Day in the life

A day in the life : TV Presenter Wildlife - Natural History Presenter

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06:00
...or earlier – get up – try to make myself look fresh-faced and awake!

06:30
Breakfast with the crew – discuss the day ahead, often meet up with a contributor/scientist who we might be working with

07:00
Drive to location ...and set up. This is the most boring bit for me as I have nothing much to do. I tend to help lug around the equipment and do what I can, but normally I learn my lines or just chill until the crew is ready.

09:00
Start to film – normally we’ll be out on a boat, or up a tree or in the middle of a rainforest – often a long walk/drive. We film until lunchtime (if we’re lucky enough to have a break)

12:30
Have lunch if there’s an opportunity – As wildlife is so unpredictable, lunch may just be grabbed between takes or in the car on the way to the next location. It’s a luxury to get half an hour to sit down and relax!

13:30
Filming starts again and we will keep going until the sun goes down (or later!) Most wildlife is filmed during the day and outdoors, so rarely do I have to work into the night.

18:00
filming ends – pack up the kit, drive back to hotel

20:00
Bath/shower to relax and then dinner with the crew – review the day, meet contributor for following day

22:00
I generally try to get to bed around this time – especially if we have an early start the next day. I look better on 8 hours’ sleep!

Career details: TV Presenter Wildlife - Natural History Presenter

What you do: The range of the job.

I am the person who stands up in front of the camera and takes the audience on their journey through the story or film. I am a wildlife or Science Presenter so much of my work is animal based, which means not being frightened of anything that creeps, crawls or spits and being confident enough to handle such creatures. Miranda Krestovnikoff - Miz!

Qualities: What you need to be able to do the job

Energy, confidence, a positive attitude (after 17 takes of the same piece!), you have to be fit, determined (it is one of the hardest jobs in the media to get into). Willing to get on with anyone and have real passion for the subject you are presenting.

Career path: How you start and where you can go with it.

Any! I have a degree in Zoology and 5 years experience as a television researcher, which is really helpful, but you just have to be confident, charismatic and never give up when doors close in your face. There is an awful lot of hard work and banging on doors involved in getting into the media in the first place and this job is ever harder!

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