Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Chris Packham

In 1985 Chris Packham hit our screens on BAFTA award-winning The Really Wild Show, after gaining a degree in Zoology from Southampton University and training as a wildlife film cameraman.

He presented the show for nine years, in the process becoming one of CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's most popular and recognisable presenters. During this time Chris set-up his own TV company where he worked on many wildlife shows for ITV, Channel 4, Animal Planet, National Geographic and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.

More recently Chris has returned to his first love, working on and presenting wildlife TV shows, presenting Nature's Calendar and Nature's Top 40.

In June 2009, Chris took over from Bill Oddie as one of the presenters on Springwatch, and subsequently Autumnwatch.

Gordon Buchanan

Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan has spent the last seventeen years filming the wild, the weird and the wonderful animals that we share the planet with, cutting his teeth with renowned filmmaker Nick Gordon. Travelling to some of the most remote areas, he captured images that have inspired the wonder and awe of the natural world.

In more recent years, Gordon has made a name for himself as a highly respected filmmaker, specialising in big cats in particular for the Natural World series including Leopard Hunters and The Tigers Of The Emerald Forest. In 2004, Gordon was also a major contributor to the Big Cat Diary series.

Most recently, Gordon has appeared as a regular guest presenter on both Springwatch and Autumnwatch, bringing his passion and huge experience to the screen, answering viewers' questions and giving a first-hand insight into the footage on screen. He has been part of the hugely successful Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One Natural History expeditions Lost Land Of The Tiger and Lost Land of the Volcano, and in 2011 presented an extraordinary three-part series The Bear Family And Me, following the lives of black bears in Minnesota.

Dr George McGavin

Dr George McGavin is an author, lecturer, television presenter and explorer. George studied Zoology at Edinburgh University before completing a doctorate at the British Museum of Natural History and Imperial College, London.

His research has taken him from the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea to the caves of Thailand. This passion for exploration has seen George shine as co-presenter of the hugely successful Expedition series for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. Last year marked his forth expedition of the series with Lost Land of the Tiger, having previously filmed Lost Land of the Volcano, Lost Land of the Jaguar and Expedition Borneo.

George has also been part of The One Show family, as the show’s resident bug expert, for the past five years.

Dr George McGavin is an Honorary Research Associate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, a Research Associate of The Department of Zoology of Oxford University and Visiting Professor of Entomology at the University of Derby.

Kate Humble

Kate's love of wildlife was nurtured during her childhood in the Berkshire countryside. On leaving school, she spent a year in Africa before returning to London and starting a career in television where she worked her way up the production ladder, eventually becoming a producer.

In 1997 whilst working at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ she was asked to present a film for The Holiday Programme and went on to present many popular series including Rough Science, Animal Park, Abyss Live and Britain Goes Wild.

In 2005 Springwatch hit our screen with Kate Humble, alongside Bill Oddie and Simon King. Following the huge success of Springwatch, Autumnwatch was launched the following year and both series have continued to delight Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two audiences every year since. In 2010 Kate and Adam Henson put their shepherding skills to the test in the series Lambing Live, where Kate joined the Beavan family in Wales for the lambing season. Earlier this year Kate joined the Marston family in Cumbria for the second series.

Kate has also travelled further afield in her recent series The Frankincense Trail and The Spice Trail for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two.

Steve Backshall

As a TV presenter, naturalist and adventurer, Steve has travelled the globe in search of the wild, weird and wonderful.

In 2003, Steve joined the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Natural History Unit, where he was part of the award-winning The Really Wild Show. He then went on to present a plethora of programmes, including Emmy-nominated Expedition Borneo, Expedition Alaska and Lost Land Of The Jaguar.

As wildlife expert on CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's series Deadly 60, Steve has established himself as a popular children's TV Presenter and the third series is currently in production. His new Saturday morning series Live 'N’ Deadly is also in production.

In 2009, Steve was nominated for three BAFTAs – Best Children's Television Presenter, Best Children's series, and Best Factual series for Lost Land Of The Jaguar.

Liz Bonnin

Biochemist and wild animal biologist Liz Bonnin kick-started her television career as an entertainment presenter on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One's Top Of The Pops before returning to her science roots.

Liz has since presented programmes on subjects close to her heart such as Wild Trials, and the four-part science documentary series Science Friction. In addition to her TV work, Liz completed a master's degree in 2008 in Wild Animal Biology and Conservation with the Zoological Society of London.

Liz is currently co-presenting Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One’s cutting-edge science show Bang Goes The Theory, and recently co-presented Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two's six-part documentary series Museum Of Life. Liz has also presented on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One’s Country Tracks, sister programme to the ever-popular Countryfile.

Liz began this year by filming the hugely successful Stargazing Live for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two. As well as Bang Goes The Theory for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One, Liz also presented an exciting new documentary for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Wales, Egypt’s Lost Cities, and presented with the Springwatch team once again this year.

Martin Hughes-Games

Martin has worked in television for 30 years, prior to which he graduated from Reading University with a First Class Honours in Zoology.

What may not be so well known to the viewing public is that Martin has been working on Natural History shows for many years, but behind the scenes as one of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ’s senior producers.

In spring 2009 Martin joined the presenting team of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's successful Springwatch and Autumnwatch strands. Not only acting as a co-presenter on the main programme, he is also the presenter/producer for the show’s offshoot programme Autumnwatch Unsprung and Springwatch Unsprung.

Martin's new series, Nature's Miracle Babies is a new Natural History series for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One and is set to be broadcast this year. It will be a highly emotional, personal journey through the world of captive breeding – exploring the ground-breaking work of pioneering programmes to protect some of the world's most threatened animals.

Vanessa Berlowitz

Vanessa graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Human Sciences. She joined the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Natural History Unit in 1991 as a researcher on the Human Animal series.

Vanessa went on to work on a number of very successful series such as Postcards From The Country and Land Of The Tiger, also producing two programmes for the Animal People strand, including Animals On Call and Anything To Declare.

Additionally Vanessa produced a number of one-off documentaries, such as the award-winning Spiders From Mars and Bear Crime.

In 2000, Vanessa began work on BAFTA-nominated Life of Mammals and went on to make Cave Elephants. Vanessa produced the Mountains and Ice Worlds episodes of Planet Earth.

In June 2007 Vanessa became Series Producer for the sequel series to Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, aiming to create the ultimate portrait of the Polar regions before they melt.

James Honeyborne

James Honeyborne has worked at Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Natural History Unit for the past 20 years and has produced and directed many award-winning wildlife documentaries which have been broadcast around the world, reaching many millions of viewers.

In 2009 James produced and directed the award-winning wildlife drama Meerkats the Movie. The movie, narrated by Paul Newman, was a huge success as the film followed the daily struggles of a family of meerkats in the Kalahari Desert.

The same year also saw James as the co-presenter and wildlife expert on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One's Wildest Dreams, alongside Nick Knowles. He also worked closely with David Attenborough whilst making the series Wildlife On One. James continued his award-winning work with the ongoing strand Natural World.

James is currently making the major five-part landmark TV series Africa for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One, which is due to be aired in 2012 celebrating the wildlife and landscapes of the world’s wildest continent.

Alastair Fothergill

Alastair Fothergill joined the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Natural History Unit in 1983. He has since worked on a wide range of the department's programmes, including the BAFTA award-winning The Really Wild Show, Wildlife On One, and Reefwatch.

Alastair went on to work on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One series The Trials Of Life with David Attenborough and produced Life In The Freezer. While still working on this series, he was appointed Head of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Natural History Unit in November 1992, aged 32.

In June 1998 he stood down as Head of the Unit to concentrate on his role as Series Producer of The Blue Planet and in 2001 Alastair became Director of Development for the Natural History Unit.

In 2002 he co-presented Going Ape, a film that took Alastair to the Ivory Coast in Africa. He produced Deep Blue, and he was recently a presenter and executive producer on the innovative live broadcast Live From The Abyss.

He was Series Producer for the Natural History Unit's hugely successful landmark series Planet Earth, and he is currently Executive Producer on Frozen Planet.

Mike Gunton

Mike Gunton first joined the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ in 1983 and in November 2009 he became the Natural History Unit's first Creative Director.

He has produced exceptional programming, including executive producing the award-winning Life series. Mike also executive produced programmes such as Galapagos, David Attenborough's Life In The Undergrowth, Madagascar, Yellowstone and most recently Ocean's Giants.

During his time as series editor of the Natural World strand from 2001 to 2004, Mike oversaw nearly 60 films. He also recently co-directed the feature film version of Life.

Currently Mike is the executive producer on two major new series for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One – Africa on African wildlife, due for broadcast in 2012 and Survival, charting the great struggles animals face from birth.