cmglee_Mike_Gunton_zoology_department_talk

Mike Gunton is a British television producer and a senior executive at the

BBC Natural History Unit The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' ...

, the world's largest production unit dedicated to wildlife film-making. In November 2009 he became the Unit's first Creative Director. As Creative Director of

BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...

Natural History Unit, he is responsible for bringing new and pioneering stories about the natural world to global audiences, including the BAFTA and Emmy winning Planet Earth II, which was viewed by millions worldwide''.'' In 2018, his ground-breaking animal behaviours series,

Dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

'','' won a number of awards and was acclaimed by

Sir David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

as inventing a new genre in natural history film making. A fellow of the Royal Television Society, he also speaks internationally and is an ambassador for natural history making, BBC Studios and the natural world. He was the executive producer of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'', a

nature documentary A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on video taken in their natural habitat but also often including footage of t ...

series which revealed the adaptive survival strategies of animals around the world, and as the co-author (with Martha Holmes) of the accompanying book. He co-directed (with Holmes) a feature film version of ''Life'', and was the executive producer of a major

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

series on African wildlife, broadcast in 2013.

Film and TV credits

* '' The Green Planet'' (2022) - executive producer * ''

'' (2018) - executive producer * ''

Planet Earth II ''Planet Earth II'' is a 2016 British nature documentary series produced by the BBC as a sequel to ''Planet Earth'', which was broadcast in 2006. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the main theme music composed ...

'' (2016) - executive producer * '' Life Story'' (2014) - executive producer * '' Hidden Kingdoms'' (2014) - executive producer * ''

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

'' (2013) - executive producer * '' One Life'' (2011) - co-director * ''

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

'' (2011) - executive producer * '' The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart'' (2010) - executive producer * ''

'' (2009) - executive producer * ''

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

'' (2009) – executive producer * '' Galápagos'' (2006) – executive producer * '' Life in the Undergrowth'' (2005) – executive producer * '' Europe: A Natural History'' (2005) – executive producer * ''Journey of Life'' (2005) – executive producer * ''

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

'' (2004) – executive producer * '' British Isles: A Natural History'' (2004) – executive producer * ''

Natural World ''Natural World'' is a strand of British wildlife documentary programmes broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history series. It is the longest-running documentary in its genre on British televis ...

'' (2001-2004) – series editor * ''Steve Leonard's Extreme Animals'' (2002) - executive producer * ''Steve Leonard's Ultimate Killers'' (1999-2001) - executive producer * ''Animal People'' (1997-1999) – series producer * ''Violent Planet'' (1999) - series producer * ''Tales from the Riverbank'' (1997) - series producer * ''Natural Neighbours'' (1994) - series producer * ''

The Trials of Life ''The Trials of Life: A Natural History of Behaviour'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 3 October 1990. A study in animal behaviour, it was the third i ...

'' (1990) – producer : Episode "Finding Food" : Episode "Home Making" : Episode "Once More into the Termite Mound: The Making of The Trials of Life"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunton, Mike Year of birth missing (living people) Living people BBC people British television producers