Rhys Jones was brought up on a council estate in South Wales where expectations for what life held in store for you were slim. As he recalls, he was born fighting and never stopped. His perspective on what life could offer him changed forever in the early 1980s when his grandfather took him to the local cinema to see Stephen Spielberg’s blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark. The dream of emulating his hero Indiana Jones and travelling to the farthest reaches of the planet to explore exotic locations and its wildlife now burned deep inside him.
As he progressed at school this passion to escape and explore was further kindled through the pages of an old natural history encyclopaedia given to him by his grandmother. Devouring the pages, the encyclopaedia would help craft his chosen path in life. Like his hero and namesake Indiana Jones, Rhys’s journey has now taken him to all corners of the globe with friends and colleagues at every port; from the Australian outback to the furthest outpost of the Maasai tribe in Eastern Africa.
Associate Professor, TV Presenter, Executive Producer, and now Author, in ‘Becoming Dr Jones’, Rhys will take the reader on an inspiring journey through his life. One filled with highs, lows, humour and poignancy, as well as reverent insights into some of the amazing residents of our beloved natural world. If adventure had a name it would be Jones, and Dr Rhys Jones has taken that mantle to a whole new level!
Dr Jones is an Associate Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Cardiff University. He is Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, A Chartered Environmentalist and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.
He is a seasoned science communicator having delivered programmes for ITV, ABC, Channel 5, The Smithsonian Channel and Discovery. He presented five self-titled BBC series, including ‘Rhys Jones’s Wildlife Patrol’ which aired on primetime network BBC One and for which Rhys received a BAFTA Cymru ‘Best Presenter’ nomination. He is fortunate enough to have worked alongside the likes of Sir David Attenborough (Saving Planet Earth) and Chris Packham (Natures Calendar). His programmes are currently being shown across the world on Amazon Prime (Rhys Jones’s Wildlife Patrol), Disney+ and National Geographic.
