Viacom’s Channel 5 Lures BBC Presenters Chris Packham & John Humphrys For Climate Change Show

Viacom’s Channel 5 has bagged another couple of BBC presenters to make an event show about the climate change emergency.

Chris Packham — who has worked at the BBC for decades on shows including Springwatch, Autumnwatch, and Winterwatch — will host 100,000 Trees with Chris Packham (working title), which will raise money in partnership with charity The Woodland Trust to plant 100,000 trees across Britain.

Packham will be joined by John Humphrys, who last month left BBC Radio 4’s Today show after 32 years, as they shine a light on the UK being one of the least wooded countries in Europe and delve into the science of trees.

Deadline has previously reported on how Channel 5 has lured presenters traditionally associated with the BBC. We revealed last month how MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace is hosting adventure series Weekend Breaks with Gregg Wallace (wt) for the channel, while in 2018 we reported on Jeremy Paxman joining for royal documentary All The Queen’s Children.

100,000 Trees with Chris Packham will be produced by ITN Productions, with Ian Rumsey executive producing. It was commissioned by Channel 5’s Daniel Pearl, who said: “We are at a pivotal moment and need action over words to help tackle climate change. The calibre of talent associated with this programme shows just how much this cause resonates with people. We truly hope that this Channel 5 programme will inspire and motivate our viewers.”