Gillian Burke | |
Birth Place: | Kenya |
Nationality: | Kenyan/British |
Occupation: | producer, TV presenter |
Years Active: | 2000–present |
Alma Mater: | University of Bristol |
Children: | 2 |
Gillian Burke (born [1]) is a natural history television programme presenter, producer and voiceover artist.[2] She is best known for co-presenting BBC nature series Springwatch and its spin-offs since 2017.
Burke studied biology at Bristol University, and subsequently worked as a researcher for the BBC's Natural History Unit. She worked as a producer and director on several series for Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel, and as a voiceover artist,[3] before becoming a regular presenter on Springwatch in 2017.[4] As part of her role, Burke has also presented its seasonal spin-offs Autumnwatch and Winterwatch.
In 2019, she hosted Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved (Animal Planet), and in 2020 narrated Thailand's Wild Side (National Geographic Channel).[5] [6] [7] In 2020, Burke became vice president of the Wildlife Trusts.[8] In 2022, Burke took a break from presenting The Watches programmes due to schedules clashing between roles.
Burke was born in Kenya, and moved to Vienna at the age of ten. Her ancestry is Afro-Trinidadian, Seminole, Mauritian and Somalian; her mother was a journalist and worked with the United Nations.[9] As a teenager, she developed an interest in wildlife through photography. She now lives in Cornwall with her two children.[4] She is an ambassador of the rainforest protection charity Cool Earth.[10]