Michael Brian Leahy (born 13 July 1966) is a British scientist, environmental campaigner and television presenter, known for his series '' Bite Me'' on the National Geographic Channel. Leahy grew up in Steventon, Oxfordshire, and attended John Mason Comprehensive School in Abingdon. He left school at 15 and worked for ten years as a motor mechanic. He was then a student at both Oxford Brookes University and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, where he gained a D.Phil in

Virology Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, th ...

and

Molecular Biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

. In his 30s, Leahy gave up his job as a researcher to become a full-time television presenter, presenting three series of the BBC's ''

Rough Science Parameters ''Rough Science'' is a British documentary reality television series made by the BBC in collaboration with the Open University. Six series were made between 2000 and 2005. It was broadcast in prime time on BBC Two and is considered so ...

''. This was followed by several TV series for the BBC including ''Bodysnatchers'' on BBC1, ''Labrats'', ''SARS: the True Story'', ''Pandemics: a Horizon Guide'', ''The World's Top Ten Natural Disasters'' and others. Following a short period presenting science, travel and wildlife shows for BSkyB, Leahy moved to the National Geographic Channel, where perhaps he is best known for the series ''Bite Me''. For this, Leahy needed to visit 25 locations in eight countries, facing snakes, fish, bugs and parasites. He was hospitalised several times and almost died after suffering an

anaphylactic reaction Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the follo ...

when he was bitten by South American

fire ants Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the name ...

. The series first aired in November 2009 and is still showing on Amazon Prime and around the world.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, Mike Living people British virologists 1966 births People from Oxfordshire British television presenters Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of the University of Oxford