Monty Halls (born 5 November 1966) is a British TV broadcaster and marine biologist best known for his BBC Great Escape series ''Monty Halls' Great Escape'', ''Monty Halls' Great Hebridean Escape'' and ''Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape'', during which he lived and worked in remote parts of the UK and Ireland with his dog Reuben. Halls' other TV programmes include ''WWII's Great Escapes'', ''Great Barrier Reef'' and ''Lost Worlds'' with Leo Houlding for Discovery Channel. Halls is the founder and managing director of Seadog TV and Film Productions Ltd and Leaderbox.

Background and career

Born in Wakefield, Halls attended Bedstone College, where he was head boy, after which he was commissioned as a

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

officer. His time in the Marines included a period in the British Military Assistance and Training Team in South Africa, where he assisted with the integration of former ANC guerrillas into the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Servic ...

. At 29, having left the

, Halls studied

Marine Biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifi ...

at the University of Plymouth where he became involved with projects including the underwater filming of a rare species of

crocodile Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant me ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

in partnership with the Natural History Museum of London. He graduated with a First Class Honours

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

in 1999.

Exploration

Halls has led a number of

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

expeditions and was an expedition leader for the marine conservation charity Coral Cay Conservation. In 2002, Halls led a group of adventurers and scientists (from the Scientific Exploration Society) to the sunken city of

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It ...

off

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

(

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

), and discovered six temples, which are still being explored. In 2015 he led the 'Shoals of Agulhas' expedition on behalf of

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rove ...

, following the route of the annual Sardine Run from Port Elizabeth to Durban. Halls is also a Steppes Travel tour leader.

Television work

In 2005, he presented a nine-part TV series called ''Great Ocean Adventures'' (co-produced by RDF Television and Channel Five). A second series was broadcast in 2007. Memorable moments include Halls diving among a large number of Giant Humboldt Squid. In 2008 he co-hosted a

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

series, '' Perfect Weapon'', looking at aspects of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

weaponry. In 2008, Halls left his home in Bristol for Applecross on the west coast of Scotland for the first of the three BBC ''Great Escape'' series, ''Monty Halls' Great Escape'', where he tried to recreate the life of crofters for six months. In 2009 Halls then left for the Outer Hebrides to live and work as a nature warden on

North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula a ...

for six months. 2010 saw Monty live for six months in Connemara working with Irish Whale & Dolphin Conservation Group (IWDG). All of these series featured his dog, Reuben. In 2016 Halls formed Seadog TV and Film Productions and in 2017 produced and presented ''WWII's Great Escapes: The Freedom Trails'', a four-part series in which Halls re-traced the journeys made by escaped prisoners of war out of Nazi occupied Europe. The series first broadcast on Channel 4 in September 2017. In February 2018 Channel 4 announced a second series from Halls and Seadog TV and Film Productions, ''My Family and the Galapagos''.

Speaking

Halls is a public and motivational speaker and has spoken at events such as The Adventure Travel Show, the Keswick Mountain Festival and the London 'Night of Adventure' event, hosted by fellow explorer and speaker

Alastair Humphreys Alastair Humphreys is an English adventurer, author and motivational speaker. Over a four-year period he bicycled around the world. He was a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2012. He is responsible for the rise of the idea of the m ...

Leaderbox

In 2016 Halls founded Leaderbox, a universal leadership and team building tool designed to develop confidence, fosters teamwork, and generate key leadership skills in young people and professionals.

Charity work

With his background as a Royal Marine, Halls was deeply moved when his close friend and best man, Major Jason Ward RM was killed in a helicopter crash on 21 March 2003, the second day of the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

(

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

). Halls supports military charities, in particular he is a patron of Help for Heroes, a charity committed to improving the facilities for injured servicemen and women. As a marine biologist he supports charities associated with the marine environment, and is also a patron of

Shark Trust The Shark Trust is a charitable organization founded in the United Kingdom in 1997. It is dedicated to promoting the study, management and conservation of sharks, skates and rays (elasmobranchs) in the UK and internationally. TheTrust works ...

. In 2015 Halls became president of the

Galapagos Conservation Trust The Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) is a British conservation charity (registered number 1043470) which focuses on saving animals at risk of extinction on the Galapagos Islands. It is a member of the Friends of Galapagos Organisations (also k ...

after serving as Ambassador for many years.

Awards

In 2003, Halls was awarded the Bish Medal by the "Scientific Exploration Society" for his services to exploration. In December 2010, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree by

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is th ...

., and in 2016 an 'Outstanding Contribution to Diving' award by Sport Diver magazine.

Personal life

Halls lives in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England with his wife Tamsyn Smith and their daughters Isla and Molly.

Filmography

Television *Contestant and winner of ''Superhuman'' (2004) on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

*''Great Ocean Adventures'' (Season 1, nine episodes in 2005) *''Great Ocean Adventures'' (Season 2, eight episodes 2007) *'' Perfect Weapon'' (Six episodes in 2008) *''

Monty Halls' Great Escape Monty Halls (born 5 November 1966) is a British TV broadcaster and marine biologist best known for his BBC Great Escape series ''Monty Halls' Great Escape'', ''Monty Halls' Great Hebridean Escape'' and ''Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape'', dur ...

'' (

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

, from 1 March 2009; broadcast as ''Beachcomber Cottage'' in Australia and New Zealand) *'' Monty Halls' Great Hebridean Escape'' (

, from 21 April 2010; broadcast as ''Monty Halls' Island Escape'' in Australia from 28 December 2012) *'' Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape'' (

, from 11 August 2011) *''

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, A ...

'' (

, 1–22 January 2012, 3 episodes) *''The Fisherman's Apprentice'' (

, from 29 February 2012, 6 episodes) *''Monty Halls' Dive Mysteries'' (Channel 5, from 30 November 2013, 4 episodes) *''Lost Worlds'' (Discovery, from 2014, 4 episodes) *''The Great Shark Chase'' (Discovery, June 2016) *''WWII's Great Escapes: The Freedom Trails'' (Channel 4, September 2017, 4 episodes) *''My Family and the Galapagos'' (Channel 4, July 2018, series 1, 3 episodes) *''My Family and the Galapagos'' (Channel 4, Feb 2020, series 2, 3 episodes)

Bibliography

*''Dive: The Ultimate Guide – 60 of the World's Top Dive Locations'' (September 2004, Ultimate Sports Publications Ltd) *''Scuba Diving (Eyewitness Companions)'' (August 2004, Dorling Kindersley) *''Great Ocean Adventures'' (February 2007, Broadcast Books) *''Go Scuba Dive'' (April 2007, Dorling Kindersley) *''Dive: The Ultimate Guide – 70 of the World's Top Dive Locations'' (September 2008, Ultimate Sports Publications Ltd) *''Monty Halls' Great Escape: Beachcomber Cottage'' (March 2009, BBC Books) *''The Great Escape: Adventures on the Wild West Coast'' (February 2010, BBC Books) *''Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape'' (April 2011, BBC Books) *''The Fisherman's Apprentice'' (April 2012, BBC Books) *''Escaping Hitler: Stories of Courage and Endurance on the Freedom Trails'' (September 2017, Pan Macmillan) *''My Family and the Galapagos (accompanying book to the Channel 4 series) (13th Feb 2020, Headline Publishing Group)

References

External links

Monty Halls' website

Seadog TV and Film Productions website

Leaderbox website

Monty Halls at The Underwater TV Channel

Help for Heroes

Shark Trust

Scubazoo

Talking about his 2013 series Mysteries of the Deep
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halls, Monty 1966 births Living people Alumni of the University of Plymouth English explorers English marine biologists Photographers from Devon English television personalities English underwater divers Royal Marines officers Underwater photographers