Croc Hunter Irwin was a 'showman'

The executive producer of the BBC's Planet Earth series has branded the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin a "showman" more interested in his own stardom than the animal kingdom.

Alastair Fothergill launched an extraordinary attack on the Australian TV star who was killed by a stingray while making a wildlife programme in September.

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"What Steve Irwin did for a living was as different from what we do as it's possible to get," he told the Radio Times.

"Let's face it, Steve was a showman."

"Yes, he introduced a lot of people to natural history, but his basic stock in trade was, 'Aren't I brave, and aren't animals dangerous?' The fact is, I'm not interested in human stars. I'm only interested in animal stars."

Mr Fothergill went on: "The first thing we tell our crews is that if they're in danger, then they're not doing their job."

"The first rule of natural history film-making is that you're there to film the animals' natural behaviour - and attacking humans isn't natural behaviour."

"If they're doing that, it means you've intruded on their world and made them feel threatened."

His comments emerged the day after Irwin's widow Terri fought back tears on stage at the National Television Awards.

She presented a lifetime achievement award to Sir David Attenborough and said he had been her husband's inspiration.

"Of course, as a television wildlife presenter, Steve was larger than life, but his real, true love was conservation," Terri said.

Backstage Sir David paid tribute to Irwin for introducing millions of people to natural history.