It's still on right now. Tune in and look at how Chris Packham's fellow presenters interact with him. I am picking up a lot of aggression from the fellow male presenter and the woman next to him seems to be patronising him in her body language and facial expressions. I find it too hard to watch.
Chris has promised not to be actively (vocally) following his campaigns when SpringWatch is on live. I imagine the BBC are running scared about not upsetting a minority that do not support his wildlife campaigns.
So....bottom line, I fear he has been muted at the moment to gauge public opinion. An online petition was raised to get him sacked from the BBC (over 138,000 people had signed it). 
On a positive note.. he received his CBE earlier this month.
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"In every way he is a force of nature, and a skilled communicator. He’s got plenty to say – if he does have a mute button it’s little used – but he’s aware of the potential conflict of interest. “As you know, I am a great champion of the BBC and its impartiality and I am in constant dialogue with them about how to make sure I maintain that impartiality.
“I am not a BBC employee, I am a freelancer who’s recruited to talk about wildlife on TV because it’s a field of – and I use inverted commas here – expertise. BBC viewers expect to see people talking about their subject with authority, whether it’s history, music, cooking, gardening or natural history. And that’s what I continue to do. But you don’t hear me talking about any of this other stuff on Springwatch…”
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I am of the belief that they have muted him for this first episode just in case. I hope the picture improves...
Like most Aspies... we carry the marmite gene. You either love us, or hate us.
They seem to trust Michaela Strachan as his carer and the sections with the two of them together, flow well.
Chris has promised not to be actively (vocally) following his campaigns when SpringWatch is on live. I imagine the BBC are running scared about not upsetting a minority that do not support his wildlife campaigns.
So....bottom line, I fear he has been muted at the moment to gauge public opinion. An online petition was raised to get him sacked from the BBC (over 138,000 people had signed it). On a positive note.. he received his CBE earlier this month.
__
"In every way he is a force of nature, and a skilled communicator. He’s got plenty to say – if he does have a mute button it’s little used – but he’s aware of the potential conflict of interest. “As you know, I am a great champion of the BBC and its impartiality and I am in constant dialogue with them about how to make sure I maintain that impartiality.
“I am not a BBC employee, I am a freelancer who’s recruited to talk about wildlife on TV because it’s a field of – and I use inverted commas here – expertise. BBC viewers expect to see people talking about their subject with authority, whether it’s history, music, cooking, gardening or natural history. And that’s what I continue to do. But you don’t hear me talking about any of this other stuff on Springwatch…”
__
I am of the belief that they have muted him for this first episode just in case. I hope the picture improves...
Like most Aspies... we carry the marmite gene. You either love us, or hate us.
They seem to trust Michaela Strachan as his carer and the sections with the two of them together, flow well.
