Steve Backshall dives in to reveal ocean secrets

It was that time when you might start to flag, as you edge closer to the end of the working day.

British naturalist, explorer, presenter and writer Steve informed me he’d been in London all day, doing various press interviews so I might have expected him to approach our chat about his critically acclaimed live show – ‘Ocean’ - which heads to Wolverhampton Civic in October, with an air of weariness.

And yet it soon became clear that wouldn’t be the case. The very mention of oceans and his forthcoming tour and his passion oozed through. It quickly became clear why people love Steve’s show – he had sold-out tours in 2022 and 2023.

His personality is infectious and that love of the ocean comes through in his conversation.

The show is described as Steve’s ‘love letter’ to the ocean and his chance to educate audiences on some of its most fascinating features and wildlife, while telling us what we need to do to protect and save our seas.

“I can’t wait to come to the West Midlands again,” he enthuses. “My mum (Pat) is from Harborne, in Birmingham.

“She was born and brought up there and a lot of her family are still around the area. My mum always talks about the West Midlands as the most friendly place on the planet so I love coming back.”

As someone who works a lot in television, heading to the stage is something that also excites Steve, he says, as he loves to draw energy from those attending his show.

“A live audience is a learning experience,” he says. “You get a sense of the things people enjoy and the things they don’t from seeing them.

“You might do something and see people twitching and fidgeting in the audience and realise it might not be as universally interesting as you might have thought. And, on the other hand, you can try something and the whole room falls about with laughter and you think ‘oh, maybe I should focus on that’. It’s a really good learning tool.”

Not that Steve is likely to see anyone fidgeting. His shows are clearly engaging as ticket sales on previous tours have shown.

What’s also interesting, he says, is the show draws in all manner of people. Naturally, he’s a hit with younger children – through shows like Deadly 60 – but he appeals to a wide audience, mums and dads, grandparents and students all love him.

“I’m so surprised my tours have completely sold out before,” he says, modestly. “Some venues for this new tour have almost sold out already too, which is way, way more than I expected.

“Clearly there is a real appetite for content about the ocean and the creatures that live there. I do love the fact we have such a varied audience. It’s incredible to see that.

“We see a lot of families, with young kids down to two and three-years-old. And then there are a lot of the youngsters I made programmes for a long time ago on CBBC, who are now finishing university and setting off on their own course of conservation or nature.

“We actually have everyone in the audience, right up to professors of marine biology and people who are studying for a doctorate. So I have to do all I can to make it as entertaining as I can for everyone as possible and that can be a challenge. But people seem to enjoy it, no matter where they are coming from and I love that.”

So what of the show? It will feature stunts, experiments, props, cutting-edge science and big screen footage from his two decades in television.

From great whites to great whales, seals to sardine shoals, orca to the oddities of the deep, he plans to take fans of all ages on an exploration of the world beneath the waves.

“I’m going to be talking about all sorts from the exploration of our deep seas, looking for new species of animals, which I have been lucky enough to be involved in over the last few years, all the way through to ocean giants, the largest animals ever known to have lived on our planet,” he says, enthusiastically.

“We’ll have full scale, life-sized models of creatures up on stage to give people that sense of perspective and an idea of how big they can become.

“It’s tricky to even get that, even under the water itself, because you rarely ever see the whole animal in its entirety

“There are going to be stunts and tricks and stage science and all kinds of things that will hopefully bring to life these animals. We are embracing the challenge of doing it.

“We will have a living soundscape of the oceans too, the sounds and the calls that fish make – shrimps, whales and dolphins. It will be like an orchestra of sounds under the sea. It’s all about trying to do our very best to create that ocean environment on stage for the audience.”

Steve says one of his favourite parts of the show is the fact he can engage with the audience.

“There are so many interactive elements and we want to get people involved as much as possible,” he said.

“There will be lots of opportunities to ask me questions throughout and engage personally with me about things.

“People seem to love that. It’s a rollercoaster of fun and entertainment and we dabble in conservation as well, in a way that is empowering. Our oceans are so threatened and there are so many human-created challenges that they face.

“It can seem bleak at times but it’s always important that we make sure we maintain our sense of hope and sense of excitement and believe that it’s still possible that we can still save our seas.”

I ask Steve, who has worked for the National Geographic Channel and the Discovery Channel, why he chose to focus on the ocean for his tour. He does, afterall have wide interests.

“It’s just so big, the biggest inhabitable environment that we have and so much is unknown to us,” he says. “So little of it has been explored by anybody, let alone your average person off the street.

“So the opportunity to dive below the waves and see what lives there, the mystery, the things that remain to be found in our deep seas – all of these things are inherently fascinating to anyone, including me.

“It’s one of those things where the more time I have spent at sea, the more I have been drawn into it.

“I spent a lot of my early career working in rainforests and jungles but now I spend an awful lot more time at sea.

“We have this idea of the ocean as being this one, single connected environment.

“But actually, within that, you have everything from grass meadows to coral reefs, each one of which is as different as a tropical rainforest is from a desert.

“All of the things that live in the ocean are different and all of the interactions are different. It is very complex and has so much excitement to offer.”

Steve’s not the only one with a love of the water. His wife, Helen Glover, has a pretty good connection to it, through her love of rowing. She’s rather good at it too – a gold medallist in the coxless pairs at both London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

She retired after the 2016 Olympics to begin a family with Steve – they have three children – but returned to compete in Tokyo and now she’s back for Paris and was chosen to be a flagbearer for the opening ceremony.

“Helen has been training really well,” Steve says. “It’s a very exciting time. We (the family) will be there cheering her on the finish line. What she has achieved has been phenomenal but to go back for another Olympics, I couldn’t be prouder. It’s wild.”

As for Steve, you wonder how he fits everything in. On top of being a cheerleader for Helen and preparing for his tour, he is filming a show for Channel Five about being a bee-keeper.

Channel Five has commissioned factual two-parter The Secret Life of Bees. In it, Steve learns what it takes to become a beekeeper while exploring the importance of the 270 different bee species in the UK. The show is executive produced by Ed Taylor and Ros Edwards from Honey Bee.

“It came from out of nowhere really,” he said. “Channel Five got in touch and asked if I’d like to learn how to keep bees for a series. I have always wanted to keep honey bees and so I jumped at the chance. I’m three weeks in but it’s already proving to be a real positive and an exciting thing to do. I am loving it and who knows, it could be a part of my future!”

So how does he fit it all in? “I have to be super disciplined and make sure I don’t waste a single second of any day,” he said. “Everything is driven towards the job and the big picture and message. I am so lucky I get to do something I love for a job. Every single day is always going to be different. and I count my blessings every day.”

Ocean will be at Wolverhampton Civic on October 23 at 6pm. Tickets are available from stevebackshall.com