TV presenter Michaela Strachan set to appear at The Apex

As a young girl Michaela Strachan (pictured above) would watch “Born Free” and its sequel “Living Free” and wish she was Joy Adamson, the naturalist played by Virginia McKenna.

“I wanted to be in the wild with lions,” Michaela recalls. “Then many, many years later there I am cuddling lion cubs and chimps, orangutans and gorillas. I look back on all of that and I think, ‘Wow was that really me that did all that?'”

Marking 40 years in the public eye – on our screens, in the wild and sometimes out of her depth, Michaela’s new theatre show “Not Just A Wild Life” laughs at the chaos of TV, celebrates the beauty of nature and reflects on what it means to grow up – and grow older – on screen.

Michaela, who turns 60 in April, is bringing her show to The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, towards the end of this month, and describes it as a nostalgic look back at her four decades on TV, from “The Wide Awake Club” and “The Hitman and Her” in the 1980s to wildlife programmes like “The Really Wild Show”, “Countryfile” and “Springwatch”.

She says: “It’s quite an eclectic mix – quirky in places, poignant in others and spectacular at times. Some of the wildlife stuff I’ve done has been amazing.”

Born and raised in Surrey, her audition for the “Wide Awake Club” “had something to do with a rubber chicken” and she’ll be revealing more about that on the tour, as well as what led her from a very brief stint as a pop singer to becoming a wildlife presenter extraordinaire.

In 1992, Michaela was recruited by the BBC to join “The Really Wild Show” alongside Terry Nutkins and Chris Packham, who she’s remained friends with for 30 years and continue their “on screen couple relationship” for “Springwatch”.

At one stage on “The Really Wild Show” Michaela visited all of the continents in six months, including the Antarctic.

And she has no plans to retire anytime soon, although she admits: “I’m not as competitive as I used to be. When you’re in your 30s and 40s you’re always thinking, ‘Right, what’s next?’ I don’t have that burning ambition anymore. Now I’m just happy that I get to continue doing this amazing job.”

“Not Just A Wild Life” is a high energy, funny and heart-warming journey through four decades of conservation and re-invention.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be upstaged by an elephant, wrangle the likes of Chris Packham, or ice skate on national TV looking like Julie Andrews, then this show is for you.

Michaela promises an entertaining evening for nature nerds, nostalgia lovers, and anyone who’s ever wondered how a rubber chicken can change the course of your life.

She is at The Apex on Monday, April 27, at 7.30pm.

See www.theapex.co.uk or ring 01284 758000 for more information, or to book tickets.