Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan (born 7 April 1966) is an English television presenter and singer.

Early life

Born in

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a suburban area with a village centre in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, approximately south of central London and northeast of Epsom. In the 2011 Census, the settlement had a population of 34,872, a majority of wh ...

, Surrey, Strachan grew up in

Hinchley Wood Hinchley Wood is a suburb in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England, approximately 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Charing Cross in central London, and within the Greater London Urban Area. It developed largely around its railway station at i ...

and attended Chadsworth Stage School, then Claremont Fan Court School, both in

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...

. In her teens, she suffered from

anorexia Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

. Later, while at

ArtsEd Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, is an independent performing arts school based in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. Overview ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in m ...

, London, she briefly held jobs as an Avon lady and as a

kissogram A singing telegram is a message that is delivered by an artist in a musical form. Singing telegrams are historically linked to normal telegrams, but tend to be humorous. Sometimes the artist is in costume or formal clothing. Western Union, the A ...

. After her years at ArtsEd, Strachan performed in theatre, before moving on to children's television. In 1984, she appeared in the musical ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

'' at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool.

Career

Television

Strachan was a presenter on Saturday-morning television in the 1980s, involved in such programmes as '' Good Morning Britain'' and '' Wide Awake Club'' with Timmy Mallett. In 1988, she hosted ''Boogie Box'' on music channel

Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'' ...

. From 1988 to 1992, Strachan starred as "Her" in the nightclub-set music show ''

The Hitman and Her ''The Hitman and Her'' is a British television dance music programme hosted by Pete Waterman and Michaela Strachan. The programme was produced for Granada Television and ran from September 1988 until December 1992 on ITV's Night Network. The s ...

'' alongside

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...

. In 1993, Strachan joined '' The Really Wild Show'', a

wildlife programme 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 ...

for children on

BBC1 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, ...

. She was a regular reporter for

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, ...

's ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...

'' for many years until the programme underwent a primetime Sunday evening revamp in April 2009. Her move to South Africa prevented her from committing fully to the new show. While filming an item for ''

'' in 2002, Strachan entered the World Gurning competition at

Egremont Crab Fair Egremont is a market town, civil parish and two electoral wards in Cumbria, England, and historically part of Cumberland. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, ...

. To her surprise she won the Ladies' World Gurning Crown. Strachan co-presented two series of ''

Orangutan Diary ''Orangutan Diaries'' is a nature documentary series on the BBC, which follows the lives of Bornean orangutans in the care of Lone Drøscher Nielsen, a member of the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) foundation. The program tries to detail the thr ...

'' with

Steve Leonard Stephen Leonard (born 4 September 1972 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish veterinarian and television personality. Early life Leonard's family moved to Cheshire from Northern Ireland when he was six weeks ...

for

. These series followed the daily routines at a reserve for orphaned

orangutans Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ' ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and e ...

and the work of

Lone Drøscher Nielsen Lone Drøscher Nielsen (born 1964) is a Danish wildlife conservationist who established the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project in Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia in 1998. Early life and work She was born and grew up in Aabybro, Denmark. ...

and her team in rescuing and rehabilitating the orangutans. They were broadcast in 2006 and 2008. She told ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' that her greatest inspiration is Lone Drøscher Nielsen who "works under very difficult conditions and shows an all-consuming dedication to these animals". In November 2013, she presented the six-part series ''The Great Penguin Rescue'' on the Eden channel. In January 2014, she was a contestant in

series 2 Series 2 could refer to: * Apple Watch Series 2, a smart watch by Apple * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, the automobile model * Aston Martin V8 Series 2, the automobile model * BMW 2 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 2 series, line of nV ...

of celebrity diving TV Show '' Splash!''. In August 2022, ''Digging For Treasure: Tonight'' premiered on Channel 5; Strachan is co-presenting the

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

series with Dan Walker and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

Raksha Dave Raksha Dave (born 22 August 1977) is an archaeologist and TV presenter, and is the current President of the Council for British Archaeology. Early life and education Dave graduated with a degree in Archaeology from the Institute of Archaeolo ...

. In 2022, Strachan will present ''Extreme Conservation'' which will be shown on

BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media an ...

and

BBC Reel BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

''Springwatch'' and ''Autumnwatch''

Strachan, with

Chris Packham Christopher Gary Packham CBE (born 4 May 1961) is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work including the CBBC children's nature series '' The Really Wild Show'' from 1986 ...

and

Martin Hughes-Games Martin Hughes-Games (born 16 April 1956) is a natural history programme producer, presenter and author. He is best known for co-presenting the BBC magazine-style nature series '' Springwatch'' and its spin-offs, ''Winterwatch'', ''Autumnwatch' ...

, presented BBC Two's ''Autumnwatch'' in late 2011. For the first four weeks it was presented from the National Arboretum at Westonbirt. For the final four weeks, it was presented from the

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. Its patron is Charles III, and its president is Kate Humble. History The WWT was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist a ...

's Slimbridge reserve. Michaela Strachan that series replaced

Kate Humble Katherine Mary Humble (born 12 December 1968) is an English television presenter and narrator, mainly working for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes. Humble served as President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Bi ...

. She has also replaced Humble on '' Springwatch'' since 2012 after Humble decided to pursue other projects.

Music

Strachan has also had a brief music career as "Michaela" with two UK

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s; a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one ...

's " H.A.P.P.Y. Radio" ( UK No. 62, 1989) and "Take Good Care of My Heart" (UK No. 66, 1990). She is mentioned in the song " Michaela Strachan You Broke My Heart (When I Was 12)" by

Scouting for Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/voca ...

Personal life

Strachan married filmmaker Duncan Chard in 1996, but they divorced five years later. On 8 June 2005, she gave birth to her son Oliver by partner Nick Chevallier. The couple live in

Hout Bay Hout Bay ( af, Houtbaai, meaning "Wood Bay") is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in a valley on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, twenty kilometres south of Cape Town. The name "Hout Bay" ...

,Personal Stuff
''Michaela Strachan''. Retrieved 25 January 2014

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

with Chevallier's children. She is a celebrity supporter of the charity

World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

as a child sponsor. She also supports their Alternative Gifts charity; life-changing gifts for communities in the developing world. She is allergic to elephants. In October 2014, she revealed that she had had a

double mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

and reconstructive surgery following a diagnosis of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, Michaela 1966 births Living people People from Ewell People educated at the Arts Educational Schools British children's television presenters English television presenters People educated at Claremont Fan Court School English television actresses BAFTA winners (people) English women singers English women writers People from Cape Town British expatriates in South Africa