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Simon Alan Reeve (born 21 July 1972) is a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
author, journalist, adventurer, documentary filmmaker and television presenter. Reeve divides his home time between London and Devon. He makes 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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, Reeve has presented ''
Holidays in the Danger Zone ''Holidays in the Danger Zone'' is a series of documentaries, produced by the BBC This World (television programme), This World and originally broadcast on BBC Four in the UK. They have also been shown on BBC Two and exported to other countrie ...
:
Places That Don't Exist ''Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don't Exist'' is a five-part travel documentary, part of the '' Holidays in the Danger Zone'' series, produced and broadcast by BBC This World. Written and presented by Simon Reeve, and produced by W ...
'', ''
Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...
'', ''
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
'' and ''
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
''. Reeve is the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' best-selling author of ''
The New Jackals ''The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the future of terrorism'' is a 1998 book by Simon Reeve. Background Published in 1998, this ''New York Times'' bestseller was the first book on Osama bin Laden, Ramzi Yousef, and Al-Qaeda. Clas ...
'' (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 The Ness Award is an annual award of the Royal Geographical Society to travellers, particularly those who have successfully popularised Geography and the wider understanding of our world and its environments. It was established in 1953 and named aft ...
from the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
(RGS).


Early life

Reeve was born and raised in
Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...
,
West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North 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 Twyford may refer to: Places In the United Kingdom: * Twyford, Berkshire * Twyford, Buckinghamshire * Twyford, Derbyshire, in the civil parish of Twyford and Stenson * Twyford, Dorset, a location * Twyford, Hampshire * Twyford, Leicestershire *Tw ...
. 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’. From the age of 14, he required
counselling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of co ...
due to behavioural problems, such as starting fires, vandalism, and setting off an explosive at the
Ealing Broadway Centre The Ealing Broadway Centre, currently branded as simply Ealing Broadway, is a shopping centre in Ealing, west London. Located on The Broadway close by Ealing Broadway station, the centre consists of 85 units both indoor and a courtyard part outdoo ...
. He ended up carrying a knife by the time he was 12 or 13. He described his final months at school being "a bit of a blur". He left school with one GCSE, living on benefits, and with mental health problems. At the age of 17, Reeve stated he was even a "whisker away" from
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
. He found himself standing on the edge of a bridge, unable to "face existence", but something made him climb back. After leaving school, he took a series of jobs, including working in a supermarket, a jewellery shop and a charity shop. Eventually, aged 18, he ended up as a post boy at the British newspaper ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
''.


Career

After starting at ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' as a post boy, he then worked at the cuttings library, before helping a team of investigative journalists, and by night he was working on investigations into nuclear and weapons smuggling, and terrorism. One of his formative roles at 18 was to follow a weapons dealer from
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
. At the age of 21, citing his "fearlessness of youth", Reeve was investigating the
1993 World Trade Center bombing The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S., carried out on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the complex. The urea nitrate–hydrogen gas en ...
. He authored a book '' The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the Future of Terrorism''; eventually published in 1998, it was the first book on
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
,
Ramzi Yousef Ramzi Ahmed Yousef ( ur, , translit=''Ramzī Ahmad Yūsuf''; born 20 May 1967 or 27 April 1968) is a Pakistani convicted terrorist who was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines ...
, and
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
; this became a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' bestseller. Classified documents obtained by the author, with uninhibited access from the likes of the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
, detailed the existence, development, and aims of al-Qaeda, yet his book warning of an apocalyptic act by terrorists went unnoticed. After the attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States of America, Reeve became a media expert on terrorism on the basis of his book. The BBC initially wanted him to make a programme involving infiltrating al-Qaeda. He eventually began making travel documentaries. Tom Hall, travel editor for
Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...
publications, has described Reeve's travel documentaries as "the best travel television programmes of the past five years". In January 2013, Reeve appeared in a charity special of ''
The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, att ...
''. 6 September 2018 saw the release of Reeve's autobiography called ''Step by Step: The Life in My Journeys''; covering his humble beginnings to successful author and television presenter. After catching
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
on a journey around the
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
, Reeve became an ambassador for the Malaria Awareness Campaign. Along with
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 ...
and other conservation specialists, Reeve is a member of the Council of Ambassadors for WWF, one of the world's leading environmental organisations. In 2020, Reeve was commissioned to present his first UK based travel show ''Cornwall With Simon Reeve'', which was ordered by BBC Two alongside ''Incredible Journeys With Simon Reeve''. 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). In 2020 it was announced that Reeve would serve as Executive Producer for ''The Balkans'' (2020), an internet television series distributed by
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
.


Television

*2003 – ''
Holidays in the Danger Zone ''Holidays in the Danger Zone'' is a series of documentaries, produced by the BBC This World (television programme), This World and originally broadcast on BBC Four in the UK. They have also been shown on BBC Two and exported to other countrie ...
:
Meet the Stans ''Holidays in the Danger Zone: Meet the Stans'' is a four-part travel documentary on Central Asia, part of the '' Holidays in the Danger Zone'' series, produced and broadcast by BBC Correspondent (now This World). Written and presented by Simo ...
'' *2004 – ''House of Saud'' (also broadcast as: ''Saudi: The Family in Crisis'') *2005 – ''
Holidays in the Danger Zone ''Holidays in the Danger Zone'' is a series of documentaries, produced by the BBC This World (television programme), This World and originally broadcast on BBC Four in the UK. They have also been shown on BBC Two and exported to other countrie ...
:
Places That Don't Exist ''Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don't Exist'' is a five-part travel documentary, part of the '' Holidays in the Danger Zone'' series, produced and broadcast by BBC This World. Written and presented by Simon Reeve, and produced by W ...
'' *2006 – ''
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
'' (Silver Award winner, 2007 Wanderlust Travel Awards) *2008 – ''
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
'' *2009 – ''Explore'' *2010 – ''
Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...
'' *2012 – ''Indian Ocean'' *2012 – ''Cuba with Simon Reeve'' *2013 – ''Australia with Simon Reeve'' *2013 – ''
Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
with Simon Reeve'' *2014 – ''Tea Trail/Coffee Trail with Simon Reeve'' *2014 – ''Sacred Rivers with Simon Reeve'' *2015 – ''Caribbean with Simon Reeve'' *2015 – ''Ireland with Simon Reeve'' *2016 – ''Greece with Simon Reeve'' *2017 – ''Turkey with Simon Reeve'' *2017 – ''Colombia with Simon Reeve'' *2017 – ''Russia with Simon Reeve'' *2018 – ''Burma with Simon Reeve'' *2018 – ''Mediterranean with Simon Reeve'' *2019 – ''North Americas with Simon Reeve'' *2020 – ''The Balkans'' *2020 – ''Cornwall with Simon Reeve'' *2021 – ''Incredible Journeys with Simon Reeve'' *2021 – ''The Lakes with Simon Reeve'' *2022 – ''Simon Reeve's South America''


Bibliography

* * * * *


Awards and accolades

*2005 – One World Broadcasting Trust (OWBT) Popular Features Award (with Will Daws) *2007 – Wanderlust Travel Awards Silver Award *2012 –
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
(RGS)
Ness Award The Ness Award is an annual award of the Royal Geographical Society to travellers, particularly those who have successfully popularised Geography and the wider understanding of our world and its environments. It was established in 1953 and named aft ...


Personal life

Reeve is married to Anya Reeve (née Courts), a television camerawoman and campaigner who has stood as a
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
candidate. The couple have a son called Jake.


References


External links

* – official site
Simon Reeve
on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Simon Reeve
biography at ''Shoot and Scribble''
Simon Reeve
at
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(clips and full programmes)
Simon Reeve
interview in ''
Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...
'' magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Reeve, Simon, (British TV presenter) 1972 births Living people English documentary filmmakers English explorers English male journalists English television presenters English travel writers Historians of al-Qaeda Television personalities from London Writers from London