Steve Backshall gets Fierce for new ITV series

Best known for his BBC shows Deadly 60 and Lost Land documentaries, TV naturalist Steve Backshall has landed his first natural history series for ITV.

In the six-part series, Steve, 42, will travel to Guyana, Mexico, Namibia, Indonesia, Australia and South Africa to seek out world’s fiercest animals. The scary creatures he encounters along the way include the world’s most venomous snake, the Inland Taipan, and the largest carnivorous reptile in South America, the giant Black Caiman.

After swimming perilously close to American Crocodiles and Bull Sharks, the fearless explorer faces more danger when he narrowly escapes the jaws of the Komodo Dragon! He also meets the people who live among these dangerous predators and those lucky souls who have been attacked by them and lived to tell the tale.

“In the wildest corners of our planet, lethal predators stalk their prey. With scalpel-sharp teeth, venoms and poisons, camouflage and super-senses, these are the beasts of nightmare and legend,” said Steve. “I’m on an expedition to find these ‘fierce’ predators, discover what makes them tck and meet the people that share their world."

Brought up in Bagshot, Surrey, Steve first came to the public’s attention in the CBBC wildlife show Deadly 60, in which he travelled the world to find the 60 “most deadly” animals on the planet. At the Baftas in 2011, the show won the Best Factual Award and Backshall won the award for Best Children’s Presenter.

Backshall has also featured in the BBC documentaries, Lost Land of the Jaguar, Lost Land of the Volcano and Lost Land of the Tiger, as well as presenting a number of shows for satellite channels National Geographic and Discovery.

Andrew O’Connell, ITV’s Commissioning Editor for Factual programmes, said: “Steve will share his depth of knowledge of wildlife, his expertise and sense of adventure. He is a natural at handling the most dangerous of animals and this brand new series promises to see him meeting a range of new challenges that will give us fresh insight into some incredible creatures.”