I have two daughters who are huge fans of the massively successful TV show, Deadly 60, and it’s charismatic host, Steve Backshall.
So imagine their excitement when I told them I was going to be filming with the actual real person, Steve Backshall, in actual real life, for Story Box Library!
They could barely comprehend such amazing news. Unfortunately neither of my girls were able to come to the shoot with Steve and his wife, English Olympic Rower, Helen Glover, but I was lucky enough to spend a very enjoyable afternoon with this lovely power couple!
In January this year, Steve and Helen were in Australia for Steve’s sold out Deadly 60 Live shows as part of the Pole to Pole tour in major cities around the country. Whilst here they were kind enough to take some time out from their super busy schedule to meet us in the St Kilda Botanical gardens on a warm Melbourne day to read some stories for us.
I have to admit I was slightly nervous about meeting these superstar giants of screen and sport, but all nerves vanished the moment they walked across the grass towards Matt, our cameraman, and I with big friendly smiles plastered across their faces. Steve was first out of the blocks, reading the gorgeous book, Pandamonia with his natural charm and playful tone, bringing the story to life and engaging effortlessly with the camera. No take two was necessary! Steve smashed it out of the park.
He then read a more melancholy story for us, Dream of the Thylacine, and when he’d finished the story, his own words about how the story affected him personally and how he related it to his own experience working with and for the of animals was so moving.
After a very pleasant picnic on the grass where we all sat, along with Brooke (Steve and Helen’s publicist), it was Helen’s turn to read. She was nervous, explaining that most sports people feel apprehensive when it comes to any form of public speaking or performance because that’s not usually something they are trained for, or have a lot of experience with, but she had no need to worry because she was brilliant! Her reading of Big Red Kangaroo and Wombat Wins were both so lovely and natural, and her gorgeous smile combined with that divine English accent made her stories so enjoyable to watch.
After a photo with these two new heroes of mine, Matt and I said goodbye to them and Brooke, and we left the gardens feeling happy to have had such a fabulous afternoon’s work!
I’m so excited to see the finished edits of these wonderful stories, and as if the experience of meeting and working with Steve and Helen wasn't special enough, Brooke gave my girls tickets to Steve’s Deadly 60 show. So it turned out that they were able to experience a bit of that live Steve Backshall magic after all!
Fiona Harris (Story Box Library Producer)
Watch video below to hear Steve Backshall explain why he loves Story Box Library!
