THE BBC2 Television series ?Springwatch?, being filmed near Hatherleigh, has given a tremendous boost to the local economy. Ian Sargent, owner of Fishleigh Estate, from where the popular series is being broadcast live across the UK, also described the programme as ?a great advert for this part of Devon?. Springwatch, presented by Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and Simon King, last Thursday attracted a peak audience of 3.8 million viewers and averages around three million nightly. Miles of cable and masses of cameras in nestboxes, badger setts and many locations in between at the award-winning Fishleigh Estate are helping to bring wildlife straight into people?s living rooms. A temporary village has been set up in a corner of the estate where a team of around 100 people are involved in making the show. The BBC has more than 60 cameras dotted around the farm ? more than the corporation?s outside broadcast team will take to this year?s Wimbledon. The show ends its three-week run with its last broadcast tonight (Thursday) at 8pm on BBC2. Ian Sargent said it was a ?great accolade? for the farm that the BBC had decided to come back again for a second year to make the follow-up to last year?s ground-breaking Britain Goes Wild series. He said: ?The BBC are probably the best in the world for outside broadcasting, and they are making a wonderful programme here that I think is a great advert for this part of Devon for the millions of people who are watching it.? Mr Sargent said having a film crew broadcasting from the farm was a great justification for the extensive conservation work carried out at Fishleigh over the last five years. ?It?s a tremendous boost for the local economy too, having all the crew here as they are all staying locally.? There are 221 nestboxes around the estate, with 97 different species of bird identified on the farm. A 16th century barn has been converted into a studio where Bill Oddie and Kate Humble monitor live footage from around the farm mixed with video of wildlife from other parts of the UK. The programme has scored highly in terms of audience appreciation, recently polling a rating second only to the final episode of US hit Desperate Housewives. The ambitious live programme has cost £3-million, and the BBC has so far received requests for 160,000 Breathing Space packs which offer viewers tips on how to create space for nature on their own doorstep. Mr Sargent said he had enjoyed having the BBC on the estate but he recognised the programme had to evolve and if the producers did ask to come back next year, it would be unlikely to be on quite the same scale as this year. He said since the first series the estate had held a lot of educational walks with local schools and they were keen to continue to develop their educational facilities in the future. Fishleigh is a working organic farm which sells its meat through the Moorland Farm Shop at Whiddon Down.