Living icon
An official RT portrait of Chris Packham is unveiled in London
Radio Times/Ray Burmiston
- Caroline Frost
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It’s not every day one comes across a portrait, on the altar of a chapel, of oneself dressed as a monk, canonised for all to admire? Hence the subject seems suitably bemused by his celestial upgrading.
“The canonisation of Chris Packham was something that should never have happened,” says the naturalist and broadcaster. “As someone who is prone to eczema, the last thing I need is an itchy woollen cassock.”
The cover featured our guest editor with endangered species, including the yellowhammer, red squirrel and snipe dormouse. Ruth Roxanne Board/Radio Times
The portrait was originally commissioned for a Radio Times cover in April 2024 to mark Packham’s role as guest editor of the magazine’s Earth Day issue — which he committed to wholeheartedly: “I threw myself into the task with hundreds of calls to the various contributors. The eco community is in a bit of a bubble, so RT gave me a chance to speak to a much broader section of society.”
It’s a photo that celebrates life and biodiversity
Chris Packham
Photographer Richard Ansett’s portrait, unveiled last week to mark Endangered Species Day and now on display in London’s Fitzrovia Chapel, was inspired by early religious paintings of St Francis of Assisi. “Francis was the patron saint of ecology, the synergy between nature and mankind, which is what Chris experiences through his neurodiversity, so I hoped to persuade him to get in a cassock,” the photographer explains. “It seemed a natural fit, plus he’s an old punk and he likes to be provocative.”
Chris Packham with photographer Richard Ansett at the portrait’s unveiling at the Fitzrovia Chapel in central London. Ruth Roxanne Board/Radio Times
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“It’s a photo that celebrates life and biodiversity,” adds Packham. “Plus, there’s an element of neurodiversity — who else would put on a cassock, close their eyes and pray? I just wish my mum was here to see it. She was a religious person, she would have laughed, winced at it and used it to generate questions and have a conversation.”
Authors
Caroline Frost
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