Bill Oddie

William Edgar (Bill) Oddie, OBE, MA (Cantab.) (born on July 7, 1941 in Rochdale (then in Lancashire)) is a comedy writer and performer, author, composer and musician. A birdwatcher since his childhood in Birmingham, Oddie has now established a reputation for himself as an ornithologist, conservationist and television presenter on wildlife issues. Some of his books are illustrated with his own paintings and drawings.

Early life

On a 2004 episode of the BBC television series Who Do You Think You Are?, Oddie was invited to investigate his family history. The programme revealed that Oddie was raised primarily by his father after his mother was placed into long term psychiatric care suffering with bipolar disorder; and that his mother had had one miscarriage and then lost another child, a girl, after five days. It was suggested that Oddie's grandmother had prevented his mother from attending to the girl, who was crying. His mother subsequently found the child dead. Oddie speculated that his mother would have felt that his grandmother (whom she lived with) was to blame for the death of her daughter and that this psychological trauma may well have contributed to her mental ill health. For Oddie, who had previously felt that his mother had abandoned him in childhood, "it undemonised her".

Related Topics:
2004 - Television series - Who Do You Think You Are? - Psychiatric care - Bipolar disorder - Miscarriage

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