TV star Jim Murray becomes Angling Trust Ambassador

Actor Jim Murray, founder of conservation group Activist Anglers, has accepted an invitation to become an Angling Trust ambassador.

Jim, who admits his passion for salmon fishing is “borderline obsessive”, has tirelessly campaigned to protect chalkstreams and other rivers from pollution and abstraction as well as championing the work to halt the decline of the Atlantic Salmon for many years.

He is currently playing Colonel Harding in Apple TV’s highly anticipated Masters of the Air, as well as past roles in Netflix The Crown (Prince Andrew), Primeval, Suspects, Cucumber, and Medici. Jim also directed and co-presented with Robson Green ITV’s Robson and Jim’s Icelandic Flyfishing Adventure, a passion project about the therapeutic values of flyfishing set in the bountiful rivers of Iceland.

Jim joked: “I’ve made a good living out of dressing up all my adult life!”

When he is ‘resting’ he loves nothing more than immersing himself in the serious business of flyfishing and through his other passion painting, has also been known to wrestle his aquatic experiences down on to canvas to quite some effect. He founded Activist Anglers as a way of giving back to the rivers what they’ve given him over the years.

Married to actress Sarah Parish, their first child Ella-Jane was born five weeks premature and died in January 2009 aged eight months due to a congenital heart defect. In memory of their daughter, the couple founded The Murray Parish Trust to raise funds for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in Southampton Hospital where Ella-Jayne spent almost half of her life. To date, over £5 million has been raised for the advancement of paediatric emergency medicine across the South of England.

“When I lost my first daughter EJ 15 years ago, nothing was helping me through the grief,” added Jim. “So, I went back to the river to figure it out and little by little the mesmeric simplicity of casting a line whilst enveloped in nature’s glory pulled me through that difficult period.

“For that reason, I owe the rivers everything, and will always be a huge advocate for angling. If you let it, fishing really can offer community, friendship, joy, and mental wellbeing. See you down there!”

Jamie Cook, Angling Trust CEO, said: “As a passionate angler, Jim not only knows the importance of healthy rivers but has proved to be a leading advocate for getting anglers involved in campaigning for clean waters. Along with the Hampshire River Keepers Association, Jim has been at the forefront of recent work to fight against the proposed dumping of tankered sewage into the River Test, proving once again that he is an Activist Angler by deed as well as by word. I am delighted to welcome him as an Angling Trust ambassador and look forward to his contributions for many years to come.”

Become an Activist Angler – click to find out more