Hamza Yassin looks back: ‘I lived in my car for nine months while I cut my teeth as a wildlife cameraman’

Born in Sudan in 1990, Hamza Yassin is a wildlife cameraman and TV presenter. With a BA in zoology with conservation, and a master's in biological imaging and photography, Hamza had his first presenting experience on The One Show, and went on to front Countryfile and CBBC's Ranger Hamza's Eco Quest. The champion of 2022's Strictly Come Dancing , he lives on the west coast of Scotland. His book, Hamza's Wild World, is out now.

My neighbour had a few animals that he kept as pets, and one of them was a lioness who had just given birth. I was super-excited to meet the cub. Shortly after this photo was taken, my neighbour asked: "Do you want to go in and say hello to the lioness too?" I said: "No, um, thank you. I think I'm OK!"

I lived in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, at the time, right near the banks of the Nile. My whole family were under one roof – my grandparents, all the aunties and uncles, the siblings and cousins – which was really lovely. When I saw how the western world separated themselves, I was surprised: it felt like as soon as someone got married and had kids they were off, living away from the rest of the family unit.

I was eight when we landed in the UK. My parents are doctors, and they were doing a rotation every six to 12 months in different locations. We lived in Newcastle, Carlisle, Whitehaven, Cumbria and Northampton.

I would get daily nosebleeds because of the change in climate. I also had to adjust to the change in pets: "Where's everyone's pet lions and monkeys?" It was all cats and dogs. I hadn't realised what a special upbringing I had had. But it was the UK that cemented my love of wildlife: I quickly fell in love with the country's nature. At first glance, it doesn't look like there is a lot of wildlife, especially in the winter. But if you peel back the layers, there is so much.

When we first came to the UK, I only knew four English words and phrases: "Please" and "thank you" – because politeness is so important in African culture – and "pizza" and "chips", because that's what we saw on telly and I wanted to try them.

I hated being indoors, and sometimes found school hard. It turns out I was severely dyslexic. It was tricky to diagnose because by the time the teachers suspected something, I was off to the next place. Still, I managed to adapt: wherever I was, I would pick up the language and develop it in a way that was regional. I had a geordie accent for a while, and when I was down south people would giggle at my voice. On the plus side, because I was constantly changing locations I was making lots of new friends. Now being able to talk to anybody is a core part of who I am.

My parents didn't have time to hover over us and make sure we were doing homework. They did turn on the television, though; in particular, the Discovery Channel. David Attenborough's The Life of Birds was a lightbulb moment: I didn't understand a word he was saying, but the pictures were unbelievable. Steve Irwin was a huge inspiration, too.

I got my first camera when I was 12. I photographed everything. All of my family are medics, so whenever I was asked what I wanted to be, I'd reply: "Dentist!" Deep down, I wanted to work in wildlife photography. A month before I started a degree to become a dentist, I came crying to my parents saying: "I really don't want to do this. I want to be a wildlife cameraman." I'd been secretly contacting people in the profession, all of whom told me I needed a zoology degree. Instead of telling me off, my parents accepted that I should work in the great outdoors, doing the thing I love the most.

While I thought David Attenborough and Steve Irwin had cool jobs, I never thought I could be a presenter. Why? I never saw anyone like me in front of the camera. I was a teenager who wasn't white. If you look at Springwatch from a decade ago, it was just white middle‐aged men with binoculars; the representation was not there. Slowly we've seen people such as Kate Humble, Michaela Strachan, Megan McCubbin and Gillian Burke changing the landscape, but if you go to an RSPB reserve, it's still mostly white middle-aged men – the retired people who have the privilege of spending an afternoon looking at birds. Still, it was those same men who took me under their wing when I was young and visiting wildlife reserves with my mum. I'd be sitting there annoying them, and they had the kindness to show me their binoculars. They were so full of knowledge, and some became my mentors.

It was still a long road to establishing my career, though. After being an assistant for the incredible wildlife cameraman Jesse Wilkinson, I realised I needed to forge my own path. When I was 21, I went on holiday with a friend to the Highlands. Two weeks later, I was back there for good. I told my parents I was living in this beautiful, quaint cottage. "There's no signal," I would tell them, "so don't bother ringing me. I'll call you!" The truth was I was living in my car, just trying to make ends meet.

I parked at the local ferry terminal, and blocked the sign that said "No overnight parking". I lived there happily for nine months, doing odd jobs – cutting grass, chopping logs, and moving furniture. I calculated I needed £50 a month to survive and, as I was an ex-rugby player, I had the strength to do all sorts of manual work. During that time I was cutting my teeth as a wildlife cameraman whenever I could – I was determined that I wouldn't go back to Northampton with my tail between my legs and say to my parents: "I've been defeated, the dream is over."

Luckily, it paid off. As well as doing housekeeping, I was also taking photos of otters, eagles, pine martens, dolphins, whales and red deer. That experience taught me everything I needed to know about the profession.

The young Hamza in the picture was just a kid who was happy to be with animals; he didn't have a care in the world, other than a bit of homework, and maybe the lioness. My childlike wonder hasn't left me, which is great, because we can be very good at beating it out of kids. If I was president, forest schools would be mandatory, and teachers would test children on which was the fastest animal in the world. Kids would be able to name five trees, rather than five Kardashians.

My job is to share my love of mother nature with the rest of the world, and as a result I feel as if I have never worked a day of my life. Not only that, but David Attenborough has narrated my footage! For him to even know who I am is pretty cool. I can die happy.