Bill Oddie: Comedian who found nature a welcome refuge from mental illness
However, his father Harry had made good, moved to Birmingham and worked as an accountant at the Midlands Electricity Board.The comedian later said his father's work ethic greatly influenced his approach to his own career. But Bill saw little of his mother Lillian during his childhood.She had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent much of her time in hospital. A version of this episode won the Silver Rose at Montreux TV Festival in 1972.Oddie composed a number of comic songs for the series, often parodies of contemporary pop music.
- ▪However, his father Harry had made good, moved to Birmingham and worked as an accountant at the Midlands Electricity Board.The comedian later said his father's work ethic greatly influenced his approach to his own career.
- ▪But Bill saw little of his mother Lillian during his childhood.She had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent much of her time in hospital.
- ▪A version of this episode won the Silver Rose at Montreux TV Festival in 1972.Oddie composed a number of comic songs for the series, often parodies of contemporary pop music.
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| Original publisher | BBC News — UK |
| Canonical URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nnkylr0llo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss |
| Publication time | Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:11:20 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-27T16:36:29.596Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-27T16:36:29.596Z |
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Bill Oddie: Comedian who found nature a welcome refuge from mental illnessImage source, Getty ImagesBySam WoodhousePublished27 July 2026, 10:51 BSTUpdated 24 minutes agoBill Oddie, who has died at the age of 85, was one of Britain's best known comedians and naturalists.A product of the Cambridge Footlights, the cradle of so much post-war British comedy, he shot to fame in the 1970s as a member of the anarchic Goodies.Bird watching was a lifelong passion and he moved into presenting nature programmes, including the BBC's Springwatch.But his life was plagued by bouts of acute depression which caused repeated admissions to psychiatric hospitals - where Oddie suffered from severe lithium poisoning as a result of his treatment.Image caption, A beardless Bill Oddie (R) with the cast of I'm…
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