Michaela Strachan is best known to audiences around the UK as a regular co-host of Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, the BBC series collectively known as 'The Watches'. Her route to this fascinating career began back in the 1980s – but perhaps not where you'd expect.
Who is Michaela Strachan?
Michaela Strachan is a wildlife presenter. Her career surprisingly began somewhere slightly different – on kids' shows such as The Wide Awake Club with Timmy Mallett (1985).
Her first wildlife presenting job was on OWL TV (Outdoors and Wildlife TV) in 1989, which subsequently led to her combining her wildlife knowledge with her presenting skills on The Really Wild Show, which ran from 1992 to 2006. It was here she worked alongside Chris Packham, with whom she now hosts Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch.
She's also a familiar face to Countryfile viewers, having presented on the BBC show for ten years before moving over to The Watches.
Where did Michaela Strachan study?
Michaela Strachan was born in 1966 in Ewell in Surrey and went on to study musical theatre at Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, a performing arts school based in London.
Where does Michaela Strachan live?
Michaela Strachan lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with her partner, the film producer, director and cameraman Nick Chevallier.
Michaela Strachan: six things you might not know about the Springwatch presenter
- Michaela Strachan's favourite animal is the African penguin. "I can't imagine Cape Town without them," she told BBC Wildlife Magazine in 2021.
- Pop group Scouting for Girls penned a song about Michaela Strachan, released in 2007, with the lyrics, "Michaela Strachan, you broke my heart when I was twelve".
- Michaela Strachan had a short-lived pop career in the late 80s with two hit singles: 'H.A.P.P.Y. Radio' and 'Take Good Care of My Heart'.
- Michaela Strachan is allergic to elephants. She told The Telegraph in 2015: “Orphaned elephants, with their trunks around us, their hairs on us; I don't know what part of the elephant I'm allergic to, but when I'm surrounded by them like that I come out in a rash, my eyes start streaming.”
- While filming for Countryfile in 2002, Michaela Strachan entered the World Gurning Competition at Egremont Crab Fair, a traditional festival on the West Cumbrian coast. To her surprise, she won the Ladies' World Gurning Crown.
- Because of her pop music background, audiences of the 2022 edition of The Masked Singer believed Michaela Strachan to be the 'mushroom'. It turned out not to be the case – Charlotte Church was said 'mushroom'.
Check out an interview with Michaela Strachan over on Discover Wildlife.
