Steve Backshall

Infobox Celebrity
name = Steve Backshall


caption = Expedition Borneo (BBC)
birth_date = birth date and age|1973|04|21
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occupation = Naturalist, writer and TV presenter
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Steve Backshall is a British naturalist, writer and television presenter, notably on National Geographic Channel's "EarthPulse" program, Children's BBC's "The Really Wild Show", Discovery and BBC TVs series "Lost Land of the Jaguar", "Expedition Alaska", "Wilderness St Kilda" and "Expedition Borneo". He is also an author with the Rough Guides.

For National Geographic International, Steve presented the expedition series "Game For It" and the environmental series "EarthPulse". UK television viewers saw Steve travelling up Australia’s east coast from Tasmania to Cape Tribulation for his first series of "The Really Wild Show". In the next series he then went on to travel around Central America, the Galapagos, and then Southern Africa for the last ever series in 2006. Steve competed with fellow naturalist Nick Baker in a series of wildlife challenges, with long-standing host Michaela Strachan.

On-air adventures in 2006 included Sky One’s "Inside the King Cobra" and the BBC's "Expedition Borneo" (in search of new species). In 2007, the BBC expedition team headed to Guyana for "Lost Land of the Jaguar", during which Backshall took part in the first expedition ever to successfully climb Mount Upuigma, [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/latin_america/article2837116.ece "Conquering a virgin Venezuelan tepui"] , "The Times", November 11, 2007] and Steve also filmed "Extreme Caving" for BBC One with Kate Humble and "Secret Wilderness Japan" for BBC Two. During this time he also presented Nature Reports for the BBC's "The One Show". [ [http://www.josarsby.com/stevebackshall.html Jo Sarsby Management: Steve Backshall] ]

Between 28 May and 15 June 2007, he co-presented "Springwatch Trackers" alongside Kirsten O'Brien. Transmitted live on BBC Two from the "Springwatch" farm in Devon and repeated later in the day on the CBBC Channel, teams of boys and girls were set a series of Tracker challenges.

Steve is a rock climber and mountaineer, and does adventure races, fell runs and endurance sports. He ran the Marathon Des Sables in 2005 to raise money for the Wolftrust [ [http://www.wolftrust.org/stevebackshall Wolftrust] ] and has a black belt in judo. [ [http://www.myspace.com/stevebackshall MySpace.com: Steve Backshall] ] His book "Venom: Poisonous Creatures in the Natural World" was published by in 2007. [New Holland Publishers. ISBN 9781845377342] Steve lived in Japan for one year.

In July 2008, Steve fell 10m onto rocks after attempting to climb a steep cliff face which was wet from an earlier rainfall.The accident took place at the Wye Valley in the Forest of Dean.The force of the impact sent his heel bone straight through the bottom of his foot, while the jolt dislocated his ankle and fractured two vertebrae in his back. Luckily there was no spinal chord damage or Steve could have been left permanently paralysed from the neck down. He was taken to the Bristol Royal Infirmary, where it was confirmed that he should be fully recovered six weeks after the accident.

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/wild/rws/steve Biography]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/wild/rws/ "The Really Wild Show"]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1584127/ Steve Backshall on IMDb]
* [http://www.myspace.com/stevebackshall Steve's Myspace page]