Bill Oddie's Biography

 
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Bill Oddie was born William Edgar Oddie in Rochdale on 7 July 1941, but was brought up in Birmingham by his father, an accountant. His mother was sectioned in a psychiatric hospital.

Bill Oddie was one of the many talented comedians and broadcasters who were part of the Cambridge Footlights in their student days.

One of Bill Oddie's most notable TV successes was in the hugely popular 1970s and early '80s comedy The Goodies with Tim Brooke Taylor and Graeme Garden.

Bill Oddie has written and presented many other television programmes, but in recent years has been best known for his presenting of natural history on TV, including programmes like Britain Goes Wild With Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie Goes Wild, Birding With Bill Oddie, Oddie In Paradise, The Great Kenyan Bird Safari, Nature Watch, Springwatch and Autumnwatch.

Bill Oddie has written a great many books - may of them connected to birdwatching.

Together with his second wife, Laura Beaumont, Oddie also writes children's dramas.

The Guardian has a revealing article about Bill Oddie and discusses his appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, where he discovered that his mother had lost a baby during the Second World War.

This interview of Bill Oddie by Simon Hattenstone gives a flavour of the man and his lifestyle. According to Hattenstone:

"He can be a pompous clever-clogs, and he does have a touch of the Larry Davids about him. The great thing is that a) he can see it and b) he admits it."

In January 2009, the BBC revealed that Bill Oddie was taking a break from co-presenting Springwatch.

In March 2009, The Telegraph reported that Bill Oddie had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital to receive treatment for clinical depression.



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