Rob Bell (born 1979) is a British TV presenter and STEMnet ambassador.[1] He has appeared on TV programmes on BBC, Channel 5, Travel Channel (now DMAX) and Yesterday.
Rob Bell MSc | |
|---|---|
 Rob Bell by the Millau Viaduct in France | |
| Born | 1979 Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Bath |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Website | www |
In 2015, Bell became one of just a few people to complete seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.[2]
Early life
editBorn in Buckinghamshire in 1979, his father's work with General Motors took the family to the United States when Rob was six and on to the outskirts of Paris when he was nine. His mother was a big influence for what was to become a passion for engineering.[3][4]
He achieved a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering with French at the University of Bath,[5] completing his dissertation at University in Lyon, France.[6] He had previously worked for French radio station Connexion FM and the Energy Saving Trust before he started in television.[7]
Career
editHis first television work was the BBC series Engineering Giants, which he co-hosted with engineer turned comedian Tom Wrigglesworth in 2012.[8] In 2013 he presented the Travel Channel programme Rob Bell's Engineering Enigmas and its series Man Vs World, where he participated in several adventure sports in different locations around the world.[9] This was followed up in 2014 by the BBC programme The Science of D-Day,[10] and another Travel Channel programme Secrets and Mysteries London[11] and the Channel 5 six-part series Underground Britain.[12]
In 2015 Bell presented the BBC history programme Haslar: Secrets of a War Hospital,[13] and then completed seven marathons on seven continents for the Travel Channel series Monster Marathon Challenge.
In 2016 Bell presented the BBC documentary Tank Men to commemorate 100 years since the first use of tanks,[14][15] and narrated the BBC series Sea Cities.[16] He also presented the Channel 5 series Britain's Greatest Bridges.[17] He also appeared as a contributor to the Yesterday series Abandoned Engineering, which was later adapted to the 2017 US series Mysteries of the Abandoned on the Science Channel.
During 2017 he presented further Channel 5 programmes: Inside the Tube – Going Underground,[18] Great British Royal Ships,[19] and The World's Greatest Bridges.[20] He co-presented The Great Fire (with Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb)[21] and Brunel:The Man who Built Britain.[22] He also presented the BBC show Invented in The South.[23]
In 2018 Bell presented further programmes for Channel 5 with The Flying Scotsman airing in February,[24] World's Tallest Skyscrapers in June[25] and Walking Britain's Lost Railways in September.[26] A second series of Walking Britain's Lost Railways premiered in 2020.
In 2021, Bell presented the Channel 5 series London's Greatest Bridges with Rob Bell.[27]
Filmography
edit| Year | Television series | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Engineering Giants | Co-presenter | 3 episodes | [28] |
| 2013 | Rob Bell's Engineering Enigmas | Presenter | ||
| 2014 | The Science of D-Day | Presenter | Documentary | [29] |
| Secrets and Mysteries of London | Presenter | Documentary | [30] | |
| 2015 | Underground Britain | Presenter | TV series | [31] |
| Haslar: Secrets of a War Hospital | Presenter | Documentary | [32] | |
| Monster Marathon Challenge | Presenter | TV series | [33] | |
| 2016 | Tank Men | Presenter | Documentary | [34] |
| Sea Cities | Co-presenter | TV series | [35] | |
| Britain's Greatest Bridges | Presenter | TV series | [36] | |
| 2017–present | Abandoned Engineering | Co-presenter | TV series | [37] |
| 2017 | Mysteries of the Abandoned | Co-presenter | TV series | [38] |
| Inside the Tube – Going Underground | Presenter | TV series | [39] | |
| The World's Greatest Bridges | Presenter | TV series | [40] | |
| The Great Fire: London Burns | Co-presenter | TV series | [41] | |
| Brunel:The Man who Built Britain | Presenter | TV series | [42] | |
| Invented in... | Presenter; episode "The South" | TV series | [43] | |
| 2017–2020 | Great British Royal Ships | Presenter | TV series | [44] |
| 2018 | Sea Cities | Presenter | TV series | [45] |
| The Flying Scotsman | Presenter | TV series | [46] | |
| Numb Skulls | Presenter | TV series; episode "Atlantic Crossing" | [47] | |
| World's Tallest Skyscrapers: Beyond the Clouds | Presenter | TV series | [48] | |
| 2018 – present | Walking Britain's Lost Railways | Presenter | TV series | [49] |
| 2019 | Building the Channel Tunnel: 25 Years On | Narrator | TV series | [50] |
| London: 2000 Years of History | Presenter | TV series | [51] | |
| The Blitz: Britain On Fire | Co-presenter | TV series | [52] | |
| Secret Nazi Bases | Co-presenter | TV series | [53] | |
| When Buildings Collapse: World's Worst Engineering Disasters | Presenter | Documentary | [54] | |
| 2020 | Britain's Lost Battlefields with Rob Bell | Presenter | TV series | [55] |
| On Board Britain's Nuclear Submarine: Trident | Presenter | Documentary | [56] | |
| 2021 | London's Greatest Bridges with Rob Bell | Presenter | TV series | [57] |
| The Buildings That Fought Hitler | Presenter | TV series | [58] | |
| 2021 – present | Building the Impossible | Presenter | TV series | [59] |
| 2021 | Britain's Top 10 Ships | Presenter | Documentary | [60] |
| The Stonehenge Enigma: What Lies Beneath? | Presenter | Documentary | [61] | |
| When Big Things Go Wrong | Contributor | TV series | [62] | |
| 2022 | British Planes That Won the War with Rob Bell | Presenter | TV series | [63] |
| 2023 | Britannia: Secrets of the Royal Yacht | Presenter | Documentary | [64] |
| 2024 | Inside Nuclear - Heysham 2 | Presenter | Documentary |
References
edit- ^ "Engineer, TV Presenter, Broadcaster, Adventurer, Rob Bell Visits Vinehall – IAPS". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "7 marathons, 7 continents, 7 days – the '777' experience". AW. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Railways in the Media" (PDF). Hornby the Collector. 119: 39–40.
- ^ "Travelling by Man Power Alone – stuff.co.nz p.10 November 2013". 9 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "High Fliers! – Institution of Engineering Designers p.1 September 2018". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Man power inspires SA adventure – IOL.co.za p.11 November 2013". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Who is Rob Bell? - biogs.com". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "TV review: Engineering Giants; Thelma's Gypsy Girls – The Guardian Dowling.T p.15 July 2012". TheGuardian.com. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Man Vs World: Rob Bell travels four nations via mountain board, paraglide and white water canoe – Radio Times Bremner.J p.21 November 2013". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "The science behind the D-Day landings – BBC News 6 June 2014". BBC News. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Underground London: 5 secret places to visit in and around the city – Radio Times Bremner.J p.2 October 2014". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Secrets of Underground Britain". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Haslar: The Secrets of a War Hospital, BBC Two, review: 'gruesome' – The Telegraph Howse.C p.24 June 2015". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Tank Men – bbc.co.uk". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Tank Museum plays part in BBC documentary on first ever tank battle – Daily Echo Durkin.J p.9 September 2016". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Series 1 Episode 1 Plymouth – Radio Times". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "The Tyne Bridge is the star of a national TV programme: When is it televised? – The Chronicle Morton.D p.17 November 2016". 17 November 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Going underground: how London's Central Line was built (and why it's so unreliable) – wired.co.uk". Wired UK. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Great British Royal Ships – myfive". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "The World's Greatest Bridges – Radio Times". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "The Great Fire: London Burns – What you need to know about the 1666 blaze – International Business Times Binding.L p.31 May 2017". 31 May 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "What's on TV today Friday December 8: our television, film and radio picks = The Sunday Times p.3 December 2017". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Invented in – BBC.co.uk". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Tonight's TV: Collateral and The Unstoppable Flying Scotsman – The National p.26 February 2018". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "World's Tallest Skyscrapers – Radio Times". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ Horsford, Simon (21 September 2018). "On the trail of Britain's lost railways – The Telegraph Horsford.S p.21 September 2018". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "London's Greatest Bridges with Rob Bell". channel5.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Engineering Giants". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "The Science of D-Day". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Secrets & Mysteries". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Underground Britain". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Haslar: Secrets of a War Hospital". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Monster Marathon Challenge". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Tank Men". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Monster Marathon Challenge". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Britain's Greatest Bridges". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Abandoned Engineering". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Mysteries of the Abandoned". tvguide.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Inside the Tube – Going Underground". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Great British Royal Ships". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "The Great Fire: London Burns". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Brunel:The Man who Built Britain". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Invented in..." radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Great British Royal Ships". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Sea Cities". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "The Flying Scotsman". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Numb Skulls". imdb.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "World's Tallest Skyscrapers: Beyond the Clouds". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Walking Britain's Lost Railways". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Building the Channel Tunnel: 25 Years On". tvmaze.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "London: 2000 Years of History". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "The Blitz: Britain On Fire". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Secret Nazi Bases". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "When Buildings Collapse: World's Worst Engineering Disasters". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Britain's Lost Battlefields with Rob Bell". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "On Board Britain's Nuclear Submarine: Trident". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "London's Greatest Bridges with Rob Bell". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "The Buildings That Fought Hitler for Yesterday". uktv.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ "Lighthouses: Building the Impossible". thetvdb.com. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "Britain's Top 10 Ships". channel5.com/show. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "The Stonehenge Enigma: What Lies Beneath?". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ "When Big Things Go Wrong". plimsollproductions.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "British Planes That Won the War with Rob Bell". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ^ "Britannia: Secrets of the Royal Yacht". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 3 June 2022.