Steve Backshall
Stephen James Backshall (born 21 April 1973) is a British naturalist, explorer, television presenter, and author specializing in wildlife documentation and adventure expeditions.[1] Best known for hosting the CBBC series Deadly 60, which explores venomous and predatory animals worldwide, Backshall has presented numerous BBC programs featuring hands-on encounters with dangerous wildlife, including diving with great white sharks and scaling volcanoes.[2] Raised in Bagshot, Surrey, on a smallholding with rescue animals, he developed an early interest in nature before backpacking across Asia, India, and Africa, and later studying biology through the Open University in 2000.[2] His career advanced through roles with National Geographic as Adventurer in Residence and contributions to the BBC Natural History Unit, leading to acclaimed series such as Expedition with Steve Backshall on PBS, where he has achieved multiple world firsts in exploring remote terrains.[3] Backshall has received multiple BAFTA awards, including for Best Children's Television Presenter and Best Factual Series, along with a Gold Blue Peter badge and an honorary PhD for his contributions to natural history education and conservation advocacy.[2] As an author, he has produced children's books and non-fiction works on wildlife, such as the Falcon Chronicles series, and serves as president of Buglife, the invertebrate conservation charity.[3] His expeditions emphasize empirical observation of animal behavior in natural habitats, often involving physical challenges like canoeing record distances or trekking uncharted caves, without reliance on sensationalized narratives.[4]Early life and education
Childhood influences and family
Stephen James Backshall was born on 21 April 1973 in Bagshot, Surrey, England.[5][1] He grew up on a ramshackle smallholding in the village, where his family kept various animals, providing hands-on exposure to rural life and wildlife from an early age.[6][5] This environment shaped his formative interests, emphasizing practical engagement with nature over formalized instruction.[6] Backshall's parents, both employed by an airline, facilitated family travels to destinations including India and Africa, exposing him to diverse ecosystems and exotic species that ignited his lifelong pursuit of exploration and natural history.[7][8] These trips, combined with the self-reliant ethos of smallholding life, encouraged outdoor independence and curiosity-driven observation.[6] A key literary influence was Gerald Durrell, whose adventure books Backshall credits as a childhood hero, inspiring his affinity for animal collection and global wildlife encounters akin to Durrell's own narratives.[9] He shares this passion with his sister, Jo Backshall, who similarly embraced interests in the natural world.[10]Schooling and early explorations
Backshall attended Collingwood College, a comprehensive school in Camberley, Surrey, where his interest in wildlife began to solidify through personal exploration rather than formal curricula.[11] [12] He later completed his sixth form studies at Brooklands College in Weybridge, Surrey, focusing on subjects that aligned with his emerging passion for adventure and the natural world, though not specialized in biology at that stage.[5] Following secondary education, Backshall embarked on independent backpacking travels at age 18, prior to university, traversing Asia, India, and Africa solo to immerse himself in diverse ecosystems and observe wildlife directly.[9] [13] These unguided journeys, funded through personal means and odd jobs, allowed him to develop practical survival skills, including animal tracking and navigation in remote terrains, prioritizing firsthand empirical encounters over structured academic training.[9] Such experiences underscored his preference for experiential learning, honed through challenges like extended hikes and adaptation to unpredictable environments without institutional support.[13]Professional career
Pre-television expeditions and writing
Backshall entered professional exploration through travel writing in the late 1990s, following his studies and time in Japan, where he contributed to Rough Guides publications on Indonesia and Southeast Asia based on firsthand expeditions to remote regions.[14] These assignments involved documenting practical travel logistics, cultural sites, and natural hazards in areas like West Papua, which he accessed by extending self-funded trips originally planned for guidebook research.[15] His contributions emphasized verifiable details on terrain challenges, such as dense jungles and unstable paths, rather than exaggerated political risks, drawing from direct observations to inform reader safety without sensationalism.[16] To compile material, Backshall conducted bootstrapped journeys across multiple countries, prioritizing encounters with venomous species and isolated ecosystems to capture behavioral data unfiltered by prior narratives.[17] These efforts, often reliant on personal savings and freelance gigs, spanned destinations in Southeast Asia and beyond, yielding accounts of animal interactions grounded in empirical notes on habitat dynamics and predatory patterns.[9] For instance, while authoring sections on Indonesian locales, he navigated high-risk environments to record factual wildlife distributions, highlighting causal factors like elevation and vegetation density over alarmist environmental tropes.[15] By the early 2000s, Backshall shifted toward multimedia pitches, self-filming snake captures in jungles to demonstrate expedition capabilities, marking a pivot from print documentation to broadcast pursuits while maintaining a commitment to evidence-based reporting of natural risks.[17] This pre-television phase established his expertise in unmediated field assessment, influencing later work by underscoring the primacy of direct causal observation in assessing ecological threats.[14]Television presenting and series
Backshall began his television career with National Geographic Channels International, presenting the environmental series EarthPulse from 2001 to 2003, which explored global ecological issues through fieldwork.[18] In 2003, he transitioned to the BBC Natural History Unit, contributing to the children's wildlife program The Really Wild Show until 2006, where he introduced young audiences to exotic animals via adventurous segments.[2] His breakthrough came with Deadly 60, a CBBC series debuting in 2009, in which Backshall traveled across six continents to document and handle 60 of the world's most dangerous animals live on camera, emphasizing their ecological roles rather than mere peril to foster appreciation for biodiversity among youth viewers.[19] The program attracted over 25 million unique viewers in the UK, equivalent to 44% of the population, demonstrating its success in engaging children through high-stakes adventure that highlighted real-world predator-prey dynamics and conservation needs.[20] The Deadly franchise expanded with spin-offs like Deadly Pole to Pole (2013–2014), where Backshall traversed from the Arctic to Antarctica, encountering extreme wildlife in remote habitats to underscore environmental extremes and species adaptations.[21] Later, Expedition with Steve Backshall (2019–2022) shifted focus to undiscovered terrains, with Backshall leading teams into uncharted canyons and rivers in locations such as Oman and Bhutan, combining physical challenges with wildlife observation to reveal hidden ecosystems.[22] In recent years, Backshall has produced specialized documentaries including Shark with Steve Backshall (2021) for Sky Nature, diving with various shark species to debunk myths and advocate evidence-based conservation, followed by Whale with Steve Backshall (2024) for BBC, exploring cetacean behaviors and evolutionary insights through close underwater encounters.[23][24] These projects, alongside ongoing Deadly 60 series into 2025, maintain emphasis on experiential learning, using verifiable footage of live interactions to convey causal ecological principles without sensationalizing danger.[25]Authorship and publications
Backshall has authored numerous non-fiction works grounded in his field expeditions, focusing on empirical observations of animal physiology and behavior. His 2007 book Venomous Animals of the World examines over 60 venomous species across continents, detailing their toxin mechanisms, delivery systems, and evolutionary adaptations for predation and defense, illustrated with photographs from natural habitats.[26] Similarly, Deep Blue: My Ocean Journeys, published on September 21, 2023, chronicles his underwater explorations, integrating personal accounts with scientific insights into marine adaptations such as bioluminescence, pressure resistance, and predatory strategies in diverse oceanic ecosystems.[27] These publications prioritize direct evidence from encounters over conjecture, underscoring causal chains in survival dynamics like venom potency correlating with prey mobility.[28] Complementing his television output, Backshall produced a series of children's non-fiction books under the Deadly banner, spanning approximately 23 titles from 2007 onward, which compile verifiable data on hazardous wildlife traits to foster observational skills.[29] Titles such as Deadly Factbook: Jaws and annual editions dissect anatomical features—like bite forces and sensory adaptations—drawn from species interactions, encouraging readers to infer ecological roles from physical evidence rather than anthropomorphic interpretations.[30] This approach aligns with promoting hands-on reasoning about nature's selective pressures, evident in descriptions of convergent evolution in venomous and non-venomous predators. In fiction, Backshall debuted with The Falcon Chronicles series starting in 2012, embedding authentic ecological details within adventure narratives featuring protagonists combating wildlife threats.[31] Books like Tiger Wars (2012) and Shark Seas (2015) incorporate real tiger conservation challenges and shark hunting behaviors, using plots to illustrate verifiable predator-prey dynamics and habitat disruptions without fabricating biological implausibilities.[32] These works extend his emphasis on causal realism, portraying human interventions as contingent on understanding empirical animal capabilities, such as territorial instincts driving conflict.[14]Adventures and expeditions
Rock climbing accomplishments
Backshall developed a passion for rock climbing in his late teens, integrating it into broader mountaineering pursuits that included summiting Cho Oyu, the world's sixth-highest peak at 8,201 meters, during an expedition in October 2006.[15][33] This ascent, conducted via established routes in the Himalayas, highlighted his endurance in high-altitude environments, though he later described the climb as protracted and less engaging compared to more technical endeavors.[34] His climbing expertise facilitated access to remote ecosystems during exploratory expeditions, notably in Venezuela's tepuis—ancient, sheer-sided table-top mountains isolating unique biodiversity akin to "lost worlds." In 2016's Extreme Mountain Challenge, Backshall led a team including elite climbers John Arran and Ivan Calderon in attempting first ascents of unclimbed tepui walls, such as Amaurai Tepui, to survey summit wildlife including endemic species inaccessible by other means.[35][36] These vertical approaches, often exceeding 400 meters of exposed granite, enabled observations of specialized flora and fauna evolved in isolation, directly linking his physical capabilities to scientific discovery in South American highlands.[37] Backshall has undertaken similar cliff-scaling for habitat access in other regions, such as a 2010 ascent of a formidable table-top mountain in Guyana to probe isolated terrains, emphasizing climbing's role in overcoming natural barriers for wildlife documentation.[38] His preferred UK routes, including the Welsh 3000s and Ben Nevis scrambles, underscore a foundational affinity for multi-pitch and ridge traverses that parallel expedition demands.[39]High-risk wildlife encounters
During the filming of the Deadly 60 series, Backshall conducted hands-on interactions with highly dangerous species, including venomous snakes like the inland taipan in Australia's outback, noted for possessing the most potent venom of any serpent, and mugger crocodiles in India, where he navigated swampy habitats prone to ambush attacks.[40][41] He also approached big cats such as leopards in African savannas, documenting their predatory prowess up close while mitigating risks through controlled proximity and rapid evasion tactics. These encounters underscored calculated exposure to empirical hazards, with Backshall prioritizing observational data on lethal adaptations over avoidance, as evidenced by sequences involving restraint and demonstration of constriction techniques using boa constrictors to illustrate killing methods without sustaining injury.[42][43] In November 2010, while wading through Argentine wetlands in pursuit of yellow anacondas for Deadly 60, Backshall was ambushed and bitten on the leg by a caiman, necessitating immediate medical attention but resulting in no long-term harm after treatment; this incident highlighted the unpredictable aggression of crocodilians in murky environments, where visibility limits preemptive risk assessment.[44] Similar perils arose in solo and team expeditions to remote terrains, such as the 2009 Lost Land of the Volcano venture into Papua New Guinea's extinct volcanic crater, involving descent into dense, uncharted jungle teeming with potentially novel threats like arboreal predators and unstable terrain, all aimed at cataloging rare species such as tree kangaroos amid isolation that amplified logistical vulnerabilities.[45] In Arctic forays, including segments of Undiscovered Worlds, Backshall faced perils from fracturing sea ice capable of trapping vessels and confrontations with polar bears, whose opportunistic predation demands strict non-engagement protocols to gather behavioral data on apex marine mammals without provocation.[46] More recently, in 2024, Backshall undertook dives interfacing directly with orcas in Arctic waters, experiencing echolocation pulses and eye-level scrutiny that tested human-animal dynamics, focusing on their coordinated hunting strategies rather than framing them as inherent aggressors toward divers.[47] Complementary great white shark encounters, documented in prior Deadly extensions, involved blue-water proximity to assess finning patterns and sensory responses, employing buoyancy control and non-baited observation to quantify threat levels empirically, thereby challenging overstated anthropomorphic dangers while advancing insights into elasmobranch navigation in threatened oceanic habitats.[48] These high-stakes immersions consistently integrated redundant safety measures, such as backup teams and physiological monitoring, to ensure survivable data acquisition on species behaviors under natural conditions.Conservation and charity work
Organizational roles and fundraising
Backshall serves as president of Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, a role he assumed in June 2021 following his tenure as vice president since 2008, succeeding Germaine Greer after her 15 years in the position.[49][4] In this capacity, he advocates for the protection of invertebrate habitats through targeted initiatives, such as establishing national bug reserves and promoting awareness of species like the UK's 270 bee varieties, emphasizing habitat-specific conservation over generalized environmental policies.[50] As a patron of the World Land Trust since 2016, Backshall has focused on fundraising for direct land acquisition to safeguard biodiversity hotspots.[51] In 2015, his efforts raised £50,000, enabling the purchase and protection of 481 acres (195 hectares) of Chocó rainforest in Colombia, a region critical for endemic species threatened by logging and poaching.[52] Additional campaigns, including promotional videos and endurance challenges like completing the world's longest non-stop canoe race, have supported further acquisitions in areas such as Colombian rainforests, prioritizing verifiable habitat preservation through acre-by-acre buys rather than broad advocacy.[53][54]Advocacy for practical environmentalism
Backshall promotes an approach to environmental conservation rooted in inspiring curiosity and direct engagement with nature, rather than relying on alarmist predictions that may discourage action. In an October 2025 interview, he cautioned against overburdening children with climate change discussions, stating, "The last thing I want to do is depress them with issues that can feel too big," and advocated instead for evoking wonder to encourage lifelong stewardship.[55] Earlier that year, in July 2025, he affirmed climate change as an observable reality while urging youth to bypass skeptics and pursue empowering, actionable steps grounded in evidence.[56] His advocacy emphasizes individual-level interventions, such as fostering early outdoor experiences to build personal connections to ecosystems, over abstract global narratives. Backshall highlights habitat restoration through localized efforts, viewing them as verifiable means to counteract degradation from human activities like pollution, which he has documented via direct sampling showing elevated contaminants in waterways.[11] He critiques development-driven habitat loss using empirical observations of biodiversity decline, prioritizing data on immediate threats like ecosystem disruption over long-term modeling.[57] Backshall endorses sustainable adventure tourism as a tool for coexistence, arguing it enables low-impact human-wildlife interactions that educate participants on balanced living without exacerbating pressures on habitats.[58] Through expeditions, he demonstrates that risks from wildlife encounters—often amplified in public perception—are manageable with knowledge and preparation, countering undue fears to support pragmatic harmony between communities and species.[59] This scientific, non-judgmental framing aims to make conservation engaging and effective, focusing on fun and feasibility in real-world applications.[60]Awards and honors
Broadcasting and exploration awards
In 2011, Backshall was awarded the BAFTA Children's Award for Best Presenter for his work on the BBC series Deadly 60, which featured hands-on encounters with dangerous animals across global locations.[61] The same series received the BAFTA for Best Factual Series that year, with judges commending its engaging presentation of wildlife facts to young viewers.[61] These accolades underscored peer recognition of Backshall's merit in delivering educational content through direct fieldwork, emphasizing authentic animal behaviors without narrative embellishment.[62]| Year | Award | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | BAFTA Children's Award | Best Presenter for Deadly 60[61] |
| 2011 | BAFTA Children's Award | Best Factual Series for Deadly 60[61] |
| 2012 | Honorary Doctor of Science | University of Exeter, recognizing contributions to wildlife exploration and broadcasting[63] |
| 2020 | Explorer of the Year | Scientific Exploration Society, for expeditions documented in media programs like Deadly 60 and related series[64] |