Getting to know you

Currently appearing at the Fringe, Ben Garrod shares some of his scientific takes on the world...

Ben Garrod chats to us about life and science as he presents his show at the Edinburgh Festival.

Q Who is your favourite scientist?

A Dr Jane Goodall. She was one of the first scientists to work with apes in the wild and was the first person to document chimpanzees hunting other species and using tools. I was lucky enough to work for Jane for a few years in Uganda. She’s hugely inspirational, not only to other scientists but to anyone interested in helping protect the natural world.

Q What was your plan B career-wise?

A I never even had a Plan A. My whole life has been based on the idea that I wanted to do what I enjoyed. I loved animals and travelling and was always fascinated by the natural world. It just seems natural that I became a biologist.

Q Your house is on fire, what one item do you save?

A My dog, Jack.

Q Theme song for your life?

A What a Wonderful World (by Louis Armstrong) or Three Little Birds (by Bob Marley).

Q Last meal on earth?

A A big, spicy veggie pizza... and yes, with pineapple!

Q Dream dinner party guests?

A A Neanderthal, Lucy the Australopithecine, a chimpanzee called Pasa, Jane Goodall, David Attenborough and Charles Darwin. I’ve already eaten with three of these but not all together.

Q First thing you’d do if you won £1 million?

A Question who was behind the gag... I’d assume it was my little brother playing a trick on me. We have a long history of this sort of thing. If it was true, then I’d probably head out for a meal with some mates. I would like to buy a field and make it wild one day.

Q Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know?

A I have no sense of smell and can pick things up with my feet like a chimp.

Q Favourite holiday destination?

A Either Scotland or Uganda. There’s not a long list of similarities between the two but I love them both for very different reasons.

Q What was the last book you read?

A Funny you should ask – it was Spinosaurus – one of the titles from my wonderful series So You Think You Know About Dinosaurs.

Q Describe yourself as if you were a fine wine?

A Aged, zesty and unfortunately corked.

Q What makes you happy?

A Being outside with nature. I’m not a huge fan of big crowds (yes, I see the irony of coming to the Fringe) and love to be outside, surrounded by wildlife. Maybe in a forest or by the sea. Probably with the hound by my side, tail wagging.

Q What makes you sad?

A I hate the damage we’re doing to our environment. I hate that we kill sharks for their fins, elephants for their tusks and golden eagles because they might take a few pheasants that some privileged plonker wants to shoot instead. I get sad when we don’t listen to kids who want a safe and happy future full of wildlife and wild places. The fact that we have more than one million species threatened with extinction right now but have to battle every step of the way for our politicians to do the right thing and prioritise tackling climate change and saving biodiversity.

Q If you could go back to any point in history, what would it be?

A It’s all about pre-history for me... I’d love to go back just half a million years and meet our Neanderthal ancestors.

Q What is the best advice you have ever received?

A My mum once told me: “it doesn’t matter what you want to do in life, as long as you wake up more mornings than not and look forward to the day ahead”.

Q Tell us a joke.

A Why do you never hear a pterodactyl in the loo? Because their ‘p’ is silent.

Q What do you do to unwind?

A I love to swim outdoors any time of the year. I swim most days, even in the winter. Rather predictably I love to get outside, with the dog, and go for a walk. To be fair, I don’t really get too stressed – I’ve worked hard at that.