gordon buchanan bbc two cheetah documentary
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Gordon Buchanan MBE stars in BBC Two’s ‘Cheetah Family & Me’ documentary

All you need to know about Gordon and his hit new wildlife documentary...

Gordon Buchanan MBE presents the moving and exhilarating two-part documentary Cheetah Family & Me on BBC Two.

Gordon, 58, follows the plight of two cheetah mothers, Savannah and Chili as they travel across South Africa in search of food for their cubs.

But who is Gordon? And how did he become so famous?

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Here’s all you need to know about the Scottish documentary filmmaker…

Why is Gordon Buchanan Cheetah Family & Me famous?

Gordon is a multi-award-winning wildlife documentary filmmaker and presenter.

Born and bred in Scotland, he was bought up on the Isle of Mull. His rural upbringing led to a keen love of nature. As well as a lifelong appreciation of David Attenborough documentaries.

gordon buchanan with a wolf
Gordon with a wolf on Snow Wolf Family and Me (Credit: BBC)

He started out at as a wildlife photographer, but moved into camerawork and then presenting in the mid 1990’s.

His breakthrough work came when he helped film the hit wildlife series Big Cat Diary and he went on to film for SpringWatch.

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Gradually transitioning into presenting, he now predominantly combines his camerawork with his presenting skills.

In 2010, he hosted the documentary series The Bear Family & Me. In which he follows a family of wild black bears for over a year in their natural habitat of Minnesota, America.

gordon with a reindeer bbc two
Gordon with a reindeer on his doc Reindeer Family and Me (Credit: BBC)

In 2020, Gordon received an MBE from The Queen for his services to conservation and wildlife documentary making.

Is Gordon Buchanan married?

Gordon is married to Wendy Buchanan. And they share two children together, Lola and Harris.

They live in Glasgow and Wendy has appeared as herself on Gordon’s past documentaries.

However, he tends to keep his family life fairly private. But he has spoken of how much he misses them while filming on location.

gordon buchanan feeds an abandoned baby bear
Gordon feeding an abandoned baby bear in his 2010 documentary The Bear Family and Me (Credit: BBC)

What other shows has Gordon presented?

Gordon has an extensive documentary credits list.

He has presented several ‘& Me’ documentary series.


In addition to The Bear Family & Me and his upcoming Cheetah Family series – he has presented many ‘Family & Me’ docs.

These include: The Polar Bear Family & Me, Snow Wolf Family & Me, Gorilla Family & Me and Snow Cats and Me – just to name a few.

While he has worked as a cinematographer on Planet Earth II and as a photographer on Autumnwatch.

Poster

When is Cheetah Family & Me on?

Cheetah Family & Me begins on Tuesday January 5 at 9pm on BBC Two.

Will you be watching? Let us know on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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