Strictly winner Hamza returns to Bangor

Alumnus, honorary degree recipient, and Strictly Come Dancing winner, Hamza Yassin has returned to Bangor University to give a talk to students from the School of Natural Sciences.

In ‘Life behind the lens’ - he talked about how he became a wildlife photographer and filmmaker.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales ahead of his visit, Hamza said“I wouldn’t be the person who I am now if it wasn’t for Bangor. I’m severely dyslexic and Bangor University managed to help me tremendously -, I didn’t even see it as a hurdle. I then fell in love with natural history and Bangor is just surrounded by the most beautiful landscape, it was the perfect university to go to learn anything to do with marine biology or zoology.”

Ahead of the lecture, Hamza stepped back into his dancing shoes and joined the Bangor University Dance Squad with an impromptu performance at Pontio.

Julia Jones, Professor of Conservation, said,“Since graduating over a decade ago, Hamza has returned to Bangor regularly to give lectures. He talks about the fascinating journey of how he built his expertise and skills, emphasising the importance of hard work to make things happen, well before becoming a big star. Hamza is part of our team!”

The Sudanese-born Scottish wildlife cameraman, photographer, TV presenter and conservationist made his name in the competitive film-making industry. His dedication and skill at capturing incredible footage of Scottish and Welsh wildlife has helped him make his mark as a wildlife cameraman. But his talent in front of the camera was also quickly recognised- and to a generation of young children, he is CBEEBIES’ Ranger Hamza!

During the last two and a half years, Hamza has been working on some of the sequences for Sir David Attenborough’s new BBC series,Wild Isles. In last night’s episode, Hamza featured in the ‘On location’ segment where he was searching the Scottish Highlands for Golden Eagles.