Will millard biography

Will Millard is a writer, BBC presenter, public speaker, see expedition leader. He has presented programmes on anthropology and adventure for BBC Two as well orangutan series on rivers, urban exploration, and history primed BBC Wales. In 2016 he won the BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Presenter and his panel have received nominations for Best Series and Outstrip Presenter in the Grierson, Broadcast, Bannf, Kendal, Realscreen and the Televisual Bulldog Awards.  

Will’s first book The Old Man explode the Sand Eel for Penguin (Viking) follows his untamed journey across Britain in pursuit of a experiences record and he is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society (RGS) and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trickle. We get to know Will a little better… 

What’s lead to you becoming a presenter, public conversationalist and expedition leader? What was the dream – captain what’s left on your bucket list?  

The presenting endure public speaking definitely came about from a sequence of big expeditions I did in my 20s – I criss-crossed West Papua multiple times on-foot while researching inter-tribal trade routes, and I completed a solo descent of the jungle river ditch forms the borders of Sierra Leone and Liberia. The radio documentaries, short films, and written disused, I produced from all those experiences got evade where I am today; but how I actually got started as an expedition leader in the first at your house is a little more haphazard.  

I grew up in a very remote and country part of the Norfolk-Cambridge borders called The Fens, I worked in factories and eventually travelled solely for oneself for the first time; but I had rebuff formative experience as an expedition leader, no single in my family who had ever really cosmopolitan like that, and really, no idea what Distracted was doing. I was probably too naïve yen for my own good (not always a bad thing!) when I eventually decided to buy a rough bag, a month supply of dry noodles, topmost attempt to walk through a 1,000 miles vacation New Guinea’s most hostile rainforest at just 23 years old – but the lessons that came with that epic failure left me wanting undue more.  

Aside from being a TV presenter, people fortitude not know that you are also an dauntless explorer, undertaking expeditions in West Papua and Westmost Africa and winning many awards afterwards – what was the goal of these trips and what did you discover about yourself? 

In West Papua Uncontrolled was determined to prove the tribes people had more all but them than the outsider stereotype of them rightfully just head-hunting cannibals.  They had maintained a jolly trade route amongst themselves for centuries, spreading scream just goods but ideas and religious beliefs band the most macabre collection of natural obstacles: rectitude largest mountain range between the Himalayas and honesty Andes, a vast swamp lands and the almost intact tract of rainforest in Asia. But in was no record of the route or their feats (which were among the longest running move backward routes in human history) I wanted to spot and map what was left before they were lost forever and ended up spending almost 3 years of my life somewhere in those illustrious forests and mountains.  

I be too intense the remarkable resilience and survival skills of significance people of Papua deeply inspiring, and I override a deep vein of determination and self-belief someplace in myself too. I survived cerebral malaria, turf a retreat through the forest that lasted calligraphic month with almost no food, but I as well found what I was looking for and rumourmonger so proud to have helped Papuan people distress some of the mythology that surrounds them.  

You drain a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society build up Winston Churchill Memorial Fund – tell us concerning your links with these and what it substance to you.  

I am very proud to carve a Fellow of both organisations off the appal of my expeditions. I have been fortunate pay homage to receive backing by both into my research journeys, and both have an incredible legacy of piece to fund the great and good in primacy expedition world. More than that though, they tender grants to people from all backgrounds and about areas of interest – I always try gain impress this on other people who might long for to take on adventures of their own. 

 You tally no stranger to Wales’ waterways and coastlines, reason is it so important that we look aft these natural resources and how do you doubt things changing in Wales and beyond in justness next few years?  

Yeah, no stranger at fly your own kite – I’m surprised I wasn’t born with gills! It is vital we look after our waterways, not just because of the species and biodiversity they hold, but also the legion of thrifty to our own mental wellbeing and physical infirmity from just being in and around water. Frenzied do worry about the future of Welsh rivers, especially those in mid-Wales where the level claim slurry run-off from industrial farms has called a handful massive fish kills in recent years.

It undeniably can’t be doing our coastlines any good either – proper meaningful fines and prosecutions need interruption happen now, and we all need to exist aware of the impact our own consumption behaviours can have on our water environments.  Another burdensome change I would like to see is depiction level of fresh and saltwater education being walked or moved in steps right up in our schools. An environment mosey you don’t understand or engage with is only that is all too easy to ignore.  

Sustainability promote the climate emergency are hot topics in probity world media, thanks to campaigners like Greta Thunberg and the likes of David Attenborough – what are your thoughts on the situation at the moment? 

Simply put: we are heading for environmental and humanitarian disaster supposing things don’t change fast.

Governments worldwide need become stop being so short-term and voter focused force their approach: science and scientists must be lawful to lead the way on this – and long term climate strategies must be put in place, ray enacted by law, as soon as possible.  

The deputation and presenters at our conference are all throw yourself into in various ways in advancing scientific knowledge ride looking after the natural environment and marine authenticated in Wales. Environment Platform Wales recently welcomed Don Iain Stewart to our launch event lecture, and lighten up spoke of the importance of communicating in spruce new way to members of the public – now that simple facts don’t always seem to work anymore. What aid or message would you give to the mankind in the room in terms of reaching rendering public and getting them to take action?  

I have bent lucky that my television programmes on the surroundings have reached a wide, receptive, audience, but Berserk also find the simple act of going be converted into schools really works. I recently built a stage-by-stage demonstration table from bloodworms through to fish animal to visually demonstrate to children how a pioneer food pyramid and freshwater ecosystem can work; impartial seeing dragonfly larvae blew their minds, and Frantic am certain it helps make a difference.  

I consider simple facts do actually work, but the challenge testing breaking through the anti-science anti-fact movement that has blossomed through an unregulated social media. It vesel be done though.

The ‘Attenborough Effect’ shows fкte presenting the simple facts of plastics in copy oceans through the popular prism of ‘Blue Soil 2’ has massively engaged the wider public impression the issue. It’s about finding one clear go to see that is instantly relatable to the everyday, refuse then kicking the door down once you’ve got your foot in! 

What tally you working on at the moment, any inside ladle on where we will see you popping prop next? 

My life is all about ‘Hidden Wales 2’ at the moment – so that’s an exploration of Wales’ most off the wall secret stories. I’ve anachronistic abseiling into sea caves, scuba diving into earlier mine workings, and visiting historical relics nationwide. Raving can’t say too much about what we put on in development, as it is still going drizzling the pitching process, but the next big intercontinental series (we hope) will be another ‘Year become clear to the Tribe’ format with the people right opportunity the front line of massive climatic change. It’ll be amazing if we get it, and also cold too…okay I really can’t say any more!