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Liz Bonnin

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Liz Bonnin
Liz Bonnin (right) with Yan Wong (left) and Dallas Campbell (centre)
Born
Elizabeth Bonnin

(1972-09-16) 16 September 1972 (age 52)
France
NationalityIrish
OccupationTelevision presenter
WebsiteOfficial website

Elizabeth Bonnin (born 16 September 1972) is a French-born Irish television presenter who has worked on television in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.[1][2] She has co-presented the BBC factual series Bang Goes the Theory (2009–present) and since 2013, has co-hosted Countrywise for ITV.

Early life and education

Bonnin was born in France to a Trinidadian mother and a French father[2] who is a dentist.[3] Her mother is of Indian Portuguese descent.[2]

The family moved to Ireland when she was nine years old.[1][2] She has a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Trinity College, Dublin[1][4] and also holds a master's degree in Wild Animal Biology from the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Veterinary College (2008), for which she tracked tigers in Nepal.[5][6] She continues to work on big cat conservation programmes at the Zoological Society.

Career

Bonnin began her career by joining an Irish girl pop group named Chill, who signed to Polydor but broke up before recording.[7] The band had performed on Dustin the Turkey's third album Faith of Our Feathers, duetting on "We Are Family".[8] She was offered a job hosting the IRMA Awards which led to presenting roles on RTÉ Television in Ireland, on The Den, Telly Bingo, Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 and for two years, Off the Rails.[1] In 2002 she moved to London to present on a number of TV channels.[9]

In 2002 she became one of the presenters of the Channel 4 morning show RI:SE, specialising in reporting on entertainment-related stories.[10] In the same year she became a regular presenter on Top of the Pops in the UK.[11]

In 2004 Bonnin was locked in a giant kennel along with MPs Paul Burstow, Evan Harris and Ivan Henderson and actress Liza Goddard, BBC Newsround presenter Lizzie Greenwood and DJ Becky Jago in a stunt to launch the annual RSPCA Week to raise awareness and funds.[12]

Since 2005 Bonnin has been involved in science broadcasting. She presented the show Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets (2005–)[13] and co-presents the BBC science series Bang Goes The Theory, which started on BBC1 in July 2009.[14] In 2008, Bonnin presented a documentary series Science Friction on RTÉ ONE which looked at taboos in discussions of scientific topics (such as paedophilia and nuclear power) in Ireland.[1][15] She also contributed to BBC2's series on the work of the London Natural History Museum, Museum of Life.[16]

2010–12

In October 2010 she joined the cast of Autumnwatch and in January 2011, she presented segments of BBC Two's Stargazing Live from various areas of Hawaii including atop Mauna Kea.[17] In May 2011, she co-presented BBC One's Egypt's Lost Cities.[18] She was a guest presenter from the Pitsea landfill site in Essex, England for June 2011's Springwatch on the BBC.

Her programme on animal intelligence, Super Smart Animals, was filmed in mid-2011 in Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Australia and Germany, and broadcast in February 2012.[19]

On 11 April 2013 Bonnin presented a Horizon special on BBC Two that looked at technology of the future.[20]

2013–present

In June 2013 she presented the two-part documentary Operation Snow Tiger, working alongside Russian and other scientists in the Ussuriysk Reserve in the Russian Far East.[21][1]

Since 2013 Bonnin has been a presenter of the ITV series Countrywise, alongside Paul Heiney and Ben Fogle. In November 2013 she presented Animal Odd Couples on BBC One.

She was a co-presenter along with Martin Pepper on the premiere episode of How the Earth Works – Can Krakatoa Stop Time that aired on The Discovery Channel in the USA on 10 September 2013.

In October 2014 she presented a 3-part Horizon series looking into the life of cats.

In February 2015 she presented a two-part documentary series called Animals in Love on BBC One, looking at the emotional lives of animals including elephants, monkeys, geese and alligators.[22]

In March 2015, Liz presented episodes of Stargazing Live on BBC Two. In August 2015, alongside Matt Baker and Steve Backshall, she co-hosted a series of three programmes for BBC One, Big Blue Live, featuring marine life in Monterey Bay, California.

Early 2016 saw Liz return to Stargazing Live, where she reported from the European Space Agency's astronaut training centre. She also co-presented the BBC Two series Cats v Dogs: Which is Best? with Chris Packham.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Jarlath Regan (15 November 2014). "Liz Bonin". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (61 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Biography | Liz Bonnin
  3. ^ http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/find-things-to-do/liz-bonnin-dreams-living-provence-3040141
  4. ^ "Meet Liz Bonnin". Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  5. ^ Jeremy Torrance web producer. "Nature UK: Autumnwatch: Ask Liz Bonnin a question". BBC. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  6. ^ O'Connor, Stuart (16 April 2010). "Liz Bonnin: 'I'm still a nerd, just a different type of a nerd'". Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Can Liz Bonnin RI:SE to the Occasion?". ShowBiz Ireland. 14 June 2002.
  8. ^ "Dustin-Faith of our Feathers track list". Last.fm. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Liz Bonnin and Gordon D'Arcy". RTÉ. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
  10. ^ "Liz Bonnin". TV.com. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
  11. ^ "Top of the Pops 2 – Trivia". BBC. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
  12. ^ "MPs in the doghouse for charity". BBC. 26 April 2004.
  13. ^ Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets at IMDb
  14. ^ "Talking Shop:Liz Bonnin". BBC. 3 June 2009.
  15. ^ "SCIENCE FRICTION ***New Series***". RTÉ Press Centre. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Museum of Life". BBC press release. 11 November 2009.
  17. ^ "Stargazing Live: TV Gold". Spew.co.uk. 6 January 2011.
  18. ^ "Egypt's Lost Cities". 31 May 2011.
  19. ^ "Liz Bonnin says her love of science led her from pop success to Bang Goes The Theory". The Daily Record. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  20. ^ "Tomorrow's World: A Horizon Special". BBC Two. 11 April 2013.
  21. ^ "BBC2 – Operation Snow Tiger". BBC Two. 16 June 2013.
  22. ^ "Grey Geese Romance". BBC Two. 30 January 2015. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
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