Drabble, a king of the countryside, dies at 93

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Phil Drabble, author and presenter of the TV series One Man And His Dog for 17 years, has died aged 93. At its peak the show that covered sheepdog trials attracted eight million viewers, to the amazement of its host.

When he finally quit in 1993 he said: "It gets boring watching dogs chase stroppy sheep around the same sort of course.

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Phil Drabble at Buckingham Palace after receiving his OBE from the Queen in 1993

"After 17 years it's difficult to keep my enthusiasm for the subject and come up with original things to say.

"When the BBC first asked me to present the programme I refused because I thought it would be too boring for words. The viewers didn't think so, but I'm amazed it's lasted this long."

One Man And His Dog first appeared in 1976 and was filmed in Ennerdale, Cumbria. It was cancelled in 1999.

Renowned for his forthright opinions, the presenter notoriously referred to ramblers as "the woolly hat brigade" and the then Ministry of Agriculture as "monumental incompetents".

In 1990, the only female winner of the competition, Katy Cropper, then 28, complained of sexism after the presenter described her as "curvaceous Katy".

However, even the Queen once sought his expertise on wildlife matters.

Mr Drabble confided: "She was having trouble with her liberty budgies at Windsor being attacked by hawks and, although she is a good naturalist, she wanted my advice."

The Staffordshire-born naturalist, who died at his home on Monday, was awarded an OBE in 1993. He was author of 18 wildlife books and a stalwart of radio's Any Questions.

He rarely travelled abroad and never lived more than 20 miles from his place of birth.

Mr Drabble and his late wife Jess, who died 18 months ago, lived on a 90-acre woodland nature reserve in Burton- on-Trent, Staffordshire.

BBC2 Controller Roly Keating, said: "Phil will be remembered with deep affection and gratitude by millions of viewers and listeners who will mourn his passing."

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