Simon Reeve (British TV presenter)
Simon Alan Reeve[1] (born 21 July 1972) is a British author, journalist, adventurer, documentary filmmaker and television presenter. Reeve divides his home time between London and Devon.[2][3] He makes global travel and environmental documentaries, and has written books on international terrorism,[4] modern history, and his adventures. Amongst his many television programmes and series for the BBC, Reeve has presented Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don't Exist,[4] Tropic of Cancer, Equator and Tropic of Capricorn.
Simon Alan Reeve | |
|---|---|
Simon Reeve in 2009, source BBC. | |
| Born | 21 July 1972 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Author, documentary filmmaker, television presenter |
| Known for | First and only author to document 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Terrorism and political travel documentary film maker |
| Television | see below |
| Spouse | Anya Reeve (née Courts) |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | see below |
| Website | www |
Reeve is the New York Times best-selling author of The New Jackals (1998), One Day in September (2005) and Tropic of Capricorn (2007). He has received a One World Broadcasting Trust Award[5] and the 2012 Ness Award from the Royal Geographical Society (RGS).[6]
Early life
Reeve was born and raised in Acton, West London, by his parents, Alan Reeve, who was a teacher, and Cindy Reeve, who was an occupational therapist and worked in restaurants.[7] He has a younger brother called James.[8] He attended the Twyford Church of England High School.[9]
Reeve had a ‘tense and sometimes violent relationship’ with his father when he was growing up.[10] 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’.[11]
From the age of 14, he required counselling due to behavioural problems, such as starting fires, vandalism, and setting off an explosive at the Ealing Broadway Centre.[3] He ended up carrying a knife by the time he was 12 or 13.[12]
He described his final months at school being "a bit of a blur".[3] He left school with one GCSE, living on benefits, and with mental health problems.[3] At the age of 17, Reeve stated he was even a "whisker away" from suicide.[3] He found himself standing on the edge of a bridge, unable to "face existence", but something made him climb back.[13]
Career
After leaving school, he took a series of jobs, including working in a supermarket, a jewellery shop and a charity shop. He once worked for the intelligence services as an adminstrive assistant required to sign the Official Secrets Act but quit after half a day. Eventually, aged 18, he ended up as a post boy at the British newspaper The Sunday Times.[14][15][16]
After starting at The Sunday Times as a post boy, he then worked at the cuttings library, before helping a team of investigative journalists,[3] and by night he was working on investigations into nuclear and weapons smuggling, and terrorism.[14][15] One of his formative roles at 18 was to follow a weapons dealer from Gatwick Airport.[14]
At the age of 21, citing his "fearlessness of youth", Reeve was investigating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.[3][14][15] 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, Ramzi Yousef, and al-Qaeda;[14][15] this became a New York Times bestseller.[17] Classified documents obtained by the author, with uninhibited access from the likes of the FBI and the CIA, detailed the existence, development, and aims of al-Qaeda,[14][18] yet his book warning of an apocalyptic act by terrorists went unnoticed.[14][15]
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.[15] The BBC initially wanted him to make a programme involving infiltrating al-Qaeda.[15] He eventually began making travel documentaries. Tom Hall, travel editor for Lonely Planet publications, has described Reeve's travel documentaries as "the best travel television programmes of the past five years".[19]
In January 2013, Reeve appeared in a charity special of The Great British Bake Off.
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.[20]
After catching malaria on a journey around the Equator, Reeve became an ambassador for the Malaria Awareness Campaign.[21][22] Along with Sir David Attenborough and other conservation specialists, Reeve is a member of the Council of Ambassadors for WWF, one of the world's leading environmental organisations.[23]
In 2020, Reeve was commissioned to present his first UK based travel show Cornwall With Simon Reeve,[24] 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[25] (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.
Television
- 2003 – Holidays in the Danger Zone: Meet the Stans[26]
- 2004 – House of Saud (also broadcast as: Saudi: The Family in Crisis)[27]
- 2005 – Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Don't Exist[4][28]
- 2006 – Equator[29] (Silver Award winner, 2007 Wanderlust Travel Awards)
- 2008 – Tropic of Capricorn[30]
- 2009 – Explore
- 2010 – Tropic of Cancer[31]
- 2012 – Indian Ocean[32]
- 2012 – Cuba with Simon Reeve[33]
- 2013 – Australia with Simon Reeve[34]
- 2013 – Pilgrimage with Simon Reeve
- 2014 – Tea Trail/Coffee Trail with Simon Reeve[35]
- 2014 – Sacred Rivers with Simon Reeve
- 2015 – Caribbean with Simon Reeve[14]
- 2015 – Ireland with Simon Reeve
- 2016 – Greece with Simon Reeve
- 2017 – Turkey with Simon Reeve[15]
- 2017 – Colombia with Simon Reeve
- 2017 – Russia with Simon Reeve[36]
- 2018 – Burma with Simon Reeve
- 2018 – Mediterranean with Simon Reeve
- 2019 – North Americas with Simon Reeve
- 2020 – The Balkans[37]
- 2020 – Cornwall with Simon Reeve
- 2021 – Incredible Journeys with Simon Reeve[3]
- 2021 – The Lakes with Simon Reeve[38]
- 2022 – Simon Reeve's South America[39]
Bibliography
- The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the Future of Terrorism. UK: Andre Deutsch, USA: Northeastern University Press. 7 October 1999. ISBN 978-1555534073.
- One Day in September. Faber & Faber. 1 December 2005. ISBN 978-0571231812.
- Tropic of Capricorn. BBC Books. 6 February 2008. ISBN 978-1-84607-440-0.
- Step by Step: The Life in My Journeys. Hodder & Stoughton. 6 September 2018. ISBN 978-1473689107.
- Journeys to Impossible Places. Hodder & Stoughton. 14 October 2021. ISBN 978-1529364019.
Awards and accolades
- 2005 – One World Broadcasting Trust (OWBT) Popular Features Award (with Will Daws)[5]
- 2007 – Wanderlust Travel Awards Silver Award
- 2012 – Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Ness Award[6]
Personal life
Reeve is married to Anya Reeve[3] (née Courts), a television camerawoman and campaigner who has stood as a Green Party candidate.[40] The couple have a son called Jake.[3][41]
References
- ^ "Index entry – Reeve, Simon Alan". www.FreeBMD.org.uk. ONS. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "BBC Two announce two new travel series with Simon Reeve". TVZoneUK.com. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Curtin, April (7 March 2021). "How Simon Reeve went from a life of crime to successful TV journalist". www.MyLondon.news. Reach plc. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
He used to set off explosive devices and take a rambo knife to school
- ^ a b c Wilkinson, Carl (1 May 2005). "On the road to nowhere". www.TheGuardian.com. The Guardian – Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ a b . www.OWBT.org. London, England: One World Broadcasting Trust. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007.
- ^ a b . www.RGS.org. Royal Geographical Society. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ Crampton, Robert. "Simon Reeve interview: on his new book Step by Step and why he's going on tour". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ Shute, Joe (25 January 2019). "Simon Reeve: My teen mental health torment drove me to the brink". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ "Tales from my travels: Terrorism expert Simon Reeve". the Guardian. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ "TV adventurer Simon Reeve on how Scotland saved his life". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ "Step by Step by Simon Reeve PDF Download". d-pdf.com. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ Food, Joe (8 October 2019). "Simon Reeve: "We are too connected as people now to ignore the rest of the world"". Exposed Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Simon Reeve, broadcaster and writer". BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chacksfield, Marc (1 April 2015). "Simon Reeve on guns, drug busts and CIA agents". www.ShortList.com. London, England: ShortList Media Ltd. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "How Osama bin Laden kick-started Simon Reeve's TV career". www.SBS.com.au. New South Wales, Australia: Guide – Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). 10 April 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Step by Step by Simon Reeve PDF Download". d-pdf.com. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ "Making memories is where it's at for global adventurer". Henley Standard. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ Powers, Thomas. "The Trouble with the CIA - The New York Review of Books". nybooks.com. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ Productions, Shootandscribble. "WELCOME".
- ^ Step By Step. ASIN 1473689104.
- ^ Deeley, Laura (12 May 2007). "A real globetrotter". The Times. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ "Home - GSK UK".
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ^ televisual.com (9 October 2020). "BBC2 orders Simon Reeves shows from The Garden, Beagle". Televisual. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- ^ "BBC Two - Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime, Series 1, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- ^ Reeve, Simon (29 September 2003). "Meet the Stans". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ "Saudi: The Family in Crisis". BBC News. 8 July 2004. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ Productions, Shootandscribble. "Places That Don't Exist".
- ^ Productions, Shootandscribble. "Equator".
- ^ "Tropic of Capricorn". BBC News. 10 March 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ Productions, Shootandscribble. "Tropic of Cancer".
- ^ Productions, Shootandscribble. "Indian Ocean".
- ^ Productions, Shootandscribble. "Cuba".
- ^ "BBC - Australia With Simon Reeve - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Summers, Chris (25 January 2014). "How Vietnam became a coffee giant" – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ "Russia With Simon Reeve: Episode Two". BBC Two. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ^ "Simon Reeve IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "The Lakes with Simon Reeve". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ "Simon Reeve returns to BBC Two with brand new South America Series". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Camden News: Anya Reeve | Larraine Revah | Linda Chung | Stephen Phillips | Hampstead Town by-election". www.thecnj.com.
- ^ "Who is Simon Reeve's wife? The Americas tour to family adventures!". hitc.com. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
External links
- Simon Reeve – official site
- Simon Reeve on Twitter
- Simon Reeve biography at Shoot and Scribble
- Simon Reeve at YouTube (clips and full programmes)
- interview in Wanderlust magazine