Jeremy Wade River Monsters tour is hailed a huge success

Jeremy Wade is already considering returning to the road after his first national theatre tour got off to a flying start.
The River Monsters presenter kicked off a 13-date schedule last week and says its early success could pave the way for future talks across the country.
Speaking to Angling Times after gigs in Leatherhead and Canterbury, Jeremy said: “It’s not quite rock ‘n’ roll – I haven’t thrown a TV out of a hotel window or driven a tour bus into a swimming pool yet – but it has started very well. The first night was pretty near full, which they say is very unusual for just one person talking.
“It’s really gratifying to see the numbers turning up. A few venues have sold out and in Cheltenham, where it sold out very quickly, we are now in the main hall and more tickets have been made available.
“I was fairly up to the wire with learning it because the time I was meant to use for preparation was spent finishing off the programmes we shot last year for the new series, but it has been really enjoyable.”
The former biology teacher added: “At the start of each show I ask the audience how many of them are anglers and it has been roughly a 50:50 split so far. That’s the sort of balance we intended to achieve with the television series but this tour gives us an opportunity to be quantitative about it.”
The show – featuring unseen clips, questions and answers, and live demonstrations involving audience members – will end in Tamworth on March 24, but Jeremy is open to future tours.
He said: “It has taken quite a lot of preparation and has taken up the slack in my year but having done it once it would be easier another time round. I would say quite possibly I would do it again, probably going to Wales, Scotland and places that have missed out this time.”
For tour dates and tickets visit www.rivermonsters.tv