Gillian Burke

Last updated

Gillian Burke
Born1974or1975(age 48–49)
NationalityKenyan/British
Alma mater University of Bristol
Occupation(s)producer, TV presenter
Years active2000–present
Children2

Gillian Burke (born 1974or1975 [1] ) is a natural history television programme presenter, producer and voiceover artist. [2] She is best known for co-presenting BBC nature series Springwatch and its spin-offs since 2017.

Contents

Career

Burke studied biology at Bristol University, and subsequently worked as a researcher for the BBC's Natural History Unit. [3] She worked as a producer and director on several series for Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel, and as a voiceover artist, [4] before becoming a regular presenter on Springwatch in 2017. [3] As part of her role, Burke has also presented its seasonal spin-offs Autumnwatch and Winterwatch.

In 2019, she hosted Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved (Animal Planet), and in 2020 narrated Thailand's Wild Side (National Geographic Channel). [5] [6] [7] In 2020, Burke became vice president of the Wildlife Trusts. [8] In 2022, Burke took a break from presenting The Watches programmes due to schedules clashing between roles.

Personal life

Burke was born in Kenya, and moved to Vienna at the age of ten. [8] Her ancestry is Afro-Trinidadian, Seminole, Mauritian and Somalian; her mother was a journalist and worked with the United Nations. [9] As a teenager, she developed an interest in wildlife through photography. She now lives in Cornwall with her two children. [3] She is an ambassador of the rainforest protection charity Cool Earth. [10]

Related Research Articles

The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, and has a long association with David Attenborough's authored documentaries, starting with 1979's Life on Earth.

Springwatch, Autumnwatch until 2022 and Winterwatch, sometimes known collectively as The Watches, are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The programmes are broadcast live from locations around the country in a primetime evening slot on BBC Two. They require a crew of 100 and over 50 cameras, making them the BBC's largest British outside broadcast events. Many of the cameras are hidden and operated remotely to record natural behaviour, for example, of birds in their nests and badgers outside their sett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michaela Strachan</span> British television presenter

Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan is an English television presenter. She is best known for her work with wildlife series such as The Really Wild Show and Springwatch. She lives in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Humble</span> British television presenter and narrator

Katherine Mary Humble is an English television presenter and narrator, mainly working for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes. Humble served as president of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) from 2009 until 2013. She is an ambassador for the UK walking charity Living Streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Packham</span> British naturalist

Christopher Gary Packham CBE is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work including the CBBC children's nature series The Really Wild Show from 1986 to 1995. He has also presented the BBC nature series Springwatch, including Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, since 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nature documentary</span> Documentary film genre

A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures. Nature documentaries usually concentrate on video taken in the subject's natural habitat, but often including footage of trained and captive animals, too. Sometimes they are about wildlife or ecosystems in relationship to human beings. Such programmes are most frequently made for television, particularly for public broadcasting channels, but some are also made for the cinema. The proliferation of this genre occurred almost simultaneously alongside the production of similar television series which is distributed across the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Marven</span> British television presenter

Nigel Alan Marven is a British wildlife TV presenter, naturalist, conservationist, author, and television producer. He is best known as presenter of the BBC miniseries Chased by Dinosaurs, its sequel, Sea Monsters, as well as the ITV miniseries Prehistoric Park. He is also known for his unorthodox, spontaneous, and daring style of presenting wildlife documentaries as well as for including factual knowledge in the proceedings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Bonnin</span> French-born Irish television presenter (born 1976)

Elizabeth Bonnin is a French-Irish science, wildlife and natural history presenter, who has worked on television in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. She presented morning show RI:SE and music show Top of the Pops in the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Backshall</span> British naturalist

Stephen James Backshall is a British naturalist, explorer, presenter and writer, best known for BBC TV's Deadly 60.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arne RSPB reserve</span> Nature reserve in Dorset, England

Arne RSPB reserve is a 5.634-square-kilometre (1,392-acre) nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) maintained by the RSPB and located in Dorset. It was notified as an SSSI in 1986 and the estuarine reedbeds within the site are designated as a national nature reserve. The reserve occupies the Arne Peninsula, which protrudes into Poole Harbour. Adjacent to the site is the village of Arne, although the nearest major settlement is the town of Wareham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Dilger</span>

Mike Dilger is an English ecologist, television presenter and the wildlife reporter on the BBC television programme The One Show. He attended the University of Nottingham and UCNW Bangor in north Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Buchanan</span> British filmmaker

Gordon John Buchanan is a Scottish wildlife cameraman, filmmaker and presenter. His work includes the nature documentaries Tribes, Predators & Me, The Polar Bear Family & Me and Life in the Snow.

<i>Green Balloon Club</i> British TV series or programme

Green Balloon Club is a British children's factual television program that started on CBeebies on 20 June 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Hughes-Games</span> British television presenter and producer

Martin Hughes-Games is a natural history programme producer, presenter and author. He is best known for co-presenting the BBC magazine-style nature series Springwatch and its spin-offs, Winterwatch, Autumnwatch, and Springwatch Unsprung.

Planet Earth Live is a live-action nature documentary screened on British television. Produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and broadcast in May 2012, the programme was presented by Richard Hammond and Julia Bradbury.

Lindsey Katherine Chapman is an English television and radio presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jess French</span> British television personality, veterinarian and author

Jess French is a British television personality, veterinarian and author. She is the presenter of a television programme called Minibeast Adventure with Jess which has aired on CBeebies. French is also a best-selling children's author and a regular contributor to science and literary festivals such as Hay Festival, Edinburgh festival, Cheltenham Science Festival, Bath Festival of Children's Literature and Norwich Science Festival and printed press such as The Guardian, BBC Wildlife, The Week.

Lucy Cooke is a British zoologist, author, television producer, director, and presenter.

Megan McCubbin is an English zoologist, conservationist, photographer and television presenter.

References

  1. "Meet Winterwatch's new presenter Gillian Burke". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  2. "CREDITS". Gillian Burke.
  3. 1 2 3 "Meet Winterwatch's new presenter Gillian Burke".
  4. "Who is Winterwatch presenter Gillian Burke?". Caroline Westbrook. Metro. 30 January 2019.
  5. "Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved, TV".
  6. "Thailand's Wild Side" via www.imdb.com.
  7. "An Evening with Gillian Burke - Talks - What's On - The Poly at Falmouth". thepoly.org.
  8. 1 2 Trewhela, Lee (1 December 2020). "TV presenter didn't feel she belonged until moving to Cornwall". CornwallLive. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  9. Gray, Interview by Susan (29 September 2017). "Gillian Burke: 'I am a product of generations of people moving between continents'". The Guardian via www.theguardian.com.
  10. "Ambassadors". Cool Earth. Retrieved 6 May 2020.