Michaela Strachan

Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan (, born 7 April 1966) is an English television presenter and singer. After beginning her career in theatre, she presented the children's television shows Wide Awake Club (1986–1989) and Wacaday (1987–1989). She subsequently co-presented The Hitman and Her (1988–1992) and embarked on a brief music career under the stage name Michaela, releasing two singles, "H.A.P.P.Y. Radio" and "Take Good Care of My Heart" (1990), which reached number 62 and 66 in the UK Singles Chart respectively.

Strachan has since become known for her work as a wildlife presenter. After fronting The Really Wild Show (1993–2006), she went on to become a regular reporter on BBC's Countryfile (1999–2009), during which time she emigrated to South Africa. Since 2011, Strachan has been a regular presenter on BBC's Springwatch and its seasonal adaptations. In 2025 she was a runner-up on the seventeenth series of Dancing on Ice.

Early life Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan was born on 7 April 1966 in Ewell, Surrey. She grew up in Hinchley Wood and attended Chadsworth Stage School, then Claremont Fan Court School, both in Esher. During her teenage years, she suffered from anorexia. Prior to her television career, she briefly held jobs as an Avon lady and as a kissogram.

Career Children's television and music career Strachan studied at ArtsEd in London, and, after leaving in 1985, appeared in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool. She subsequently went on to appear in further theatre roles and embarked on a career in children's television. Strachan was a regular presenter on Saturday-morning television shows in the 1980s, in such programmes as Good Morning Britain, Wide Awake Club, Wacaday and WAC '90 with Timmy Mallett.

Wildlife presenting and other projects In 1993, Strachan joined The Really Wild Show, a wildlife programme for children on BBC1, which she went on to present for the next 13 years. In 1999, she became a regular reporter for BBC One's Countryfile and remained so until the programme underwent a primetime Sunday evening revamp in April 2009. Her move to South Africa prevented her from committing fully to the new show. While filming an item for Countryfile in 2002, Strachan entered the World Gurning competition at Egremont Crab Fair. To her surprise she won the Ladies' World Gurning Crown.

Strachan co-presented two series of Orangutan Diary with Steve Leonard for BBC One. These series followed the daily routines at a reserve for orphaned orangutans in Borneo and the work of Lone Drøscher Nielsen and her team in rescuing and rehabilitating the orangutans. They were broadcast in 2006 and 2008. She told The Independent that her greatest inspiration is Nielsen who "works under very difficult conditions and shows an all-consuming dedication to these animals".

Since 2011, Strachan has co-presented Springwatch for BBC2, as well as the adaptions Autumnwatch and Winterwatch. The Watches have been hosted by reserves such as National Arboretum at Westonbirt, Slimbridge reserve, Wild Ken Hill and RSPB Arne.

In February 2013, Strachan released her book Michaela Strachan's Really Wild Adventures. The same year, she presented the six-part series The Great Penguin Rescue on the Eden channel. In 2014, she appeared as a contestant on the second series of the ITV celebrity diving show Splash!. Strachan reached the semi-finals of the series, where she became the fourteenth celebrity to be eliminated. In 2022 Digging For Treasure: Tonight premiered on Channel 5; Strachan co-presented the archaeology series with Dan Walker and archaeologist Raksha Dave. In 2022, Strachan presented Extreme Conservation on BBC World News and BBC Reel.

In March 2024, she was a participant in BBC's Pilgrimage. In April 2024 she appeared, as an enraged ornithologist, in the series 3 episode "The Career Ladder" of the Diane Morgan comedy series Mandy.

In 2025 Strachan and professional partner Mark Hanretty were runners-up in the seventeenth series of Dancing on Ice.

Personal life Strachan married filmmaker Duncan Chard in 1996; they divorced five years later. Since 2003, Strachan has been in a relationship with Nick Chevallier. On 8 June 2005, she gave birth to the couple's son. The couple live in Hout Bay, Cape Town, with Chevallier's children from his previous relationship. Strachan is a fan of Oxford United F.C.

She is allergic to elephants.

In 2014, she stated that she had had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery following a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Filmography + As herself Year Title Role 1986–1989 Wide Awake Club Co-presenter 1987–1989 Wacaday Co-presenter 1988–1992 The Hitman and Her Co-presenter 1989 My Secret Desire Guest; 1 episode 1989 Michaela's Stamp Channel Presenter 1989 But Can You Do It On TV? Presenter 1989–1992 Owl TV Documentary series 1990 The Krypton Factor Episode: "Broadcasting Celebrity Special" 1990 WAC '90 Co-presenter 1990–1991 Hey, Hey, It's Saturday! Co-presenter 1990–1992 Children's Royal Variety Performance Guest; 3 episodes 1990–1999 Cool Cube Co-presenter 1990 The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow Guest; 1 episode 1990 Cluedo Guest; 1 episode 1990, 1996–1997 Win, Lose or Draw Guest; 14 episodes 1991 Motormouth Guest; 1 episode 1991 Naruhodo: The World! Guest; 1 episode 1991–1996 Go Getters Co-presenter 1991, 1994–1995 You Bet! Guest; 3 episodes 1992 Hearts of Gold Guest; 1 episode 1992 Beetle Drive Co-presenter 1993 The Big Breakfast Guest; 1 episode 1993 Going Live! Guest; 1 episode 1993 Entertainment UK Guest; 1 episode 1993 Michaela's Map Presenter 1993 Ratkan Presenter 1993 The Electric String Vest Presenter 1993–2006 The Really Wild Show Presenter 1993–1994 Whale On Guest; 2 episodes 1994 Live & Kicking Guest; 1 episode 1994 An Audience with Bob Monkhouse Audience member 1994 A Word in Your Ear Guest; 2 episodes 1994 The Hypnotic World of Paul McKenna Guest; 1 episode 1994 What's Up Doc? Guest; 2 episodes 1994 Family Fortunes Guest; 1 episode 1994 Harry's Mad Guest; 1 episode 1994 Summercrunch Presenter 1994–1996 The Really Wild Guide to Britain Presenter 1994–1997 Disney Time Presenter 1995 Game On Guest; 1 episode 1995 Blood Under My Skin Smelly Homeless Person #1; 1 episode 1995 For Amusement Only Presenter 1995 The Movie Game Guest; 1 episode 1995 The Ant & Dec Show Guest; 1 episode 1995 Fully Booked Guest; 1 episode 1995 Science Zone Presenter 1996 Pebble Mill at One Guest; 1 episode 1996, 1998 To Me... To You... Guest; 2 episodes 1996–1998 Chatterhappy Ponies Voice role; Sparky 1997 Get Your Own Back Guest; 1 episode 1997 The Demon Headmaster Takes Over TV Guest; 1 episode 1997 Timmy Towers Guest; 1 episode 1997 Lifeline Guest; 1 episode 1997 Noel's House Party Guest; 1 episode 1997–1999 Animal Zone Presenter 1998 The National Lottery Big Ticket Guest; 1 episode 1998 Telly Addicts Guest; 1 episode 1998 The Zig and Zag Show Guest; 1 episode 1998 Club Vegetarian Presenter 1998 The Fossil Roadshow Presenter 1998 Orangutan Rescue Presenter 1998–1999 L&K Friday Guest; 2 episodes 1998–1999 Can You Keep a Secret? Presenter 1998 Wildlife Rescue Presenter 1999 Night Fever Guest; 1 episode 1999–2000 Auntie's Bloomers Guest; 3 episodes 1999–2009 Countryfile Presenter 1999 Shark Encounters Presenter 2000 This Is Your Life Episode: "John Craven" 2000 FBi Guest; 1 episode 2000 Spotlight on Suffering Documentary 2000 Postcards from the Wild Presenter 2000–2001 Adopt a Wild Animal Presenter 2001 I Love the 80's Presenter 2001 Big 5 Little 5 Presenter 2002 Full Bloom Presenter 2003–2006 Michaela's Wild Challenge Presenter 2004 The Way We Went Wild Documentary 2005–2008 Elephant Diaries Presenter 2005 The Most Shameful TV Moments Ever Documentary 2005 The 100 Greatest Family Films Documentary 2005 2005 TV Moments Documentary 2007–2009 Orangutan Diary Presenter 2007–2009 Animal Rescue Squad Presenter 2007 The Most Annoying TV We Hate to Love Documentary 2007 Saving Planet Earth UK Presenter 2008 Hider in the House Guest; 1 episode 2008 John Nettles Applauds Guest; 1 episode 2008 Caught on Safari: Live! Presenter 2008 Michaela's Zoo Babies Presenter 2009, 2013 The Alan Titchmarsh Show Guest; 2 episodes 2009 The Funny Side of Animals Guest; 1 episode 2009 Michaela's Animal Roadtrip Presenter 2010 Wild Night In Guest; 1 episode 2010 South Africa's Most Endangered Presenter 2010 Total Wipeout Contestant; 1 episode 2010 Animal Families Presenter 2011–present Springwatch Presenter 2011–present Autumnwatch Presenter 2011–present Winterwatch Presenter 2011–2012 Great British Ghosts Presenter 2012 The Work Experience Guest; 1 episode 2012 One Man and His Dog Presenter 2012–2013 Springwatch: Unsprung Presenter 2013 Winterwatch: Unsprung Presenter 2013 Goodbye Granadaland Documentary 2013 All Star Mr & Mrs Guest; 1 episode 2013 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Guest; 1 episode 2013 The Great Penguin Rescue Presenter 2013, 2019 Countdown Dictionary corner; 10 episodes 2014 Splash! Contestant; series 2 2014 Big Star's Little Star Guest; 1 episode 2015 Mel & Sue Guest; 1 episode 2015 The National Lottery Stars Guest; 1 episode 2016 See Hear Guest; 1 episode 2014, 2017 Sunday Brunch Guest; 2 episodes 2014, 2018 Pointless Celebrities Guest; 2 episodes 2017–2019 Good Morning Britain Competition presenter; 13 episodes 2017–2019, 2025 The One Show Guest; 4 episodes 2017–2024 Loose Women Panelist; 21 episodes 2017, 2019 Lorraine Guest / Competition presenter; 5 episodes 2018 Central Tonight Guest; 1 episode 2018 Granada Reports Guest; 1 episode 2018 Stand Up to Cancer Guest; 1 episode 2018 Would I Lie to You? Guest; 1 episode 2018 When TV Animals Go Horribly Wrong Documentary 2018 Chris & Michaela: Under the Christmas Sky Presenter 2019 Hypothetical Guest; 1 episode 2020 Morning Live Guest; 1 episode 2020 When Classic TV Goes Horribly Wrong Documentary 2021 This Morning Guest; 2 episodes 2021 BBC Look East Guest; 1 episode 2021 When Saturday Night TV Goes Horribly Wrong Documentary 2021 When TV Cookery Goes Horribly Wrong Documentary 2021 Tonight Live with Dan Wootton Guest; 1 episode 2021 Meet South Africa Presenter 2021–2022 Britain's Favourite 90's Songs Guest; 8 episodes 2022 All Star Musicals Participant 2022 Susan Calman's Grand Week by the Sea Guest; 1 episode 2022 Extreme Conservation: The Maldives Presenter 2022 Extreme Conservation: Turkey Presenter 2022 Digging for Treasure Presenter 2023 Ice Age: A Frozen World Presenter 2023 Swimming in Sewage: Britain's Water Scandal Documentary 2013 Goodbye Granadaland Documentary 2024 Pilgrimage Pilgrim 2024 Saturday Morning with James Martin Guest; 1 episode 2024 Richard Osman's House of Games Participant; 5 episodes 2024 Gary Barlow's Wine Tour: South Africa Guest; 1 episode 2024 Mandy Episode: "The Career Ladder" 2025 Dancing on Ice Contestant; series 17 2025 Ice Age: Apocalypse Co-presenter Sources:

Stage Year Title Role 1985–1986 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Liza 1986, 1991 Cinderella Cinderella 1987, 1998 The Wizard of Oz Dorothy 1987 Aladdin Aladdin 1992–1993 Goldilocks and the Three Bears Goldilocks 1993–1997, 1999, 2001–2002 Peter Pan Peter Pan Sources:

Discography Studio albums

+ Title Details Songs from Grease (with Carl Wayne) Released: 1993 Label: Carlton Sounds Format: CD, album, stereo

Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions

Michaela Strachan's Really Wild Adventures (2013)