Foxes Live: Wild in the City

With millions of other viewers, I went fox hunting last night.

Calm down, calm down. Hunting to see them, not the 'sport'. This new series, could quite easily be called Spring Watch - were it not for the lack of Kate Humble and Cwiss Packham – and for the lack of foliage. Shot at the derelict Battersea powerstation, with plasma TV screens and a computer control room, it looked more like some Doomsday report spliced with Crimewatch.

For many of us, the only fox we ever want to encounter is Basil Brush. That is certainly the case for anyone out there who may keep chickens on their land.

One such poultry-keeper, Daniel, managed to detain an urban fox – nicknamed Chico – that had slaughtered five of his 11 chickens. For many of us, the only Chico we ever want to encounter . . . I digress.

Well, cheeky Chico was entrusted to an RSPCA inspector and now, kitted out with a tracking device, has been released back on the mean streets.

You could almost hear him singing "I feel like chicken tonight, chicken tonight" as he scurried away.

Natasha Davids, from Fulham, used to let a wild fox into her house, recording her visits on Facebook. This all stopped when the cunning blighter took a shine to Natasha's feet – on two occasions, nipping her toes. "He even took one of my Alexander McQueen shoes," she exclaimed. Stop shouting insurance job you lot.

Around the country, dens with webcams have been set up over the last few months. In one such den, we saw footage from mid to late March, with Matt Thompson's footage showing the mother caring for her cubs. What starts as an interesting insight into the development of the healthy little cubs, turns so tragic. All three cubs perish in the space of a few hours, possibly as a result of poisoning. Genuinely moving stuff.

Back in the studio, all was glum. What had started out as observation of play, decended into uncomfortable viewing. A week later, Matt was surprised to find new footage of cubs. From the dark events that had preceded, fresh hope emerges. A new family has occupied the den. A healthy vixen, and five bright-eyed cubs, share the home with the mother of the three that died just a few days before. She even helps to feed the pack.

Back in Manchester, the tracking of Chico has begun – well, in a fashion. Apparently, so many wanted to see what the fox was doing last night, the system crashed. What time is it? Well, not Chico time for now.

Bizarrely, we met Geoff Grewcock, an animal rescue centre manager from Nuneaton.

Ordinarily, Geoff releases the animals he cares for back into the wild. One such rescued fox, named Roxy, is too tame to be released. Now 11 years old, Roxy can regularly be seen as she is walked around the streets of Nuneaton.

I'm not sure how I felt about seeing toddlers and babies in strollers as they stroked the pretty vixen, but Roxy certainly knows how to draw the crowds.

Love or loathe them, this programme didn't seem to try to sway your opinion either way. However, what it did do was let us delve into the world of Fantastic Mr (and Mrs) Fox in a way that has never been achieved before.

Paul Naylor