Jeremy Wade

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Jeremy Wade
Jeremy Wade in 2011.
Born
Jeremy John Wade

(1956-03-23) 23 March 1956 (age 68)[1]
NationalityBritish
Alma materBristol University
University of Kent
Occupation(s)Television presenter, author, zoologist, adventurer, angler
Websitewww.jeremywade.co.uk

Jeremy John Wade (born 23 March 1956) is a British television presenter, an author of books on angling, a freshwater detective, and a biologist. He is known for his television series River Monsters, Mighty Rivers, and Dark Waters. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished fishermen of all time, having traveled the world and caught a multitude of different species of fresh and saltwater fish.

Personal life[edit]

Jeremy Wade was born in Ipswich and brought up in Nayland where his father was a vicar.[2] He attended Dean Close School and has a degree in zoology from Bristol University and a postgraduate teaching certificate in biological sciences from the University of Kent. He has worked as a secondary school biology teacher in Kent.[3]

At various times during his journeys abroad, Wade has caught malaria, been threatened at gunpoint, and survived a plane crash.[4] He is fluent in Portuguese, which he studied during the many years he spent fishing in Brazil, and also speaks French and Spanish.

Career[edit]

At a young age, Jeremy Wade became interested in fishing; he began as a child when he was living in East Anglia, on the banks of Suffolk's River Stour. "The village where I grew up had a river flowing through it. So it was inevitable, I think, that I should be drawn to it in the same way that people born in sight of Alpine peaks become climbers. My first attempts to catch fish, age 7 or 8, were unsuccessful, but then I had some guidance from a school friend and after my first catch I never looked back. My parents were happy for me to stay out all day and a big part of my fishing was wanting to find new places, a process that has continued to this day."[5]

In 1982, Wade made his first overseas trip, to India's mountain rivers. Recalling this journey, Wade stated that trip was very hard going. "I took just £200 to last me three months but I managed to catch some fish such as Himalayan mahseer up to 18 pounds". Upon his return to England, Wade wrote a couple of articles about his experiences in India for a fishing magazine. "Despite the discomfort of travelling at such a basic level, there was a real feeling of achievement and I immediately started saving money to go somewhere else. I wasn't sure where at that point but I knew there must be other exotic fish out there, although probably not as well documented as Mahseer, but possibly even more spectacular."[5]

It was during another journey to India in 2005 in the Himalayan foothills that the concept for the television series River Monsters first presented itself. Upon hearing of stories from locals that some people had gone missing in the river, Wade began investigating. "Locals believed the perpetrator was a giant fish. It had the potential for a fascinating TV show--not just for people interested in fish and fishing, but for everyone." The fish turned out to be the Goonch catfish, with Wade landing a 161-pound specimen in an epic battle for the episode.[5] He has taken many trips to the Congo and Amazon rain forests. With the aid of local fishermen, Wade travels the world to catch various fish. Wade published his first book, Somewhere Down the Crazy River, with joint-author Paul Boote, in 1992.[6] Wade has also written River Monsters,[6] which details his hunts and journeys around the world.

Jeremy Wade made his acting debut in the 1986 Bollywood film Allah Rakha playing an extra; he would later return to film in the 2014 film, Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys, playing a lamprey expert.[7] He had previously covered the fish in the River Monsters episode "Vampires of the Deep".

In 2016, while filming on a remote island near Australia, Wade and his crew stumbled upon a man who had become stranded on the island after losing his boat while digging for oysters. The man, identified as Tremaine, had been stranded on the island for two days before Wade and his crew found him.[8]

In 2018, Wade was recruited to host the Animal Planet documentary series Mighty Rivers, in which he investigates the disappearance of freshwater giants from the world's most iconic rivers.[9][10]

In 2019, Wade would go on to the Animal Planet documentary series Dark Waters, which explored unexplained sightings of mythical beasts across the world.[7][11]

In 2020, he began a new TV series, Mysteries of the Deep, where he explores underwater mysteries, ranging from the Loch Ness Monster to the Bermuda Triangle.[12][13]

Filmography[edit]

Film appearances of Jeremy Wade
1986 Allah Rakha Acting debut, extra
2007 Jungle Hooks
2009–2017 River Monsters
2011 River Monsters: The Lost Reels
2014 Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys Lamprey Expert
2018 Celebrating World Fish Migration Day 2018 Short film, host
2018 Mighty Rivers
2019 Dark Waters
2020 Expedition Unknown Season 8, Episode 116
2020–2022 Mysteries of the Deep
2021 Unknown Waters with Jeremy Wade

Publications[edit]

  • Boote P and Wade J (1994) Somewhere Down the Crazy River Coronet. ISBN 9780340603215 – classic angling book.[14]
  • Wade, Jeremy (2011) River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones that Didn't Get Away Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306819544.
  • Wade, Jeremy (2019) How to Think Like a Fish: And Other Lessons from a Lifetime in Angling. ISBN 978-0306845314.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Official River Monsters Facebook Page wishing Jeremy Wade "happy birthday"". Facebook.
  2. ^ gabba / CONTROL. "TBI - Television Business International - Article / Key strategic business information on the production, distribution, broadcasting and financing of TV programming around the world". Tbivision.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  3. ^ "travel, natural history & fishing journalist". Jeremy Wade. 30 August 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Jeremy Wade". River Monsters. Discovery Corporation. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. During these journeys he caught malaria, was arrested for spying, narrowly escaped drowning and survived a plane crash.
  5. ^ a b c "Jeremy Wade: Exclusive Interview". Adventure Outdoors Magazine (Summer 2016): 72.
  6. ^ a b "Books by Jeremy Wade". Jeremy Wade. 1 November 2013. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b Banerjee, Sudeshna (15 July 2020). "Jeremy Wade drops a fishing line deep into remote waters for his new show". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  8. ^ "'River Monsters' crew catches real-life castaway". WTOP. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Jeremy Wade Returns To Animal Planet In All-New Series "Jeremy Wade's Mighty Rivers"". corporate.discovery.com. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Jeremy Wade's Mighty Rivers". IMDb. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Jeremy Wade's Dark Waters". IMDb. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  12. ^ Charm, Neil (30 June 2020). "Jeremy Wade checks out the Bermuda Triangle in new show". BusinessWorld. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Mysteries of the Deep". IMDb. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  14. ^ Somewhere Down the Crazy River: Journeys in Search of Giant Fish goodreads. Review.

External links[edit]