MalR said:
That is the key point in all this. Whatever her talents, presenting to camera isn't one of them. That's not her fault. She was given an opportunity and took it, but it clearly isn't working. I don't do Twitter, but my daughter tells me there is a huge amount of criticism of her performance on there, too. Surely the people who put Springwatch together must take note.

Malcolm
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Well they’ve yet to address CP’s calculatedly obtuse dress sense and oft’ cringing use of MS as a willing or otherwise patsy so little likelihood of replacing such a key BBC tick-box.

LGM
 
One thing that really annoys me when I've seen GB at work, is the amount of time we spend, looking at his sweaty face when they could be showing us what he's filming. They do it so much, a whispered 'piece to camera' as he sweats profusely, show me the animal, not the cameraman!



A
 
I think we have been too critical about Gillian and her style. I think her style has shown signs of improvement as evidenced from her report from Fairburn Ings. I am confident that she will continue to develop and improve her style, just as the rest of the team have. Each presenter brings their own qualities to the programme. Spring watch presents a difficult challenge because it has to appeal to a wide audience.
 
Robert Wallace said:
I think we have been too critical about Gillian and her style. I think her style has shown signs of improvement as evidenced from her report from Fairburn Ings. I am confident that she will continue to develop and improve her style, just as the rest of the team have. Each presenter brings their own qualities to the programme. Spring watch presents a difficult challenge because it has to appeal to a wide audience.
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Agreed. Just need her arms to be tethered to something now! Albeit I understand this helps her focus on delivery & timing. Speaking of which lets now focus on the star of the show? Namely the wildlife.

LGM
 
WACCOE said:
Nice too see my local reserve Fairburn on.
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I used to go there regularly when I lived in Leeds in the late 90s. It was a good reserve then and, judging by last night's piece, it's got even better since. It didn't have Bitterns, Black-necked Grebes and nesting Spoonbills 20 years ago.
 
Robert Wallace said:
I think we have been too critical about Gillian and her style. I think her style has shown signs of improvement as evidenced from her report from Fairburn Ings. I am confident that she will continue to develop and improve her style, just as the rest of the team have. Each presenter brings their own qualities to the programme. Spring watch presents a difficult challenge because it has to appeal to a wide audience.
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Oh dear - I don't want her to stick around long enough to develop and improve - just want rid!
 
Sandra (Taylor) said:
Oh dear - I don't want her to stick around long enough to develop and improve - just want rid!
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It’s about time you lot stopped slagging her off. I see nothing wrong with her presentation style and if you can do any better then give it a ago. She is though perhaps a bit brighter than those who constantly abuse her.
 
Bubbs said:
It’s about time you lot stopped slagging her off. I see nothing wrong with her presentation style and if you can do any better then give it a ago. She is though perhaps a bit brighter than those who constantly abuse her.
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I don't see why, she isn't any good as a presenter and on screen is not the place to develop and improve: presenters particularly on flagship programmes trying to make an impact on an increasingly short attention-spanned x-box generation have to hit the ground running at top speed without stumbling.

She needs to be replaced by someone with some talent for the job, whatever her academic credentials are. If there must be diversity box-ticking then maybe they could get David Lindo, provided his obsession with urban environments can be kept in check. He can present all right.

John
 
She's certainly not bad enough to make 100% of all Springwatch discussions each series about nothing but whether or not she is a bad presenter.

Either you like her or you don't so can we park all discussion about her merits and talk about more interesting elements if Springwatch?
 
I think this series is as good as it usually is, the only disappointing thing for me is there's no Unsprung this year.

Oh and I think GB is improving (slightly) and certainly doesn't ruin the programme for me, she's only on screen for about five minutes.
 
In ep02, the opening discussion on the Marsh Tit nest made reference to the bird controlling the number of eggs laid based upon cross section area of the hole they're nesting in. Chris went on to say, they reduce the number of eggs to prevent the cavity from getting overcrowded with the young.

My question is, does this behavior replicate across other cavity nesting species or is this specific only to the Marsh Tit?

I have in mind my nesting Bewick's Wrens. I'm hoping I solved the mystery why their first clutch only had 3 chicks; their chosen box was to small..??
 
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