David Bellamy and David Attenborough may have earned a place in the natural history presenting hall of fame with their own brand of quirky delivery and expertise, but the for the BBC at least, the future belongs to the fairer sex.
After introducing Charlotte Uhlenbroek, who quickly became dubbed the “telly wildlife stunner”, last year, the corporation has added another new face to its Natural History Unit – 31-year-old Saba Douglas-Hamilton.
The daughter of renowned conservationist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Saba graduated from St Andrews University with a degree in social anthropology and has worked with the charity Save The Elephants and the Save The Rhino trust. Her first venture onto the small screen, which will be broadcast on British TV next week, shows her fronting Going Ape a programme about trying to live on the Ivory Coast in Africa in the same way as the local chimpanzees.
“It was a mad idea but I was immediately hooked,” says Saba, who appears alongside Blue Planet presenter Alastair Fothergill. “I was the forager and Alastair was the big brave hunter. We even groomed each other as the chimps do.”
In addition to Going Ape Saba has also made Living With The Elephants and Elephant: The Search For Virgo, due to be shown on BBC2 later this month. “I have long had a strange daydream about being a wildlife presenter,” admits the new queen of the jungle. “Loving everything to do with nature and adventure, and being lucky enough to grow up with elephants and work in conservation has given me the background I need to predict behaviour and interpret what an animal is doing.”
Alastair confirms Saba’s qualifications for her new role, and adds an extra attribute: “Oh yes, and she looks great.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
