Jess French
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Jess French is a British television personality,
veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...
and author. She is the presenter of a television programme called ''Minibeast Adventure with Jess'' which has aired on
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...
. French is also a best-selling children's author and a regular contributor to science, music and literary festivals such as
Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was d ...
,
Edinburgh festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
,
Cheltenham Science Festival Cheltenham Science Festival is one of the UK's leading science festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for the Jazz, Music and Literature Festivals that run every year. The 2018 Cheltenham Science Festival (6–11 June) ...
, Bath Festival of Children's Literature,
Latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
and Norwich Science Festival and printed press such as ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'',
BBC Wildlife ''BBC Wildlife'' is a British glossy, all-colour magazine about wildlife, operated and published by Immediate Media Company. It produces 13 issues a year. ''BBC Wildlife'' was launched in January 1963 as ''Animals Magazine'', edited by filmmaker ...
,
The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
.


Early life and education

French has lived across the world, from Chile to
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. She grew up in
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
and studied at
Norwich School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a private selective day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as an episcop ...
. She gained a first class degree in
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
at
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
where she was active in the
volunteering Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...
department, winning awards for her work teaching children about conservation and for setting up a sign language society. She has studied primates across the world and has a particular interest in gorillas. She gained her degree in veterinary medicine and surgery from the
University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...
and she now works as a small animal and zoo vet. She can speak fluent Spanish and can use British Sign Language.


TV career

French has worked on a number of shows as a wildlife (in particular creepy-crawly) expert including, Live 'n' Deadly (
CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...
), Deadly Mission Madagascar (CBBC), Springwatch (
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
) and Micro Monsters 3D (
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
). Since April 2014 she has presented a series of twenty 9-minute episodes of ''Minibeast Adventure with Jess'' on the
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...
channel. She has also appeared on The Pets Factor, BBC Breakfast, Sunday Brunch and Springwatch as well as presenting live lessons for BBC Teach. In December 2022, French appeared alongside
Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett (born 5 June 1949) is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 198 million copies of his works. His books have been sold in over 80 countries. Follett's commercial breakthrough came with ...
, Ria Lina and Susan Collins (artist) on the
University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
Christmas special, representing
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
.


Radio

French co-presents a radio series with Ben Garrod for
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
called Wild Inside, in which she carries out post mortem examinations on exotic species and discusses her findings. She has also appeared on the Infinite Monkey Cage On 12 August 2019, she appeared on the podcast Trees A Crowd with David Oakes.


Books

French is one of the UK's top-selling authors of non-fiction books for children. She usually writes on the theme of animals, nature and the environment. In August 2020 she released her debut picture book. Her middle grade series, Beastlands, was developed into an animated immersive experience at
Chester Zoo Chester Zoo is a zoo in Upton-by-Chester, Cheshire, England. Chester Zoo was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family. The zoo is one of the UK's largest zoos at and the zoo has a total land holding of approximately . Chester Zoo ...
. She also acts as a judge for book awards such as The Week Junior Book Awards French was one of the 2021
World Book Day World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright ...
authors, with her title 'Protect the Planet', published by
DK (publisher) Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
. * Fluttering Minibeast Adventures (Feb 2016) * Tickly Minibeast Adventures (Feb 2016) * Born Free Chimp Rescue: The True Story of Chinoise (May 2016) * Born Free Bear Rescue (September 2017) * Born Free Cheetah Rescue (November 2017) * Minibeasts with Jess French (February 2018) * How to Help a Hedgehog and Protect a Polar Bear (Aug 2018) * Saving Species (October 2018) * What a Waste (April 2019) * Lost Species (October 2019) * The Book of Brilliant Bugs (March 2020) * Slow Down, Monkey (Aug 2020) * Let's Save Our Planet: Forests: Uncover the Facts. Be Inspired. Make A Difference (October 2020) *Protect the Planet – World Book Day book (March 2021) * Earth's Incredible Oceans (April 2021) *Cat Chat (July 2021) *How to Be a Vet and Other Animal Jobs (July 2021) *Puppy Talk (Jan 2022) *It's a Wonderful World (March 2022) *Bella Loves Bugs (April 2022) *Billy Loves Birds (April 2022) *My Mum is a Spy – with
Andy McNab Steven Billy Mitchell (born 28 December 1959), usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Andy McNab, is a novelist and former Special Air Service soldier. He came into public prominence in 1993 when he published a book entitled ''Bravo T ...
. (August 2022) *Pedro Loves Saving the Planet – (April 202

*Ava Loves Animals (April 2023) *Pets and their People: The Ultimate Guide to Caring For Animals - Whether You Have One or Not! (April 2023) *Beastlands: Race to Frostfall Mountain (Jan 2024) *The Animal Body Book (June 2024) *Around the World in 80 Endangered Animals (October 2024) *Beastlands: Legend of the Crystal Caves (March 2025) *Bug Snacks: How Eating Insects Can Change the World (May 2025)


Awards

French won the
Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...
Global Youth Leadership award in 2010 for setting up a program to teach children about environmental issues. In 2015, French was named number 43 on
BBC Wildlife ''BBC Wildlife'' is a British glossy, all-colour magazine about wildlife, operated and published by Immediate Media Company. It produces 13 issues a year. ''BBC Wildlife'' was launched in January 1963 as ''Animals Magazine'', edited by filmmaker ...
magazine's Power List of conservation heroes. French's book 'Fluttering Minibeast Adventures' was nominated for the 2017 Educational Writers' Award. In 2022, French's book 'Earth's Incredible Oceans' won a Gold Nautilus Award and 'It's a Wonderful World' was named 'Top Value Toy' in the 2022 Right Start awards.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Jess Alumni of University College London Alumni of the University of Nottingham BBC Radio 4 presenters British children's television presenters British non-fiction writers British veterinarians People educated at Norwich School Television personalities from Norfolk British women zoologists Writers from Norfolk