Jake lands rogue role

HE says he's not ready for the fame but it's sure to come a knocking after Shepreth Wildlife Park manager Jake Willers has landed his own wildlife show on Channel Five. Jake was poached by the channel to present a new series - Rogue Raiders - which sees him explore the relationships between humans and animals. Cheetah's, 14ft alligators and hooligan baboons are just some of the animals he encountered on his travels, which took him across the globe. This is not the first time Jake has been on our screens - he has also fronted two series of Insects from Hell shown on the National Geographic Channel. Jake said: "Channel Five is more mainstream, but I don't want to become someone who's known on the street - I'd rather people knew about the park. "So I'm not really ready for the fame!" Jake said one of his scariest moments whilst filming was sitting on a 14 foot alligator. "The producer didn't want me to do it, but I did it anyway, I was well up for it," Jake said. "But I only had a small cane so that was pretty hair raising. "I got bitten by an alligator, but it was only small so not quite as worrying as the 14ft one!" Jake says the six-episode series, which starts on March 9, is a wildlife show with a difference. "Rogue Raiders is a different kind of programme about animals," he said. "It tries to raise peoples' perceptions and tells nice stories which people aren't already aware of. "It's a different type of wildlife show, as it gives a different take on things." But Jake said he himself has learnt a lot from doing the series, and his knowledge is still growing. He said: "Your perceptions can change quite dramatically, as wildlife is always changing." In the future Jake said he would like to visit animals in Madagascar, Papa New Guinea and the mountains in Africa, but was keeping the subjects of the next two series under wraps. He said: "Just keep watching." - You can catch the first episode of Rogue Raiders at 7.15pm.