by David Needham

SIMON King the television presenter and wildlife film cameraman was the guest speaker at Clacton Arts & Lits on Monday evening.

He talked about his life both in front of and behind the camera.

Having moved to Bristol from Kenya at the age of three, his interest in the natural world developed while walking through local woods to school.

He was introduced to the small screen by his father making a film about raising an orphaned fox cub, from that small beginning his career began.

Returning to Africa aged 23, he started filming big cats. Simon recounted many close encounters with these animals, especially his time raising two cheetahs.

His career has taken him from Patagonia filming killer whales for BBC’s Blue Planet.

His passion for the natural world shone through his talk and left a packed audience wanting to hear more.