# Ellie Harrison (journalist)
**Ellie Harrison** (Eleanor "Ellie" Harrison; born 1977) is an English ecologist, journalist and television presenter, best known as a presenter of the BBC rural affairs program *Countryfile*, which she joined in 2009 and left in 2023.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/85350/ellie-harrison) • [2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) • [3](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/bbc-british-blue-planet-ii-cotswolds-channel-b1114490.html) She is also a columnist for *Countryfile Magazine* and has fronted natural history shows across several channels in the UK and US.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Eleanor "Ellie" Harrison, born 1977 in the United Kingdom[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/85350/ellie-harrison) |
| Signature role | *Countryfile* presenter, 2009 to 2023, alongside John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker, Tom Heap, Anita Rani and Helen Skelton[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) • [4](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/who-is-ellie-harrison/) |
| Education | Scholarship from King's College, London, to study Geography with Ecology; thesis in Zimbabwe on development and animal conservation[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) |
| Television debut | 2005, presenting Channel 5's *Michaela's Wild Challenge* while covering Michaela Strachan's maternity leave; the show won a BAFTA that year[5](https://humanists.uk/about/our-people/patrons/ellie-harrison/) • [2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) |
| Awards | BAFTA Children's Factual (2006, *Wild Challenge*); Royal Television Society West Female On-Screen (2014); BAFTA Live Event (2020, *Springwatch 2020*)[6](https://www.ellie-harrison.com/bio) |
| Conservation roles | President of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust since 2014; patron of Humanists UK[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) |
| Home | Five-acre Cotswolds smallholding with an ancient apple orchard, managed for wildlife[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) |
## Early life and education
Harrison grew up on a smallholding in the [Cotswolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/cotswolds), where her family raised vegetables and kept chickens; she has said her father modeled himself on Tom in *The Good Life* and even made his own yoghurt.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) As a young woman she worked on a farm in Zimbabwe and took wildlife trips to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Canada.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter)
She won a scholarship from King's College, London, to study [Geography](https://www.edgepedia.org/geography) with Ecology, and completed her thesis in Zimbabwe on development and animal conservation.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) Her own CV records a 1999 [King's College London](https://www.edgepedia.org/kings-college-london) scholarship for research in Zimbabwe on elephant conservation.[6](https://www.ellie-harrison.com/bio) In a 2014 travel interview she said she left the Golden Valley near Stroud, Gloucestershire, at 17 and returned at 35 to live there again.[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/my-life-in-travel-ellie-harrison-9159633.html)
## Television career
**Entry into presenting.** Harrison's ambition had been to be a country singer; to support herself she took a series of temp jobs, becoming a secretary at Channel 5.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) • [4](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/who-is-ellie-harrison/) A producer there spotted her and offered her a children's television presenting job, which she turned down; she also declined an offer to present Channel 5's children's show *Milkshake!*.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) • [3](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/bbc-british-blue-planet-ii-cotswolds-channel-b1114490.html) The same producer later persuaded her to cover [Michaela Strachan](https://www.edgepedia.org/michaela-strachan)'s maternity leave, and she presented *Michaela's Wild Challenge* for a year, during which the show won a BAFTA.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) Humanists UK dates her television debut to 2005 on that series, in which she undertook unusual wildlife trials to highlight species' extraordinary traits.[5](https://humanists.uk/about/our-people/patrons/ellie-harrison/)
**Natural history and rural programming.** After returning to the UK she worked on factual programs for the BBC, ITV, and More4.[5](https://humanists.uk/about/our-people/patrons/ellie-harrison/) Her listed credits include *The ONE Show* (BBC1, 2007–2008), *Daily Planet* (Discovery Canada, 2008), *Wild About Your Garden* (BBC1, 2008–2009), *Country Tracks* (BBC2, 2010–2011), *Britain's Big Wildlife Revival* (BBC1, 2013), *The Great British Winter* (BBC1, 2013), *Nature's Miracle Orphans* (BBC2, 2014), *Dinosaur Britain* (ITV, 2015), *Britain's Whales* and *Britain's Sharks* (ITV, 2016), and *Springwatch 2020* (BBC2).[6](https://www.ellie-harrison.com/bio) She has also co-presented *Secret Britain* on the BBC.[3](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/bbc-british-blue-planet-ii-cotswolds-channel-b1114490.html)
**Countryfile.** Harrison joined the BBC's *Countryfile* team in 2009, when the program moved to prime time and its remit broadened to cover country life beyond the farm gates.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) • [8](https://c01.purpledshub.com/bbccountryfile/2022/09/20/ellie-harrison-6/) In October 2023 she announced her departure in her final column for *Countryfile Magazine*, writing, "After 13 years, my final column is a fond farewell to Countryfile – I'll miss the people, places and stories." The BBC said it would celebrate her contribution in a special show on December 3.[3](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/bbc-british-blue-planet-ii-cotswolds-channel-b1114490.html)
## Conservation work and advocacy
In 2014 Harrison was made president of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, which works on local conservation and encourages environmentally friendly activities.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) • [9](https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/ellie-harrison) She is also a patron of [Humanists UK](https://www.edgepedia.org/humanists-uk), and has said, "Being kind, forgiving, and feeling love towards others are not traits that belong to any one religion – they are the traits of humans."[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) She has written articles and given presentations on topics including biodiversity, tonic immobility, wildlife gardening, and the marine environment.[5](https://humanists.uk/about/our-people/patrons/ellie-harrison/)
## Personal life
Harrison lives in the Cotswolds with her partner and their three children; the couple have been engaged for many years.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) She manages a five-acre smallholding with an ancient apple orchard in a way she tries to make as beneficial for wildlife as possible.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter) She enjoys wild swimming, singing, playing the banjo, and cycling, and has said she believes she suffers from seasonal affective disorder and that nature makes her well.[2](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter)
## References
1. [Ellie Harrison, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/85350/ellie-harrison)
2. [Who is Ellie Harrison? Everything you need to know about the Countryfile presenter, Countryfile.com](https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile-tv-show/countryfile-presenters/who-is-ellie-harrison-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-countryfile-presenter)
3. [Countryfile star Ellie Harrison to be celebrated in special show following exit, The Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/bbc-british-blue-planet-ii-cotswolds-channel-b1114490.html)
4. [Who is Ellie Harrison?, Radio Times](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/who-is-ellie-harrison/)
5. [Humanists UK Patron: Ellie Harrison, Humanists UK](https://humanists.uk/about/our-people/patrons/ellie-harrison/)
6. [Ellie Harrison bio and credits](https://www.ellie-harrison.com/bio)
7. [My life in travel: Ellie Harrison, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/my-life-in-travel-ellie-harrison-9159633.html)
8. [Ellie Harrison, BBC Countryfile](https://c01.purpledshub.com/bbccountryfile/2022/09/20/ellie-harrison-6/)
9. [Ellie Harrison Speaker Agent, Champions Speakers](https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/ellie-harrison)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Television presenters and hosts › Science and nature presenters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license