Veteran television presenter Bill Oddie ensured it was a good-ie afternoon at a wildlife park when he opened a new children’s centre.

Mr Oddie, former star of The Goodies and now a presenter of programmes such as Springwatch, visited Shepreth Wildlife Park on Sunday to officially open the park’s new Education and Discovery Centre. The centre exhibits life-size dinosaurs as well as cabinets full of other artefacts.

Before officially unveiling a plaque to mark the opening ceremony, Mr Oddie gave a talk about his own love-affair with wildlife and, more recently, zoos. He also fed the park’s tigers, as well as helping to plant a tree and time capusle for future generations to find.

He said: “There has been a great atmosphere, it’s clear people work here because they love it, the new centre is fantastic. It’s obviously better if children are aware of climate change and places like this will encourage them to learn more.”

The centre includes a play area, arts and craft tables for the younger children and a large seating area and stage surrounded by visual stimulus, including an academic presentations and a model dodo. The centre is also complimented by a collection of live invertebrates and reptiles, which are used by the Education team to enthuse and inspire children and adults.

Lainie Bazzoni, head of education at Shepreth, said: “The new Education and Discovery Centre brings the world of natural history alive and the opportunity for young and old alike to explore the impressive exhibits and attractions that are set alongside the Wildlife Park itself, which is home to many kinds of animals from tigers to meerkats.

“We were very excited to have Bill Oddie here to open the new centre and feed our tigers as well.”