Simon Reeve

Simon Alan Reeve (born 21 July 1972) is a British author, journalist, adventurer, documentary filmmaker and television presenter.

Reeve has made global travel and environmental documentaries, and has written books on international terrorism, modern history, and his adventures. Amongst his many television programmes and series for the BBC, Reeve has presented Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don't Exist, Tropic of Cancer with Simon Reeve, Equator and Tropic of Capricorn.

He is the author of The New Jackals (1998), One Day in September (2005) and Tropic of Capricorn (2007). He has received a One World Broadcasting Trust Award and the 2012 Ness Award from the Royal Geographical Society (RGS).

Early life Reeve was born and raised in Acton, West London, by his parents, Alan Reeve, who was a teacher, and Cindy Reeve, who was an occupational therapist and worked in restaurants. He has a younger brother called James. He attended the Twyford Church of England High School in Acton.

Reeve had a "tense and sometimes violent relationship" with his father when he was growing up. He said that in his house "there was endless shouting, lots of crashing and banging, and a few times it was so violent we or our neighbours called the police to come and break us up".

Reeve carried a knife by the age of 12 or 13. From the age of 14, he required counselling due to behavioural problems, such as starting fires, vandalism, and setting off an explosive at the Ealing Broadway Centre.

He described his final months at school being "a bit of a blur".

Career

After leaving school, he took a series of jobs, including working in a supermarket, a jewellery shop and a charity shop. At the age of 18, he began work at the British newspaper The Sunday Times, initially as a post boy and then in the cuttings library, where he assisted a team of investigative journalists. Classified documents obtained by the author, with uninhibited access from the likes of the FBI and the CIA, detailed the existence, development, and aims of al-Qaeda, yet his book's warning of an apocalyptic act by terrorists went unnoticed.

In January 2013, Reeve appeared in a charity special of The Great British Bake Off.

6 September 2018 saw the release of Reeve's autobiography, Step by Step: The Life in My Journeys, covering his humble beginnings to successful author and television presenter.

Along with Sir David Attenborough and other conservation specialists, Reeve is a member of the Council of Ambassadors for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), one of the world's leading environmental organisations.

In 2020, Reeve was commissioned by the BBC to present his first UK-based travel show Cornwall With Simon Reeve. This was followed by Incredible Journeys With Simon Reeve on BBC Two. The latter show is due to be a 'look back' programme similar to Joanna Lumley's Unseen Adventures or Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime (a show which featured both Reeve and Lumley talking about the ex-Monty Python actor's travels).

Reeve has made global travel and environmental documentaries, and has written books on international terrorism, modern history, and his adventures. The couple have a son.

Reeve divides his home time between London and his house in Devon, near the Dartmoor National Park. 2004 – House of Saud (also broadcast as: Saudi: The Family in Crisis) 2005 – Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don't Exist 2006 – Equator (Silver Award winner, 2007 Wanderlust Travel Awards) 2008 – Tropic of Capricorn 2009 – Explore 2010 – Tropic of Cancer with Simon Reeve 2012 – Indian Ocean with Simon Reeve 2012 – Cuba with Simon Reeve 2013 – Australia with Simon Reeve 2013 – Pilgrimage with Simon Reeve 2014 – Tea Trail/Coffee Trail with Simon Reeve 2014 – Sacred Rivers with Simon Reeve 2015 – Caribbean with Simon Reeve 2018 – Burma with Simon Reeve 2018 – Mediterranean with Simon Reeve 2019 – North Americas with Simon Reeve 2020 – Cornwall with Simon Reeve 2021 – Incredible Journeys with Simon Reeve 2022 – Simon Reeve's South America 2023 – Simon Reeve's Return to Cornwall 2024 – Wilderness with Simon Reeve 2025 – Scandinavia with Simon Reeve TBA – Wilderness with Simon Reeve (Series two) 2007 – Wanderlust Travel Awards Silver Award 2012 – Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Ness Award