Professor Ben Garrod

Scientist, author, and broadcaster

Ben is Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. Born in coastal Norfolk in 1982, Ben was raised to question the world around him and from a very early age, focused his attention on the natural world. A first generation academic, he studied animal behaviour at Anglia Ruskin University, followed by an MSc in wild animal biology at the Royal Veterinary College, London. Ben’s PhD, at UCL, ‘Primates of the Caribbean’, focused on studying the early stages of speciation in island-living monkeys through molecular and anatomical changes, written in collaboration with the Institute of Zoology at the Zoological Society of London.

Ben is a multidisciplinary scientist, with a focus spanning evolution, zoology, and conservation. He is an award-winning broadcaster, presenting and co-presenting a wide range of television and radio science documentaries and Series. In 2014, he presented his first TV documentary, with the award-winning BBC4 series Secrets of Bones. Since then, he has presented a wide range of science and wildlife documentaries and series, including Secrets of Skin (2019) and Baby Chimp Rescue (2020). He has worked alongside Professor Alice Roberts, presenting The Day the Dinosaurs Died (2017), and with Professor Danielle George in the series Hyper-evolution: the Rise of Robots (2017). He also co-presented Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur (2016) and Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard (2021) alongside Sir David Attenborough.

Across radio and other digital audio platforms, Ben has fronted various series and stand-alone documentaries, including A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs and A Grown-Up Guide to Oceans (both for Audible), and a whole host of BBC Radio 4 projects, including Super Senses, Bone Stories, and The Human Hive, alongside three series of the hugely successful anatomy series Wild Inside with veterinarian and broadcaster Dr Jess French. He has also been featured on A Life Scientific and has guest presented on BBC Inside Science. 

Ben is a popular author, and loves writing for children and young adults, to ‘try and help them understand concepts in science, and nurture a love for the natural world around them.’ He has written about his work with great apes in The Chimpanzee & Me and has written two eight-part, non-fiction series; Ultimate Dinosaurs, and Extinct the Story of Life on Earth. Bens’ first children’s fiction series, called The Adventures of a Dog Called Jack-Jack features his very own dog, who grew up in Africa helping orphaned chimpanzees, but now seems to prefer coffee shops and croissants.  

Ben is a keen trail and ultra-marathon runner, but still enjoys a good park run or a slow dog walk near his Norfolk home, too.