His latest series, Secrets of the Penguins, is now delighting viewers on ­Disney+ following its debut on National Geographic Wild earlier this year. And a new series of Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory is on the horizon.

What does the job involve?

Being in the right place at the right time to hang out with cool animals. You need help to do this – wildlife filmmaking is a real team sport.

Do you need specialist knowledge? 

I did a zoology degree at the University of Bristol and was always good at ­science. I never wanted to be a pure scientist, but the key to being a wildlife filmmaker is working with scientists. 

Were you always into natural history?

Yes, from an early age but without really knowing it. I spent a lot of my childhood in the south west, on a surfboard with my brothers. When you spend that amount of time outside, you get an appreciation of wildlife naturally. I grew up outside Reading, near fields of animals: badgers, deer, foxes, kingfishers. In my early teens, I felt I had a weird superpower: I could get close to these animals without spooking them. 

How did you break into TV? 

I was making films by myself at university and entering competitions. I won one for stills photography with a picture of a peregrine falcon flying over Parliament. At the awards ceremony, I met wildlife photographer Steve Winter, a National Geographic magazine legend. He was looking for a new assistant and offered me a job. I left my graduation ceremony early to go home and pack my bags – the next day, I was on a plane to South Africa to help Steve on a magazine assignment. 

What was your first programme? 

National Geographic’s Leopards at the Door with Steve. It included an amazing episode on urban leopards in Mumbai. 

How did your career develop?

I worked with Steve for a couple of years, then applied for the BBC Natural History Unit’s camera bursary. I was successful and lucky enough to work on Seven Worlds, One Planet with Sir David Attenborough. That was a dream gig and I learned so much. Soon after I started, an opportunity came up to film spectacled bears (think Paddington) in South America as first camera. I won a BAFTA TV Craft award and that was a real launching pad.

How good do your camera skills have to be?

A lot of people specialise in wildlife filmmaking, whether that’s close-up work with insects, underwater or up a tree. I’m a jack of all trades, master of none. To start with, I learned by trial and error, filming and making ­mistakes in my own time. I’ve also worked with some of the best people in the industry and you soon learn what and what not to do. 

You also present…

That was by accident, although I knew I had some ability. Anyone can be a good TV presenter; it’s just practice. Having a camera thrust in your face is a weird thing but it becomes normal. I’m myself – I don’t put on an act. I’m not good enough as an actor. I enjoy trying to convey the emotional rollercoaster that animals go on in the natural world, and combining that with the experience and knowledge I do have.

You’re also an explorer – do you have to be tough?

Not in a macho sense, but you have to be prepared to sit somewhere uncomfortable, getting hungry and tired. Then maybe you will get to witness something no human has ever seen before. That’s part of what drives me. 

Are you ever tempted to interfere with nature – perhaps to save an animal? 

We are documentarians, there to observe behaviour in the world. The exception is when the animal is in peril because of something a human has done. I’ve filmed turtles stuck in nets, so I’ve helped them out. People often say you should stop one animal hunting another, like a polar bear eating a seal, but that’s not possible – even if I wanted to. People usually have a problem with predation when the animal being eaten is cute. Few people care about sardines being eaten by dolphins! 

What do you take on location? 

A camera and warm clothes, if I’m in a cold place. I had a pair of heated gloves to film the penguin chicks jumping off the cliff in Secrets of the Penguins. 

What are the best and worst parts of the job? 

Best is getting to hang out with cool animals; worst is travelling, wrangling bags of equipment through an airport.

The most amazing place you’ve seen? 

Antarctica ­– it’s so big and wild, and it makes you feel very small. 

Your career highlight?

Lots, but filming the largest gathering of fin whales ever recorded was wild.

Is there always something new yet to discover?

People say we’re going to run out of things to film… what a load of rubbish!

Can wildlife filmmaking be greener? 

The industry has come a long way in the past few years in sharing and repurposing footage, but there’s more we can do. That said, there’s still a place for filming on location and finding new stories that get people excited.

What qualities does the job call for? 

With wildlife, everyone says you need to be patient, but I’m not a patient person. Two other Ps are more important: passion and persistence. That’s the difference between people who make it in this industry and people who don’t – they don’t want it badly enough. You also need endless curiosity for the natural world and people.

What advice would you give someone wanting to work in natural history?

Concentrate on improving your skills as a naturalist, learning how to get close to animals without disturbing them. Nothing replaces field experience, and you can have a crazy wildlife experience, even in a city; you’ve just got to look harder. We live in a time when the media industry has been democratised – make films, put them online and people will tell you if they’re any good. If you’re good and you really care, someone will notice, and that’s how you can get a start.

Are you optimistic about the future of the planet? 

The outlook is pretty bleak. Everywhere I go, the planet is in trouble. What gives me hope is that wildlife has an incredible ability to bounce back. Antarctica was the centre for the whaling industry, but commercial whaling was banned in the 1980s and whales are now gathering in numbers reminiscent of pre-whaling times.