Philippa Forrester
Encyclopedia
Philippa Forrester is an English
television and radio presenter, producer
and author
. Having presented shows such as Tomorrow's World
, The Heaven and Earth Show
and Robot Wars
, she now makes wildlife programmes with her husband, Charlie Hamilton James
.
, a co-educational comprehensive school in Winchester
, Hampshire
, and at Peter Symond's College in the same city. She holds a degree in English from the University of Birmingham
, where she appeared on the internal Students Guild television station.
from July 1990 until 1994. She then went on to host many programmes including Tomorrow's World
, Barking Mad
, The Heaven and Earth Show
and Robot Wars
.
She also co-presented the BBC's coverage of the solar eclipse of August 1999. At the end of the same year she was also part of the corporation's team covering the turn of the new Millennium
, and was duped into appearing on the spoof documentary Brass Eye
s notorious 2001 paedophilia special, in which she wore a large pair of gloves, and explained how a paedophile could use them to touch children through a screen, such as a television screen.
Her job as a pit reporter for Robot Wars
was highlighted in the British sit-com Spaced
. In episode 2.3 "Mettle", while Tim is explaining the name of the robot which he and Mike built to Daisy, Tim says "Philippa would've loved it." He goes on to explain that she no longer is on Robot Wars
because she had a baby, and then asks Daisy to interview him and pretend to be Forrester. The mock interview is conducted with sexually suggestive banter and questions/answers about the robot. The joke ends with Tim saying Mike usually likes to be Forrester.
She has appeared in television adverts for Lloyds Pharmacy and supports the Recycle Now campaign to encourage more people to take up home composting.
Her first collaboration with her husband was My Halcyon River. Following its success, in 2003 they set up a production company, Halcyon Media, which specialises in wildlife productions. In 2007, they co-produced An Otter in the Family, a short documentary series about the adoption of an otter cub called Grace and their attempts to raise her as a wild animal in order to be released into the wild. She is a co-presenter with Brett Westwood
on World on the Move
, a BBC Radio 4
series that started in 2008 on migration in the animal kingdom.
Forrester and her husband also produced the four-part Halcyon River Diaries, the first episode of which was broadcast on 16 May 2010 on BBC1. The series follows the wildlife found near their home. An additional episode was shown at Christmas, 2010.
She is an avid environmentalist, and took a part-time degree in Ecology and Conservation at Birkbeck, University of London
while presenting Tomorrow's World.
She has been Vice President of St Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital
and Patron of The Seahorse Trust with Nick Baker and Vice President of the Avon Wildlife Trust
with Simon King.
cameraman and producer
Charlie Hamilton James
. The couple live in the West Country
and have three sons. The arrival of the first, Fred, in 2000, is described in her book The River. All three have appeared in the couple's television programmes.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
television and radio presenter, producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. Having presented shows such as Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.- Content :...
, The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show was a BBC television programme that aired on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am on BBC One. The show ran for nine years between 1998 and 2007, looking at spiritual and moral issues...
and Robot Wars
Robot Wars (TV series)
Robot Wars is a British game show modelled on a US-based competition of the same name. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 1998 until 2003, with its final series broadcast on Five in 2003 and 2004. Additional series were filmed for specific sectors of the global market, including two series of Robot...
, she now makes wildlife programmes with her husband, Charlie Hamilton James
Charlie Hamilton James
Charlie Hamilton James is an English photographer, television cameraman and presenter, specialising in wildlife subjects. He started his career at 16, working on David Attenborough’s The Trials of Life...
.
Education
Forrester was educated at Westgate SchoolWestgate School
The Westgate School is a co-educational secondary modern foundation school. in Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire, England. It has recently launched a sixth form, which is part of the Herschel Consortium....
, a co-educational comprehensive school in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, and at Peter Symond's College in the same city. She holds a degree in English from the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, where she appeared on the internal Students Guild television station.
Career
Forrester first worked as a childrens presenter for BFBS television in 1986, and was often seen reading out birthday cards onscreen. She became a presenter on Children's BBC from the late 1980s, becoming a more regular fixture alongside Toby AnstisToby Anstis
Toby Anstis is a radio presenter on Global Radio's Heart Network of stations. He presents his morning show weekdays from 10.00am - 1.00pm across the Heart branded network....
from July 1990 until 1994. She then went on to host many programmes including Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.- Content :...
, Barking Mad
Barking Mad
Barking Mad is a British television program about problem pets. "Barking mad", meaning "insane", is a play on words. It was hosted by Mark Evans and Philippa Forrester. It was originally broadcast on BBC1. It is also shown outside the UK on the satellite channel Animal Planet...
, The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show was a BBC television programme that aired on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am on BBC One. The show ran for nine years between 1998 and 2007, looking at spiritual and moral issues...
and Robot Wars
Robot Wars (TV series)
Robot Wars is a British game show modelled on a US-based competition of the same name. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 1998 until 2003, with its final series broadcast on Five in 2003 and 2004. Additional series were filmed for specific sectors of the global market, including two series of Robot...
.
She also co-presented the BBC's coverage of the solar eclipse of August 1999. At the end of the same year she was also part of the corporation's team covering the turn of the new Millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
, and was duped into appearing on the spoof documentary Brass Eye
Brass Eye
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
s notorious 2001 paedophilia special, in which she wore a large pair of gloves, and explained how a paedophile could use them to touch children through a screen, such as a television screen.
Her job as a pit reporter for Robot Wars
Robot Wars (TV series)
Robot Wars is a British game show modelled on a US-based competition of the same name. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 1998 until 2003, with its final series broadcast on Five in 2003 and 2004. Additional series were filmed for specific sectors of the global market, including two series of Robot...
was highlighted in the British sit-com Spaced
Spaced
Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...
. In episode 2.3 "Mettle", while Tim is explaining the name of the robot which he and Mike built to Daisy, Tim says "Philippa would've loved it." He goes on to explain that she no longer is on Robot Wars
Robot Wars (TV series)
Robot Wars is a British game show modelled on a US-based competition of the same name. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 1998 until 2003, with its final series broadcast on Five in 2003 and 2004. Additional series were filmed for specific sectors of the global market, including two series of Robot...
because she had a baby, and then asks Daisy to interview him and pretend to be Forrester. The mock interview is conducted with sexually suggestive banter and questions/answers about the robot. The joke ends with Tim saying Mike usually likes to be Forrester.
She has appeared in television adverts for Lloyds Pharmacy and supports the Recycle Now campaign to encourage more people to take up home composting.
Her first collaboration with her husband was My Halcyon River. Following its success, in 2003 they set up a production company, Halcyon Media, which specialises in wildlife productions. In 2007, they co-produced An Otter in the Family, a short documentary series about the adoption of an otter cub called Grace and their attempts to raise her as a wild animal in order to be released into the wild. She is a co-presenter with Brett Westwood
Brett Westwood
Brett Westwood is a radio presenter and author, specialising in natural history. He regularly presents episodes of BBC Radio 4's series Living World and Nature, as well as his own short series, several of which are available in Real Audio format from the BBC website...
on World on the Move
World on the Move
World on the Move is a nature radio series broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 4. It is presented by Philippa Forrester and Brett Westwood. It is about migration in the natural world, and includes features on birds, mammals fish, frogs, toads, and insects. The programs include many reports from...
, a BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series that started in 2008 on migration in the animal kingdom.
Forrester and her husband also produced the four-part Halcyon River Diaries, the first episode of which was broadcast on 16 May 2010 on BBC1. The series follows the wildlife found near their home. An additional episode was shown at Christmas, 2010.
She is an avid environmentalist, and took a part-time degree in Ecology and Conservation at Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
while presenting Tomorrow's World.
She has been Vice President of St Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital
Tiggywinkles
Tiggywinkles is an animal welfare charity and veterinary hospital in the United Kingdom, also known as St Tiggywinkles and The Wildlife Hospital Trust. It specialises in the rescue and treatment of wild animals. The name derives from the hedgehog character in Beatrix Potter's story The Tale of Mrs...
and Patron of The Seahorse Trust with Nick Baker and Vice President of the Avon Wildlife Trust
Avon Wildlife Trust
The Avon Wildlife Trust aims to protect and promote wildlife in the area of the former county of Avon — now Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, in England...
with Simon King.
Personal life
Forrester is married to wildlifeWildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
cameraman and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
Charlie Hamilton James
Charlie Hamilton James
Charlie Hamilton James is an English photographer, television cameraman and presenter, specialising in wildlife subjects. He started his career at 16, working on David Attenborough’s The Trials of Life...
. The couple live in the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
and have three sons. The arrival of the first, Fred, in 2000, is described in her book The River. All three have appeared in the couple's television programmes.