Bill Bailey talks

Where does your interest in wildlife come from?

Since childhood, I have been interested in animals and the countryside, partly due to growing up in the Westcountry and also from being encouraged to be curious about our surroundings by my parents and grandparents.

Were you always headed for a career in music and comedy or had you ever toyed with working with wildlife?

I think it was always going the comedy route ever since I learned a Les Dawson routine and played it at a family funeral.

If you could choose any job related to wildlife, what would it be? Scientist? Zookeeper? Game warden? Conservationist?

Is lion-tamer a job anymore? Probably not, in which case conservationist sounds about right. I'd love to get involved more with exactly the kind of projects we dealt with in the programme.

Do you manage to get much time to enjoy the countryside these days?

When I can, I take the family to the Lake District or to Devon, for walks and fresh air.

Which of the problems in the Wild Thing series did you find the most upsetting?

I think 'horrified' is the word I'd use when I was told, in the badger programme, about the increase of badger-baiting. Badgers are taken from the wild and made to fight dogs, often in secret rooms in people's houses. And to give the dogs an even chance, the badgers' lower jaws are often removed. I don't want to imagine how.

What was your favourite solution in the Wild Thing series?

I love the dormice bridge in Cheddar. It's a mesh aerial walkway for dormice! You don't see many of them. It might take a while to work, but it's the only one of its kind in Britain and I feel quite proud to have been part of the scheme.

What is your favourite animal?

Puffin. They fly underwater, they moo like cows, they burrow, they're brilliant.

What is the most exciting wild animal you have seen?

In Britain, I'd say the peregrine falcon – the fastest creature on Earth.

If you could change the world in one way, what would that be?

Plant something.

What, in your view, is the biggest challenge facing our wildlife today?

Us.

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