BBC presenter Chris Packham and Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston lead this year’s Oxford Literary Festival lineup.

The event began over the weekend and runs until Sunday.

Packham will appear alongside Philip Lymbery at the Sheldonian Theatre on Saturday afternoon at 2pm.

The naturalist, broadcaster, author, photographer, conservationist, campaigner and filmmaker has built his reputation on environmental and animal welfare advocacy.

His television work includes Springwatch and Earth for the BBC alongside Channel 4’s Is it Time to Break the Law?

He operates independent initiatives focused on restoring natural habitats and eliminating cruelty to animals. Packham also champions neurodiversity awareness, particularly regarding autism.

His published works encompass Chris Packham’s Birdwatching Guide: From Beginner to Birder and the memoir Fingers in the Sparkle Jar.

Eccleston, who portrayed the ninth Doctor in 2005, will sit down for a discussion with Oxford Brookes University Chancellor Paterson Joseph on Sunday at 4pm, also at the Sheldonian Theatre.

The Manchester-born actor revived the Time Lord for television audiences with the well-received ninth iteration, delighting science fiction enthusiasts.

Appearing opposite Billie Piper’s character Rose Tyler, the pair became two of Britain’s most recognisable personalities.

Eccleston’s career-defining role came as left-wing activist Nicky Hutchinson in the acclaimed 1990s BBC series Our Friends in the North.

His cinematic credits include the lead part in Jude, an adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel, as well as appearances in 24 Hour Party People and 28 Days Later.

Additional notable events feature presentations from wildlife presenter and historian Sir Simon Schama, Paddington and Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville, poet Pam Ayres, and children’s writer Michael Rosen.

Lymbery serves as chief executive of Compassion in World Farming and is the author of Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future and Dead Zone: Where the Wild Things Were.

Ayres, who hails from Stanford in the Vale near Wantage, took to the Sheldonian stage on Sunday to discuss her newest collection Doggedly Onward: A Life in Poems.

The collection maps her existence from the 1970s through to the present day via verse.

The popular wordsmith explained that the verses follow her journey from a young woman managing romantic interests through marriage and the mixed emotions of motherhood to becoming a doting grandmother.

They document her passion for canines, wildlife and travel alongside her errors, reflections and the ageing process.

Ayres launched her broadcasting career at BBC Radio Oxford during the 1970s and debuted on television in 1975.

She has since been entertaining the nation with her poetry.

Her successful collections include The Works, Surgically Enhanced, You Made Me Late Again! and The Last Hedgehog. She has also released an autobiography titled The Necessary Aptitude.

On Monday at the Sheldonian, distinguished historian Sir Simon Schama delivered a presentation titled The History of Antisemitism: A Warning for Today.

Schama examined the roots of antisemitism and its dangers to global communities.

He addressed how remembrance of the six million Jews who perished during wartime Europe is diminishing and how antisemitic sentiment has escalated since October 7, 2023.

Schama holds the position of university professor of art history and history at Columbia University.

His acclaimed publications include Citizens, A History of Britain, The Power of Art, and The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words (1000 BCE – 1492).

He has created and presented over 50 documentaries for the BBC, covering topics such as Tolstoy, Jewish history, and serving as co-presenter for the significant series on global art history titled Civilisations.

This marked the inaugural event of an annual antisemitism lecture series to be staged at the festival.

This year there was no central marquee – the primary festival space occupies Blackwell Hall at the Bodleian’s Weston Library on Broad Street, facing the Sheldonian Theatre, which serves as the main venue. The festival green room is situated at Exeter College.

The Telegraph is backing this year’s event.