Liz Bonnin

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. Her family moved to Ireland when she was nine years old. She also holds a master's degree in wild animal biology and conservation from the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Veterinary College (2008), for which she tracked tigers in Nepal. She continues to work on big cat conservation programmes at the Zoological Society of London.

Career

Bonnin began her career singing backing vocals with The Pale before joining an Irish girl pop group named Chill, who signed to Polydor but broke up before recording. The band had performed on Dustin the Turkey's third album Faith of Our Feathers, duetting on "We Are Family". She was offered a job hosting the IRMA Awards which led to presenting roles on RTÉ Television in Ireland, on The Den (including Den 2), Telly Bingo, Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 and for two years, Off the Rails with Fiona McShane. In 2002, she moved to London to present on a number of TV channels.

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

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.

Since 2005, Bonnin has been involved in science broadcasting. She presented the show Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets in 2005 and co-presented the BBC science series Bang Goes the Theory on BBC One from 2009 until 2014. 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. She also contributed to BBC Two's series on the work of the London Natural History Museum, Museum of Life.

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. In May 2011, she co-presented BBC One's Egypt's Lost Cities.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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 Bonnin 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.

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. 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.

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." She has moved back to London. 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.

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. She has said in a 2016 interview, "FHM offered me a spread but I said no."

On 5 January 2021, Bonnin announced that her mother had died over the Christmas 2020 period after contracting COVID-19.

Filmography

Television Year Title Roles Channel 1999–2000 Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 Co-presenter RTÉ One 2000–? Off the Rails Co-presenter 2002–? RI:SE Co-presenter Channel 4 2002–2003 Top of the Pops Co-presenter BBC One 2003 Never Mind the Buzzcocks Guest BBC Two 2004- ? Euromillions Draw Presenter Sky One 2004–2005 Wild Trials Presenter 2005–? Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets Co-presenter 2008 Science Friction Presenter RTÉ One 2009–2014 Bang Goes the Theory Co-presenter BBC One 2009–2010 Country Tracks Co-presenter BBC Two 2010 Museum of Life Co-presenter 2010–2011 Autumnwatch Guest presenter 2011— Stargazing Live Co-presenter BBC One/BBC Two2011 Egypt's Lost Cities Co-presenter BBC One Springwatch Guest presenter BBC Two2012 Super Smart Animals Presenter BBC One Horizon: The Transit of Venus Presenter BBC Two2013 Tomorrow's World: A Horizon Special Presenter Operation Snow Tiger Presenter 2013— Countrywise Co-presenter ITV2013 Animal Odd Couples Presenter BBC One How the Earth Works Co-presenter Discovery Channel2014 Cat Watch 2014: The New Horizon Experiment Presenter BBC Two Animals Through The Night: Sleepover At The Zoo Co-presenter BBC Four2015 Big Blue Live Co-presenter BBC One Animals in Love Presenter India: Nature's Wonderland Co-presenter BBC Two2016 Cats v Dogs: Which is Best? Co-presenter Horizon – Should We Close Our Zoos? Presenter Nature's Epic Journeys Presenter BBC One2017 Galapagos Presenter Wild Alaska Live Co-presenter 2018 Drowning In Plastic Presenter 2019 Blue Planet Live Co-presenter Would I Lie to You? Guest Snow Animals Presenter Meat: A Threat to our Planet? Presenter 2020 Penguins: Meet the Family Narrator BBC One 2020-2021 For The Love Of Britain Co-presenter ITV 2021 Our Wild Adventures Guest contributor BBC Two 2022 Our Changing Planet Co-presenter BBC One The Island – 1.8 Billion Years in the Making Presenter RTÉ 2023 Secrets of the Jurassic Dinosaurs Presenter BBC Two Arctic From Above Presenter Sky Nature Liz Bonnin’s Wild Caribbean Presenter BBC Two 2024 Our Changing Planet: Restoring Our Reefs Co-presenter BBC Two Animal Genius Presenter National Geographic 2025 Our Changing Planet: Restoring Our Rivers Co-presenter BBC One Amazing Expeditions with Liz Bonnin: Ultimate Galapágos Adventure Presenter National Geographic 2026 David Attenborough's 100 Years on Planet Earth On-screen participant BBC One