Frank Gardner has been the BBC’s full-time Security Correspondent since 2002, reporting on global security issues from Ukraine to Gaza to Afghanistan, Colombia and the Arctic. In 2004 he was shot six times at close range by Al-Qaida terrorists while on assignment in Saudi Arabia. He survived but his cameraman was killed. Frank holds a degree in Arabic & Islamic Studies from Exeter University and honorary doctorates from several UK universities. He was awarded an OBE for services to journalism by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 and voted Person of the Year by the UK Press Gazette.

He served for six years as an Infantry Officer in the British Army Reserves and worked in New York and Bahrain in investment banking before joining the BBC. He is the author of five bestselling books, including his autobiography ‘Blood & Sand’. His latest spy thriller, Invasion, will be published in paperback in 2025. Frank is also a keen nature photographer and is President of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

Language spoken: French

Photo credit: Kin Ho