| Stephen Leonard | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1972 Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland |
| Occupation | Veterinarian, Wildlife presenter |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Stephen "Steve" Leonard (born 4 September 1972 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland) is a British veterinarian and television personality.
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Leonard's family moved to Cheshire, from Northern Ireland, when he was six weeks old and he was educated at The King's School, Chester.[1]
Steve Leonard studied veterinary science at Bristol University Veterinary School. In Leonard's final year of his degree, the BBC approached the college to gain permission to film a selection of final-year students. Originally viewing the potential TV appearance as "a bit of a laugh", he agreed to participate in the filming. The resulting series, Vets' School, was a huge success, and was swiftly followed up by Vets In Practice. He went on to present Vets In The Wild with Trude Mostue, while holding down a full-time job at a veterinary practice in Lancaster.
He quit full-time veterinary employment in September 1999 after three years in Lancaster and found himself travelling all over the world with the BBC Natural History Unit, filming for Ultimate Killers. He travelled to places as far away as Indonesia and India. Filming Ultimate Killers involved stunts, such as tandem skydiving out of a balloon at 10,000 feet over Spain and climbing into an eagle's eerie in Panama.
Steve Leonard also presented Extreme Animals and, in 2004, Animal Camera which took an intimate look at the animal kingdom through cutting-edge miniature camera filming techniques. More recently, he explored the origins and evolution of life on Earth in Journey of Life and followed animal migrations on Incredible Animal Journeys.
Steve and Tom (an elder brother) Leonard are currently working at the Leonard Brothers Veterinary Centre in Whitchurch, Shropshire. During the programme Return to Vets in Practice shown in July 2008, Steve explained that he had decided to return to veterinary practice full-time, and fit his filming commitments around this. He has recently returned from Borneo where he filmed a second series of Orangutan Diary with co-presenter Michaela Strachan.
In March 2009, Steve helped launch the OPAL Soil and earthworm survey at the Natural History Museum, a scheme that aims to get the public more involved in science and nature.
Leonard presents the ITV series Animal Kingdom.[2] Filmed in Erindi Game Reserve, Namibia, the series was aired in 2011 and spanned 6 episodes, with exclusive content available on itvWILD.[3]