Elizabeth Bonnin (born 16 September 1976) is a French-Irish[1] science, wildlife and natural history presenter, who has worked on television in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.[2][3][4] She presented morning show RI:SE and music show Top of the Pops in the early 2000s.
She is best known for presenting wildlife and science programmes including Galapagos, How the Earth Works, Animals in Love, Stargazing Live, Blue Planet Live, Cats v Dogs: Which is Best? and Should We Close Our Zoos?.[4] She co-presented the BBC factual series Bang Goes the Theory from 2009 until 2014 and since 2013, has co-presented Countrywise for ITV. In 2019, she presented Meat: A Threat to our Planet? on BBC One.[5] She is regarded as one of the most prominent natural world presenters in Britain.[6]
Early life and education
Bonnin was born in Paris, France, to a Trinidadian mother, of Indian and Portuguese descent, and a French-Martiniquan father, who was a dentist.[3][7] Her family moved to Ireland when she was nine years old.[2][3]
In 2002, she became one of the presenters of the Channel 4 morning show RI:SE, specialising in reporting on entertainment-related stories.[17] In the same year she became a regular presenter on Top of the Pops in the UK.[18]
Since 2005, Bonnin has been involved in science broadcasting. She presented the show Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets in 2005[20] and co-presented the BBC science series Bang Goes the Theory on BBC One from 2009 until 2014.[21] 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.[2][22] She also contributed to BBC Two's series on the work of the London Natural History Museum, Museum of Life.[23]
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.[24] In May 2011, she co-presented BBC One's Egypt's Lost Cities.[25]
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.[26] Bonin has presented several Horizon specials on BBC Two which have covered topics ranging from looking at the future of technology to reporting on the sustainability of zoos.[27][28]
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.[2][29] 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 series How the Earth Works that aired on the Discovery Channel in the USA starting 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.[30]
Starting on 30 March 2017, Bonnin presented a new BBC One series called Galapagos exploring the species found on the islands and in the seas around. In July 2017, she co-presented Wild Alaska Live with Matt Baker and Steve Backshall on BBC One. In 2018, Bonnin presented a one-off documentary for BBC One called Drowning In Plastic, looking at the problem of marine plastic pollution.[31] In 2020 she presented a programme looking at different species of Penguins titled Penguins: Meet the Family.
In November 2023 she presented a four-part - one episode for each region - series for BBC Two titled Liz Bonnin's Wild Caribbean showing the ecosystems and wildlife in the Caribbean and centring and taking part in various conservation and wildlife rehabilitation initiatives and local community connections with said ecosystems and wildlife.[32]
In January 2024, she joined a group of palaeontologists in Wyoming, USA to present Secrets of the Jurassic Dinosaurs for BBC Two.
In February 2024, Bonnin launched a podcast titled 'Dead River' telling the story of the Mariana dam disaster in Brazil. The podcast covers the history of mining in Brazil, the day that the dam collapsed, and the story of the victims who are still fighting for justice and are now embroiled in a legal battle against the owners of the dam, BHP and Vale.
Personal life
Bonnin grew up with her older sister Benni, while she said that "I was extremely close to my granny, who passed away in 2003."[33] She has moved back to London.[citation needed] Bonnin featured on the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? on 8 December 2016. In the programme she traced the ancestry of both her parents on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Martinique.[34]
Bonnin is a role model for EDF Energy's Pretty Curious programme, which is aimed at encouraging teenage girls to study science-based subjects at school.[35] She has said in a 2016 interview, "FHM offered me a spread but I said no."[1]
On 5 January 2021, Bonnin announced that her mother had died over the Christmas 2020 period after contracting COVID-19.[36][37]
^ abcdJohn Meagher (15 May 2016). "Former RTE star Liz Bonnin on choosing science over celebrity: 'FHM offered me a spread but I said no'". Independent.ie. Retrieved 9 December 2016. And yet, [Bonnin] has never had an Irish passport...Bonnin says there isn't a drop of Irish in her - her parents emigrated to Dublin from France when she was nine. "When people ask what my nationality is, I say I'm French. I have a French passport, but I spent all my formative years in Ireland so I'm more Irish than French.
