Dale Templar is the series producer of Human Planet. After finishing her post graduate degree in journalism she joined BBC News and Current Affairs. She then worked in both BBC Science and Documentary departments before joining the Natural History Unit in Bristol. In the last 22 years making prime time programmes, she has specialised in filming in remote locations with humans and wildlife. She has travelled and filmed in over 50 countries and in all the environments covered by the Human Planet series. Dale's other credits include: "Pacific Abyss", "Eaten Alive" , "SAS – Are you Tough Enough?" and "Vet Safari". She has worked on several co-productions with the Discovery.
Dale is a co-author of the Human Planet book and writes travel articles and has been giving a series of lectures and talks about the series. "It has been so wonderful to get a chance to talk directly to the audience here in the UK. Dale is a keen on most out door activities including long distance running , scuba diver , skiing , climbing and cycling . Her husband is also a TV producer and she has a 13 year old daughter.
"On Pacific Abyss we sailed over 1000 miles across Micronesia visiting some of the most remote islands on Earth. We were constantly amazed at how few sharks we found in many of these locations, painfully aware of the impact of over fishing on these majestic creatures. Then on one dive, off a uninhabited island, I saw five different species of shark. In just one hour I encountered darting small reef sharks and curious oceanic beasts. That evening I felt so privileged, yet saddened, with the demand for shark fins this extraordinary encounter is unlikely to ever happen to me again."
The response as been quite incredible . We have reached such a broad audience but I am particularly pleased that so many younger people have become hooked on Human Planet. I am confident that the American audience will be just a amazed by the incredible photography and the heart stopping stories."
While making wildlife films I have been charged by an elephant (it stopped just in time!), I was jumped on by a rhino (I jumped faster out of the way), filmed a lion castration in the bush and it woke up early. I've dug out a Land Rover stuck in the sand bedside hungry hippos, I've been chased by a Tasmanian devil , bitten a giraffe's tail (needed to get it standing after veterinary sedation!) had a cheetah wake up rather too early in the back of a truck. And finally I've stared at the brightest stars in the world!"
