Three More Wildlife Stars Join Steve Backshall at Heligan

One of the new names on the bill once found an abandoned duck egg in a Devon field. What happened after that reached more than 300 million people.

Hannah Stitfall, Riyadh Khalaf and Cam Whitnall have joined the line-up for Steve Backshall’s Wild Heligan, running at The Lost Gardens of Heligan from July 18 to September 2. They join Steve Backshall and Maddie Moate for what Heligan is calling its biggest ever summer event.

Every Monday to Saturday across the programme, one of the five headliners takes to Heligan’s Wild Stage for two shows, at 1pm and 3pm. Sundays hand the stage over to live music and performance.

Who has been added

Hannah Stitfall

Hannah Stitfall is an RTS-nominated wildlife presenter, producer and filmmaker. She has worked with BBC Earth and BBC One, and she is the digital presenter for BBC Springwatch. More than a million people follow her across social media, which makes her one of the most widely followed wildlife presenters in the country. She holds a first-class degree in zoology and a Masters in wildlife filmmaking, and much of her work uses self-shot footage and photography to document wildlife around the world and push environmental issues into view.

Riyadh Khalaf

Riyadh Khalaf is a wildlife and science filmmaker, presenter and social media personality whose credits include BBC The One Show, BBC Morning Live and BBC Reel. Before moving into media he worked as an educator in marine aquatic wildlife. Then in 2024 he came across that abandoned duck egg in Devon. He rescued it, incubated it, hatched it and raised the duckling, named Spike, and the series documenting it drew more than 300 million views.

Cam Whitnall

Cam Whitnall runs The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent as managing director and wrote the Sunday Times bestseller Lion Heart, published by Ebury/Penguin. He co-hosts CBBC’s One Zoo Three with his brothers Aaron and Tyler, is a Nikon ambassador, and has built a following of more than two million around his wildlife photography, rescue and conservation work.

Sundays belong to Cornwall

The Sunday live music sessions are headlined by Cornish acts. Singer-songwriters Josh Curnow, the Wave Machine and Daisy Mae are on the bill, alongside comedy Casio rappers Hedluv and Passman and drag queens Vicki Vivacious and Pasha Queen.

David Harland, chief executive of The Lost Gardens of Heligan, said: “We’re hugely excited to bolster the line-up for our summer Steve Backshall spectacular. We have an amazing array of talent with us at Heligan this summer, ready to shine a light on the wonders of the natural world, as well as get us all dancing! What could be better?”

Away from the stage

There is more going on than the shows. Visitors can take part in wildlife-themed workshops and use a wild lab space to examine specimens under a microscope. Further down the Play Meadow, described as the south west’s biggest outdoor play area, Heligan den building lets people build shelters from a range of provided materials.

Cheaper tickets this summer

Heligan is taking part in the Great British Summer Savings Scheme, which cuts VAT on daily admission tickets, Direct Debit Locals’ Passes and children’s meals over the summer. Admissions and children’s meals bought during the savings window, which runs until September 1, come at the lower price. Locals’ Pass prices have dropped too, giving residents of Cornwall and Devon 12 months of unlimited visits for less.

Every Wild Heligan activity is included in the standard admission price, so it is free to Locals’ Pass holders and Heligan members. The Wild Stage shows are open to anyone with an admission ticket or Local Pass. Tickets, timeslots, Locals’ Passes and memberships can all be booked at heligan.com.

Getting there

Local bus travel is free for under-15s throughout August as part of the scheme. Heligan is served by several bus routes, including one direct from St Austell station, and there are dedicated cycle and walking trails running to the gardens all the way from St Austell.