Fife filmmaker is now working on next Dynasties series

Mandi Stark developed a love of animals when she was growing up in Ladybank, exploring the woods, guddling for fish and playing with the next door neighbour’s rabbits.

That love stayed with her as she moved from Ladybank Primary to Bell Baxter High School where she dreamed of becoming a marine biologist.

However, taking drama in her sixth year also fostered a love of the creative arts and she opted for a career that combined both passions.

Mandi wanted to become a filmmaker so she studied zoology at Glasgow University where two work placements fuelled her ambition – with the BBC’s Animal Hospital and Natural History Unit in Bristol.

She said: “By that time, I realised I didn’t want to narrow my options to the oceans It was a good decision as I’m not the world’s most natural diver!

“The Natural History Unit didn’t feel like work at all – it was just fun and I knew that was the right path for me.”

But it wasn’t an easy one. After Mandi graduated with a BSc in Zoology, she left Ladybank, her parents John and Liz and brother Paul (42) and moved down south.

“I knew I wanted a job with the Natural History Unit and I needed to be in Bristol to have any chance of that,” recalled Mandi. “I did a lot of temporary jobs but, after four years, I got a job as assistant to executive producer Wendy Darke, who became the first female lead of the unit.”

It was the foot in the door Mandi needed and Wendy helped to make her dreams come true.

“She let me go on my first shoot – with David Attenborough,” she said. “And I also met a researcher, Tom Jarvis, who became my husband!

“I was hugely nervous; it was terrifying filming with David on my very first shoot.

“It was a series on Eden called Attenborough Explores Our Fragile World and we were filming top shells (marine snails) in Bournemouth and Swanage.

“It was a dream being on the show and I found a husband too!”

That initial shoot led to many more. Mandi spent three months in Guyana as a team assistant, working on a show with Steve Backshall and Gordon Buchanan.

And that fuelled her love of conservation.

Mandi said: “The series made an argument for saving the rainforests in South America.

“I always wanted to work on programmes that were both informative and made a difference in some way – it justifies you being there.”

Mandi worked on a variety of series before leaving the BBC in 2009 to join Silverback Films, run by Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet executive producer Alastair Fothergill and the former head of the Natural History Unit, Keith Scholey.

Mandi first worked on the series North America for Discovery, spending more than a year in the field, filming everything from wolves hunting salmon in British Columbia to snowgeese in Missouri and sandhill cranes in Nebraska.

While not a natural birder, the cranes have since become a passion for Mandi.

Indeed, in her third show with David Attenborough, Our Planet, her freshwater film’s last sequence ends on a shot of the cranes.

Mandi also returned to British Columbia to film bears for Disneynature.

She said: “We spent seven weeks in one location and saw the bears every day. It was extraordinary.”

However, her favourite shoot was for The Hunt, her second with Attenborough.

“We were filming wolves in the Highlands of Ethiopia, the most endangered carnivores in Africa.

“There are only around 400 of them left and they are beautiful animals; they hunt these ridiculous looking animals, giant molerats.

“They provided some lighter moments in the series, evading the wolves.”

In 2015, Mandi started working on Our Planet, which aired on Netflix last month. She filmed in the Andes, Argentina, Africa, Australia ... and Bristol!

“The kingfisher sequence in Bristol was actually one of my favourites,” she said.

Mandi (40) and Tom also welcomed daughter, Mara (2) during filming for the series.

Now back at the BBC, Mandi is currently working on the next Dynasties series.

She added: “I’ve had to work hard but it’s the best job in the world. My advice would be to go for it, if it’s what you really want to do.

“It can be monotonous as animals don’t follow a script but it’s a privilege to share their stories and, hopefully, make a difference.”

Sir David has referred to Our Planet as his most important series yet. So it’s safe to say Mandi is doing just that. The series is available to stream on Netflix now.