Lord of the Rings star Sean Bean to host award-winning birdwatching podcast

Hollywood actor Sean Bean is set to host an award-winning podcast dedicated to birdwatching, a pursuit he describes as a lifelong passion.

The Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings star will front Get Birding, with its inaugural episode scheduled for release this Thursday.

The podcast aims to demystify birdwatching and nature, making it both accessible and enjoyable for a broad audience. Previously hosted by Mya-Rose Craig, she will return to the series in a new capacity, mentoring Bean.

Listeners can expect to hear Bean recount his own birding adventures, alongside those of his celebrity guests. The first episode features Elbow frontman and BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Guy Garvey.

Bean shared his personal connection to the hobby, stating: "It might come as a surprise to many, but I was a keen birder as a teenager growing up on a Sheffield estate, and spent many happy hours seeing what I could spot in our gardens and surrounding fields with my friends.

“In a busy world, birdwatching is a great way to connect with nature and relax, and I am excited to pick up my binoculars and go on this adventure with the Get Birding community – from seasoned birders, to those wanting to give it a try."

The 66-year-old, whose other credits include Goldeneye and TV series Sharpe, recently starred alongside Daniel Day-Lewis in Anemone, as the Oscar-winning actor made a return to the screen after an eight-year hiatus.

Bean, who is from Yorkshire, said the pair spent several days together in Ireland before filming, though joked: “I think it was only because [Day-Lewis] was trying to copy my accent.”

He told This Morning, Day-Lewis was “very clever” and that he would have “done the same” if the roles were reversed.

The actor recently backed a campaign to save green belt land where he played as a child, saying proposed housing developments would be a “tragedy”.

Bean was brought up in the Handsworth area of Sheffield, where 1,638 houses have been allocated on green belt land as part of the city council’s draft local plan.

The plan is due to be scrutinised at public hearings starting next week, and a campaign group has been raising money for planning consultants and lawyers to help them oppose the Handsworth proposals.

He praised the “incredible” efforts of Save S13 Greenbelt – The Sapphire McCarthy Campaign, adding: “We’re not going to stop. We’ll see this through.”

New episodes of Get Birding will be released fortnightly, complemented by additional content on the accompanying YouTube channel, @GetBirdingUK.