Liz Bonnin

Liz Bonnin
Liz Bonnin in 2010
Born	Elizabeth Bonnin (1972-09-16) 16 September 1972 France
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	Television presenter
Website	Official website

Elizabeth "Liz" Bonnin (born 16 September 1972) is an Irish television presenter and former pop singer, who has worked on television in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.^[1][2] She is also a Biochemist and Wild Animal Biologist.^[3] She presented music shows RI:SE and Top of the Pops in the early 2000s. But is probably best known for presenting wildlife and science programmes like How the Earth Works, Animals in Love, Stargazing Live, Big Blue Live, Cats v Dogs: Which is Best? and Should We Close Our Zoos?.^[3]

She co-presented the BBC factual series Bang Goes the Theory from 2009 to 2014. Since 2013, has co-hosted Countrywise for ITV.^[4]

In December 2016 an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was broadcast which featured her exploring her family history.^[4]

Early life and education

Bonnin was born in Paris to a Trinidadian mother of Indian Portuguese descent, and a French father who was a dentist.^[2][5]

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][6] 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.^[7][8] 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.^[9] The band had performed on Dustin the Turkey's third album Faith of Our Feathers, duetting on "We Are Family".^[10] 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.^[11]

In 2002 she became one of the presenters of the Channel 4 morning show RI:SE, specialising in reporting on entertainment-related stories.^[12] In the same year she became a regular presenter on Top of the Pops in the UK.^[13]

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.^[14]

Since 2005 Bonnin has been involved in science broadcasting. She presented the show Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets (2005–)^[15] and co-presented the BBC science series Bang Goes The Theory on BBC1 (2009–2014).^[16] 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][17] She also contributed to BBC2's series on the work of the London Natural History Museum, Museum of Life.^[18]

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.^[19] In May 2011, she co-presented BBC One's Egypt's Lost Cities.^[20] 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.^[21]

On 11 April 2013 Bonnin presented a Horizon special on BBC Two that looked at technology of the future.^[22]

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.^[1][23]

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 three-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.^[24]

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.

On 17 April 2016 Liz presented a BBC Two Horizon programme Should We Close Our Zoos? in which she reported on issues concerning zoos and their keeping of large mammals and their role in preserving endangered species.

Liz will feature on the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? on December 8, 2016. The programme, which airs at 8pm on BBC One, sees Liz describe herself as "a mongrel" because of her parents’ ancestries on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Martinique. Liz visits Trinidad, as well as Martinique where her paternal ancestors are said to have owned plantations… and slaves.^[4]

Personal life

Her elder sister Benni, she called her soulmate and she goes to her for spiritual advice and life lessons. She said "I was extremely close to my granny, who passed away in 2003". She is a big fan of cats are had a cat called Chalky. She has moved back to London and said in 2015 "It's a big culture shock when I come back to London after a month away in somewhere like Botswana. I love walking in Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens just to look at the trees and breathe a little before adjusting to life back in the big city." Liz is a role model for EDF Energy's Pretty Curious programme (aimed at encouraging teenage girls to study science-based subjects at school and beyond)^[25]

She has said in a 2016 interview "FHM offered me a spread but I said no"^[26]

She is said to have net worth: $3 Million and Yearly salary: $352,941/GBP 1,800,000^[27]

References

External links

• Liz Bonnin at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website