THERE'S only one thing Chris Packham misses about home when he's away filming – spending time with his dog, Scratchy. But fortunately, when the popular nature programme presenter heads to Scotland's Cairngorms National Park for this year's Winterwatch, he will be taking his 15-year-old pooch with him.
"It's good for my mental health, if I'm honest with you," says the 57-year-old, who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was in his 40s, and was devastated when Scratchy's twin, Itchy, died in 2016.
"I feel best when I'm with Scratchy. I do worry about him, I do genuinely miss him. And he's the same with me. So when we're together, we're undoubtedly better."
This series of Winterwatch – an annual nature extravaganza, which goes out live on BBC Two from this evening – will be broadcast from the Dell of Abernethy, a lodge built in 1780 on the edge of the Abernethy pine forest.
Across four consecutive nights, we will learn how the local wildlife survives the tough environment, despite facing freezing temperatures.
Unlike previous runs, the team will return to the same spot – arguably the wildest landscape in the UK – for the upcoming Springwatch and Autumnwatch, too. It's something Packham, who fronts all three shows alongside Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke, has championed from the outset.
"It gives us a chance to see how the seasons impact on that area, and also to know some of the individuals and see how they cope and deal with the changes," notes the conservationist. "I'm very excited. I love Scotland, and that particular part of Scotland is very picturesque."
When it comes to the hardy wildlife The Watches will follow, Packham – also known for The Really Wild Show – is "pretty confident" we will see a few of those "pin up species; red squirrel, pine marten, maybe a golden eagle".
But as it's filmed live, there is, of course, no guarantee what the cameras will capture. Does he find the unpredictability of the show challenging?
"That's part of the joy of it, really," he says. "Some people don't like live, they worry about it, they fret, they get nervous. I've never experienced that. It's not me. I just think, 'I'm about to have an hour-long conversation with people who I have a shared interest with'."
Plus, the show shines a light on individuals and groups working to protect the area's mountains, forests, rivers and vast lochs. For Packham, the message about the importance of conservation is at the core of everything he does. And he's frustrated that looking after our environment is "not high enough on the agenda" on a wider scale.
"We are dependent on that environment for our food, our timber, the seas for our fish, the air that we breathe," he says. "So, if we neglect it and leave it too far down the agenda, then we are nothing. We're just inviting trouble for ourselves, really."
:: Winterwatch returns to BBC Two tonight at 8pm.
