TV presenter, author and adventurer Monty Halls will be introducing visitors to the GO Diving Show in March to his Big Blue Bag citizen science marine conservation project.

Monty is an ex-Royal Marines Officer who worked for Nelson Mandela during the peace process in the early 1990s. He left the Marines to pursue a career in expeditions, travel journalism and biology, achieving a First Class Honours Degree and becoming qualified as a marine biologist.

His degree was funded by running expeditions, the most notable of which was leading a multi-national team to the discovery of a sunken city off the Indian coast in 2002. During this period he also led four expeditions to Southern Africa, three to Malawi to explore the ecosystem of the lake and investigate poaching activity on the Nyika Plateau, and one to South Africa to dive looking for evidence of prehistoric settlements in cave systems off the Cape. For his work he was awarded the Bish Medal for services to exploration by the Scientific Exploration Society.

In 2003, Monty formed his own expedition company, completing four circumnavigations of the globe over the next four years, seeking out the greatest encounters in the ocean. This brought him to the attention of television producers, being head-hunted as a competitor in the flagship Channel 4 show Superhumans, a test of elite performers, competing in a series of challenges devised by the QinetiQ testing centre. Monty won this competition, and was in demand to present further series for Channel 4, National Geographic, the History Channel, Channel 5, and the BBC.

He is best known for his three BBC2 series Great Escapes, where he lived on the west coast of Scotland and Ireland with his dog Reuben. He also presented the multi-award-winning series Great Barrier Reef.

Monty has written several books, and is a regular contributor to magazines and newspapers, many of them communicating his enthusiasm for the natural world. He is also an Ambassador for various conservation groups and was awarded an honorary Doctorate by Plymouth University.

The Big Blue Bag

The Big Blue Bag Project is designed to empower individuals of all ages and from all walks of life to directly contribute to the protection of waterways and oceans. Participants/communities will be provided with a specially designed ‘Big Blue Bag‘ that contains easy-to-follow protocols, enabling them to collect vital data on marine health, including microplastic pollution, species biodiversity, water temperature, and coastal debris. The collected data will be uploaded to a global, open-access database, contributing to vital research that informs conservation efforts around the world.

Go Diving Show 2025 takes place at the NAEC Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, on the 1st -2nd March.

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