Sam & Ade Go Birding follows good friends Samuel West (All Creatures Great & Small, Slow Horses) and Adrian Edmondson (Alien: Earth, A Spy Among Friends) on a spectacular birdwatching quest across the British Isles. For Sam, birding is a long-standing passion - he’s been recording his sightings for twenty years and has now seen over 400 British species, though he’ll always grab any opportunity to add to his list. For Adrian, the hobby is something new: he’s bird-curious. Despite living in the countryside for more than twenty years, Ade’s frustrated not to know more about the birds around him and now wants to learn with his enthusiastic friend - if they can stop for lunch, stay in a nice cottage and have the odd pint along the way.
Across three weekend adventures, the pair travel to West Cornwall in search of Cornish Choughs, waders and transatlantic visitors blown hundreds of miles off course; to North Norfolk, on a wild goose chase for Brent and Pink-footed geese; and finally, to the Somerset Levels, where they stake out Kingfishers, Egrets and the elusive Bittern.
Featuring exquisite photography and breathtaking landscapes, the series is as much about friendship as it is about wildlife. Between sightings, Sam and Ade share thoughtful, funny, and moving conversations on everything from obsession and ageing to acting, childhood memories, losing a parent and the geeky hobbies that have captivated them over the years.
Samuel West shared: “Watching birds is a simple pleasure. At heart, it’s an invitation to connect with the natural world. All you need is a desire to look, listen and enjoy. A pair of binoculars helps; a friend to share it with makes it even better (especially when they’re as much fun as Adrian Edmondson). I’m thrilled that we get to invite the 5 audience along with us on our travels; they’ve already proved how tasteful and clever they are by liking All Creatures Great and Small so much. Welcome to the gentle art of noticing.”
Adrian Edmondson added: “‘I don’t know how I got to be this old without knowing more about birds. It feels like a huge hole in my education. Sam is going to fill me in. And…we get to go to the pub!”
Interview With Adrian Edmondson
What were your first impressions of Sam when you met in 2019?
I met Sam when we both did an episode of Death in Paradise together. He was the murderer; I was his accountant. We formed a very strong bond from the off. We met in arrivals in Guadeloupe airport, it was a Saturday, and we were both looking at our phones to see how our teams had done. He supports AFC Wimbledon and I support Exeter, and when you meet a fellow lower league supporter there’s an immediate shared experience and understanding. And, a shared feeling that we are watching ‘real’ football as compared to the pampered millionaires of the premiership. Lower league supporters can talk to each other in a way premiership supporters can’t. Death in Paradise was a two-week job, but most of our scenes were at the beginning and end of the fortnight, so we saw a lot of each other. We ate and drank and discussed the wider world. By the time we got back to the UK we were actual friends - we started going to the pub and inviting each other round for a BBQ.
How would you describe your friendship?
What is a friend? I think it’s someone that’s easy to talk to, someone with shared values and interests, someone who makes you laugh. By the time Covid came along we kept our friendship going by meeting in the ‘Zoom Arms’ - a virtual pub, whereby we went on Zoom, and both had a drink, and pretended we were in a pub. Our visits to the Zoom Arms were numerous and good fun, and probably very good for us in a mental health sort of way.
It’s quite odd when you make a new friend in later life. I’m in the unfortunate - but very common - position of having lost several friends over the years, so it is very welcome. An advantage over friends I’ve known for ever, is that all my stories are new to Sam, and vice versa.
How did your interest in birds and birding grow with Sam?
I knew he was a keen birder from the start. Even when we were in Guadeloupe, he would get up early to go birding, hiring a guide and trekking miles. Meanwhile I lazed on a sunbed and drank cold lager. The change came for me during that first lockdown. I must admit I really enjoyed it. I’m lucky enough to live in Devon, and the sun shone brightly, and we had a nice bubble with my daughter and her best friend. It was the first time I’d ever really relaxed. There was nothing to be done except sit it out, so I allowed myself the luxury of not caring. I made a new vegetable patch instead. And it was while I was making it that I got interested in birds. There seemed to be birds everywhere as I shifted earth and compost. The trouble was - I didn’t know what any of them were. I felt rather ashamed to have got to my age and not know all the birds in my garden. After robin and mallard, I was pretty much at a loss. There was so much birdsong in the garden, so much activity in the hedges, so I got a guidebook. But it was hard to identify them because they never stand still, and they won’t pose like they do in the book. I asked Sam how to go about it and he put me onto an app that will listen to the bird and tell you what it is. My life was transformed!
And then Sam emails you about a possible TV series…
Yes, cut forward six years and Sam sends me an email saying he’s had a good chat with C5 about making a birding programme and would I like to be involved. He would be the one who knows a lot, I would be the newcomer asking questions. There’s an accepted etiquette in replying to emails like this. Most people leave it a couple of days before writing back to say ‘What an interesting idea…’ I replied immediately. Within five seconds. ‘Yes. I would very much like to do that. When do we start?’
Are you pleased with the results?
It has proved to be as joyful as I anticipated. There’s nothing better than sitting in a hide with a mate, chewing the fat, and occasionally seeing a sight that takes your breath away - like the mating dance of the Great Crested Grebe, the flight of a Marsh Harrier against the setting sun, or a murmuration of Starlings. The beauty of it is that I don’t have to do any homework. My job is to be the voice of all people that are interested but don’t know (most people) and being in the company of such an amiable expert as Sam is a privilege.
How would you describe the dynamics of your birding double-act?
Our two positions probably cover how most people feel about birds, and possibly everything else in life: Sam is keen to see rarities and will travel (quite literally) to the ends of the earth to find them. On the other hand, I’m quite happy to appreciate what’s in front of me. It’s an interesting philosophical divide and gives the programme a much wider scope than just identifying birds in a dry and scientific manner. Sam will be looking for the lesser spotted yellow browed Boston strangler (or whatever), while I’m quite happy with a close-up robin.
What do you love about robins?
I’ve developed a weird affinity for robins over the three episodes. For a while I thought it might be one robin following me around, from Cornwall to Norfolk and back to Somerset, but I think they’re all different. They’re very friendly with humans, and I eventually got one to eat out of my hand
What do you value about your hobbies?
I think hobbies are very important. I think a person without a hobby is not to be trusted - they’re too single-minded. It can be anything - gardening, collecting beer mats, photographing manhole covers - but it’s very necessary. You have to get out of yourself. I paint watercolours, I brew beer, I play many different stringed instruments. Birding is a new hobby, and I think it’s going to last.
How would you describe this series?
‘Larking About’ was one of the proposed titles for the series, and I think it’s quite apt. We are essentially larking about, but larking about with a purpose, the main purpose being to have fun doing it.
Sam & Ade Go Birding starts on Tuesday 14th April at 8pm. Watch|Stream on 5.
Interview/pictures supplied by publicists
