Jess French

Veterinary surgeon, zoologist, children’s TV presenter, public speaker and author.

Caring for animals and the natural world is at the core of everything Dr Jess French does – and her enthusiasm is infectious. From deep sea parasites to garden wildlife, Jess encourages audiences to fall in love with every aspect of the natural world.

Speaker

A captivating and highly sought-after speaker, Jess regularly gives talks to large audiences on the themes of animals, nature and the environment as well as children's literature, veterinary science and careers in STEM.

Her versatile nature allows her to adapt her talks to a wide range of events, from theatre shows at science and literary festivals to hands-on workshops and practical sessions. With boundless energy and enthusiasm for the topics she explores, Jess is an inspirational speaker for family audiences, but is also very comfortable speaking to adult and corporate groups, imparting knowledge and thoughtful observations with empathy and humour.

Speaker testimonials:

“Jess kept her audience hooked throughout and they were buzzing with questions!” Scottish Book Trust

“Jess is fantastic to work with and our audiences, young and old, are always enraptured by her shows and talks.” Norwich Science Festival

Film work

Jess hosted the twenty-part series Minibeast Adventure with Jess (CBeebies), which encouraged children to get outside and learn about the insects and invertebrates around them.

In addition to minibeasts, Jess is confident handling invertebrates and a range of other dangerous animals, having worked as an animal handler/bug wrangler on shows including Live ‘n’ Deadly, Deadly Mission Madagascar, and Micro Monsters. 

Radio

Jess presents the Radio 4 series Wild Inside (Radio 4), which sees her and Professor Ben Garrod explore the internal and external anatomy of a range of extraordinary animals.

Writer

A prolific author of books for children, Jess has published 26 books on animals and the natural world. Her most recent book, Beastlands, came out in January 2024.

She also writes for publications including BBC Wildlife Magazine, The Guardian, Animal Planet and Science and Nature Magazine.

Adventure

Jess’ animal exploits have taken her all over the globe, chasing gibbons through the forests of Southeast Asia, searching for skunks in Patagonia, caring for capuchins in the Bolivian rainforest and nursing injured marsupials in Australia.

She has a healthy appetite for adventure - having cycled the Indian Himalayas and climbed Kilimanjaro - and is a keen climber and hiker.

Jess has particularly strong ties to South America, having lived and worked in Chile as an English teacher.

Background

Jess has a first-class degree in zoology from UCL as well as degrees in veterinary medicine and surgery from the University of Nottingham. She is children’s ambassador for Norfolk Wildlife Trust and a patron of Norwich Science Festival.