Michaela Strachan

Why organisations work with Michaela Strachan

• Recognised across forty years of British television, from 1980s Saturday morning audiences to current Springwatch viewers and the 2025 Dancing on Ice final. That cross-generational recognition is unusual for a single broadcaster.
• Decades of on-location wildlife filming with named conservation organisations including SANCCOB in South Africa, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The specialism is built from fieldwork.
• BAFTA Best Children’s Presenter (2005) for Michaela’s Wild Challenge, with co-presenter status on BBC’s flagship Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch since 2011 alongside Chris Packham.
• Live performance pedigree across formats most television presenters never touch. BBC live broadcasts, the 2018 Walking with Dinosaurs arena tour, and the 2025 Dancing on Ice final as the oldest contestant in show history.
• A genuine personal story for resilience and wellbeing briefs as a Breast Cancer Now ambassador, following her own 2014 diagnosis.

Biography highlights

• BAFTA Best Children’s Presenter (2005) for Michaela’s Wild Challenge (Channel 5)
• Co-presenter, BBC Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch (2011 to present), alongside Chris Packham
• Presenter, BBC Countryfile (1999 to 2009)
• Presenter, BBC’s The Really Wild Show (1993 to 2006)
• Presenter for Channel 5, National Geographic and Animal Planet, including Safari Live from Kruger National Park, Big 5 Little 5, Digging for Treasure and Extreme Conservation for BBC World News
• Author, Michaela Strachan’s Really Wild Adventures (2013)
• Finalist, ITV Dancing on Ice (2025), oldest contestant in the show’s history

Biography

Springwatch is one of British television’s most enduring nature programmes. Strachan has co-presented it since 2011 alongside Chris Packham, on location at reserves including Slimbridge and Wild Ken Hill. The role demands what few broadcasters can sustain over fifteen years: holding an audience through serious conservation content without losing either the science or the warmth.

Before Springwatch came ten years on BBC’s Countryfile and thirteen years on The Really Wild Show, the BBC1 children’s wildlife series that ran until 2006. Earlier still, the breakthrough roles in 1980s Saturday morning television. Wide Awake Club and Wacaday with Timmy Mallett, then late-night music as the ‘Her’ in The Hitman and Her with Pete Waterman.

The presenting craft is BAFTA-validated. She won Best Children’s Presenter at the 2005 British Academy Children’s Awards for Michaela’s Wild Challenge on Channel 5. International filming with SANCCOB, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust gives her the fieldwork credentials behind the broadcasting craft.

Audiences from forty years of British television recognise her on stage. That reach is unusual. Sustainability and conservation briefs benefit from a host with subject knowledge to back the warmth. Resilience and wellbeing programmes can draw on her work as a Breast Cancer Now ambassador after her own 2014 diagnosis. Few television presenters span Wide Awake Club, Springwatch and the Dancing on Ice final.

Key speaking topics

• Wildlife and conservation
• Climate and sustainability communication
• Hosting and moderating live events
• Personal resilience and reinvention
• Breast cancer awareness and recovery
• Television and broadcasting craft

Ideal for

• Sustainability conferences, climate events and ESG forums needing a credible host who is comfortable with the subject matter
• Wildlife festivals, conservation fundraisers and environmental charities
• Awards ceremonies, gala dinners and corporate emcee briefs that benefit from a familiar British television voice
• Health, wellbeing and women’s events drawing on personal cancer recovery and resilience themes

Audience outcomes

• A grounded picture of what conservation actually looks like behind the camera, from Borneo orangutan rescues to penguin colonies in South Africa
• Stories of professional reinvention across forty years on television, useful for audiences thinking about long careers and second acts
• A clear, generous account of life through a breast cancer diagnosis and recovery
• Behind-the-scenes detail on how Springwatch and other live nature broadcasts are actually made