Jeremy John Wade (born 23 March 1956) is a British television presenter and author of books on angling. He is known for his television series River Monsters and Jungle Hooks.</p>
Personal life
Wade was born in Ipswich and brought up in Nayland where his father was a vicar. 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. Wade's journeys around the world have not been restricted to fishing. At various times, Wade has been detained as a suspected spy, caught malaria, been threatened at gunpoint, and survived a plane crash. He is fluent in Portuguese, which he studied during the many years he spent fishing in Brazil, and also speaks French and Spanish well.
Career
Wade's interest in fishing 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."
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."
It was during another journey to India in 2005 in the Himalayan foothills that the concept for 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 he was hunting turned out to be a 161-pound Goonch catfish. 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 is also a published author. With joint-author Paul Boote, in 1992 Wade published his first book, Somewhere Down the Crazy River. Wade has also written River Monsters, which details his hunts and journeys around the world.
Wade made his acting debut in the 2014 film Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys, playing a lamprey expert. He had previously covered the fish in the River Monsters episode "Vampires of the Deep".
Publications
- Boote P and Wade J (1994) Somewhere Down the Crazy River Coronet. ISBN 9780340603215 â€" classic angling book.
- Wade, Jeremy (2011) River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones that Didn't Get Away Da Capo Press. ISBNÂ 9780306819544.
References
External links
- Jeremy Wade on IMDb
- River Monsters on Animal Planet
