Springwatch's Michaela Strachan says age doesn't hold her back except with one thing

The first question I ask the ever-smiling Michaela Strachan as I interview her over Zoom is, who painted the portrait in her attic? I'm referring, of course, to Oscar Wilde's ever youthful character Dorian Gray who ceases to age while a portrait in his attic takes on the task.

It wasn't a question I was intending to pose but apart from a few laughter lines around the eyes, La Strachan barely seems to have aged since her Hitman and Her days - the trash-tastic, late-night TV music show she hosted with music mogul Pete Waterman from 1988 to '92. Yet she's almost 60! She laughs.

"What? Look at my sleepy, right eye. And I've got wrinkles. But, yes, people tell me all the time that I look the same as I did in the eighties when I presented Wide Awake Club with Timmy Mallet. I've got good genes."

It's more than that, though. I reckon it's also about attitude and the way you look at life. Michaela agrees.

"I may be almost 60 but I'll always be 35 in my head," she says. "You've got to think like a younger person and keep on moving on - especially as life changes. Whether that be through your kids leaving the nest and feeling like life has lost some of its purpose, feeling a bit lonely or like you've lost your way. As women, I think we feel these changes particularly keenly."

She has clear advice on how to do this. "Challenge yourself, look for new stuff to do, meet new people, get involved in a new community, make new friends, take risks," she says. "I adored doing Dancing on Ice earlier this year, for instance, because it was all about pushing myself and doing something completely new and a bit scary. It gave me an enormous amount of joy and a real boost of energy."

It also gave her a leg injury that took several months to fully heal. She laughs again - more ruefully this time.

"The injury taught me that physically I'm not 35 even if I think I am. Proceed with caution, is what I'd say. But heck, women of my age, post menopausal women who've come out the other side - I don't like going on about the menopause - there IS life afterwards, well, we have to keep pushing boundaries.

She chuckles. "I'm big on pushing boundaries and breaking down barriers. I've done so throughout my life. Don't tell me I can't do something because of my age - I'll decide if I can. Be realistic though. I always wanted to surf, for instance, but now I realise that it's not for me. I don't like feeling like I'm in the middle of a washing machine cycle. And, so what? It doesn't matter."

This can-do approach to life has been influenced by Michaela's recovery from breast cancer. She was diagnosed in 2014 and had a double mastectomy, followed by breast reconstruction.

"Since having cancer, I see every minute as a gift," she says. "I'm like 'Yay!'. I'm nearly 60, I'm well, I'm fit, I have a great career, I've got a great kid - Ollie who's 19 and studying at Loughborough University - and three wonderful stepchildren. I've got two grandchildren and a loving relationship with my partner Nick who I've been with since the early noughties. What's not to celebrate?

"It's all about focusing on the positives. You've got to do that otherwise there's not much point, is there? The world is in such a grim state right now. It's all so negative out there - we're bombarded with negative information and news, hate and vitriol, so much sadness and it's all so depressing. Let's all try and seek out the positives in life. Stuff that brings us joy."

One of the reasons she loves doing the BBC's seasonal nature shows - Winterwatch is back in early January, by the way - is because of the positive feedback the show gets from viewers.

"We have such a loyal audience and I love looking at social media after the live programme has gone out because there's just so much warmth and joy there," she says. "I'd say 85% of the comments are positive and that's pretty much unheard of these days. OK, we look at controversial issues and stuff like wildlife protection, the environment and sustainability but the general remit of the Watches [spring/summer/autumn and winter] is to celebrate British wildlife. You actually have to search for the negative comments. What an absolute delight that is."

Working with her old mucker Chris Packham - whom she met presenting The Really Wild Show in the early 1990s - is another delight.

"We've been friends for years and years - we're lifelong mates and know each other very well after all this time," she smiles. "The public has seen us grow up on telly. I feel so lucky to have had someone I've worked with for so long. How many presenting duos get the chance to do that? We work in very different ways. He's got the science background - a BSc in zoology - and I'm the storyteller. I used to feel inadequate because his knowledge is unbelievable. Now I'm comfortable with what I bring to the show. Chris is extraordinary and the campaigning that he does is extraordinary and I think he's everybody's hero on the Watches team. We need more people like Chris."

In April next year, Michaela is hitting the road with her Not Just a Wild Life theatre tour across the UK. It's to coincide with the 40th anniversary of her TV career and also part of her 60th birthday celebrations. Forty years on the box... it's a long time.

"Isn't it? I can't really believe it. When I started, I reckoned I'd be lucky to have a career that lasted a couple of years, let alone 40. I remember being on the Wide Awake Club with Tommy Boyd, a former presenter on Magpie who'd done 10 years on children's TV, and thinking 'Wow! Imagine that! 10 years!'. It's fantastic that I'm still remembered from those shows in the 1980s."

The Hitman and Her was a particular guilty pleasure of mine - and countless others.

"The amount of people who come up to me and mention that show is astounding," she exclaims. "I look back at it and cringe a bit. We had all these ridiculous games which you just wouldn't get away with now. I also think, 'OMG - what was I wearing?' But everyone dressed like that back then. The theatre show will be a real walk down memory lane, a lovely nostalgic evening."

Next month sees Michaela co-hosting another theatre show A Wild Evening, alongside fellow well-known wildlife enthusiasts Gordon Buchanan, Lizzie Daly and Hannah Stitfall. She also recently hosted the prestigious annual Animal Action Awards awarded by The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) which puts a spotlight on the unsung animal heroes from around the world that are making a big difference - a cause very close to her heart. She lives in South Africa yet she seems to be here more than she's there. How does this affect her personal life with partner Nick?

"We're very good friends and get on really well - we're both into the outdoors, we're both into wildlife, being outdoors, being fit. We're very like-minded people. But maybe the secret is that we're apart a lot. We don't get on each other's nerves as much as maybe we would if we were together all the time."

"We're not married," she continues. "I don't really see the need plus it's an awful lot of expense. I always miss my family but I've been doing this job for a long time now. Although it seems outrageous to some people, to me travelling round the world has always been my life. It takes a lot of scheduling and it takes a lot of juggling but we do it and we're all used to it.

"Maybe my career would have been different if I'd stayed here. But I love the balance of working here and then going there, and having a very different kind of life altogether."

Clearly Micheala will be walking on the wild side for many years to come.

Not Just a Wild Life tours from April 13-30 2026, for tickets visit awildevening.co.uk/michaela