Andy Torbet
{{Short description|British underwater explorer, skydiver, adventurer and TV presenter}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Andy Torbet
| image = Andy_Torbet_Speaking_at_a_DoE_event.jpg
| alt =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1976|06|11}}
| birth_place = Irvine, Scotland
| occupation = Adventurer, tv presenter, author
| known_for = Underwater exploring, The One Show, Operation Iceberg, The People Remember.
}}
Andy Torbet (born 11 June 1976) is a Scottish underwater explorer, professional cave diver, skydiver, freediver and climber, Film Maker and TV Presenter; most notably the BBC's The One Show,{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/547t2fPGcTzwn2b9S3QTBYj/andy-torbet |title=BBC One, The One Show |publisher=BBC}} Coast,{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1n1Qffr7BG0lBBgsR4Jhz24/andy-torbet |title=BBC Two, Coast |publisher=BBC}} Operation Iceberg,{{Cite web |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/ssbxh/operation-iceberg--series-1---2-life-and-death-of-a-berg |title=Operation Iceberg: Life and Death of a 'berg |website=Radio Times}} Operation Cloud Lab,{{Cite web |date=2014-07-24 |title=Operation Cloud Lab: Secrets of the Skies review – a scientific romp through the atmosphere |url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/24/operation-cloud-lab-secrets-of-the-skies-review |access-date=2020-10-24 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} Britain's Ancient Capital,{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08819tl |access-date=2020-10-24 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |title=BBC Scotland - Britain's Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney}} The People Remember ,{{Cite web |url=https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/features/best-daytime-programme-the-people-remember/5100113.article |title=Best daytime programme: The People Remember |website=Broadcastnow.co.uk}} and the Children's BBC series Beyond Bionic which he also co-Produced {{Citation |title=Beyond Bionic (TV Series 2018) - IMDb |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt8300062/ |access-date=2020-10-06}} and spawned its own computer game called Beyond Bionic-Extreme Encounters.{{Cite web |last=Thorgilsson |first=Ari |date=12 May 2018 |title=Beyond Bionic : Extreme Encounters |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/games/beyond-bionic-extreme-encounters |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date= |website=BBC/CBBC}}
His first book, Extreme Adventures,{{Cite web |url=https://divernet.com/scuba-diving/extreme-adventures-by-andy-torbet/ |title=Reviews: Extreme Adventures by Andy Torbet |website=Divernet.com|date=10 August 2016 }} was published in 2015 by Bantam Press.{{Cite book |title=Extreme Adventures Andy Torbet |id={{ASIN|059307162X |country=uk}}}}
He became a host on the show Fully Charged in April 2020.{{Cite web |last1=Show |first1=office Fully Charged |last2=Bristol |last3=Park |first3=Bath Science |last4=Crescent |first4=Dirac |last5=Green |first5=Emersons |last6=Bristol |last7=Bs16 7fr |title=Fully Charged {{!}} Clean Energy {{!}} Electric Vehicles {{!}} Renewable Energy|url=https://fullycharged.show/about/|access-date=2020-10-06|website=Fully Charged Show|language=en-US}}
Early years
Torbet was brought up in the Scottish Highlands in rural Aberdeenshire. His father was a forester on The Craigston Estate. He attended the University of Sheffield, where he studied Zoology.{{Cite web |url=https://andytorbet.com/about/ |title=About {{!}} Andy Torbet|website=andytorbet.com|access-date=15 May 2016}}
Army years
File:Cave Of Skulls Andy Torbet.jpg
Torbet spent 10 years in the British Armed Forces as a Paratrooper, Army Diver, and bomb disposal officer, including serving with the 16 Air Assault Brigade, 3 Commando Brigade, the British Army's underwater bomb disposal team and the maritime counter terrorist group.{{Cite web |url=http://www.behappymagazine.co.uk/index.php/features/activities/84-man-of-extremes |title=A Man of Extremes |website=behappymagazine.co.uk |access-date=15 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315115523/http://behappymagazine.co.uk/index.php/features/activities/84-man-of-extremes |archive-date=15 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}
He was involved in military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Falkland Islands.
Diving
Torbet took up diving at the age of 12, he has since dived on operations in the British Armed Forces, on commercial vessels, and explored cave systems and ship wrecks for his television and publishing work.
He has a number of technical diving qualifications, including cave, mixed gas, rebreather and free-diving as well as professional qualifications as a military and commercial diver and supervisor.{{Cite web |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/andy-torbet/1071983/ |title=Authors: Andy Torbet |website=Penguin.co.uk}}
Torbet's most notable dives include the Cave Of Skulls{{Cite web |url=https://www.sidetracked.com/edition-09/scotland.php |title=Cave of Skulls |website=sidetracked.com}} a pothole system in Meall nan Aighean, and Scotland's deepest pothole at 48 meters; exploring the wreck HMS Wager (1739) off the coast of Gulf of Penas, Patagonia;{{Cite web |url=http://andytorbet.com/projects/past-adventures/patagonia.php |title=Wreck Hunting in Patagonia |website=andytorbet.com |access-date=15 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318154518/http://andytorbet.com/projects/past-adventures/patagonia.php |archive-date=18 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.divernet.com/wrecks-general/p301602-mount-misery-to-the-gulf-of-pain.html |title=Mount Misery to the Gulf of Pain |website=Divernet.com}} and the discovery in the English Channel of the MV Shoal Fisher, a wrecked World War II merchant ship.
Climbing and skydiving
Torbet is a qualified mountaineering and climbing Instructor and member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors, with new routes and first ascents in the UK, Canada and Pakistan. As well as rock climbing, he also ice climbs and was a presenter on the BBC's award-winning Operation Iceberg{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/3bQ6Kjvghdwgn8S1BKxbzG8/andy-torbet |title=Operation Iceberg Team, Andy Torbet |publisher=BBC}}
Torbet is a professional skydiver; in 2016, on the BBC's The One Show, he raced a Peregrine falcon in flight while wearing a wingsuit, achieving a win with speeds in excess of 240 mph.{{Cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/bbctheoneshow/videos/10153840721477696/ |title=BBC The One Show, Facebook |website=Facebook}}{{Primary source inline|date=January 2018}} He also performed a HAHO (High Altitude High Opening) jump for the BBC's Cloud Lab.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/24/operation-cloud-lab-secrets-of-the-skies-review |title=Operation Cloud Lab: Secrets of the Skies review |website=The Guardian |date=24 July 2014}}
His highest jump to date, is 28,000 ft over the Arizona desert, in the United States{{Cite web |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a581878/the-one-shows-andy-torbet-for-terrifying-skydive-in-new-show/ |title=The One Show's Andy Torbet for terrifying skydive in new show |website=Digital Spy |date=3 July 2014}}
Publications
- {{cite book |last=Andy |first=Torbet |title=Extreme Adventures |year=2015 |publisher=Bantam Press |isbn=978-0593071625}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.andytorbet.com}}
{{Underwater diving|unddiv}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torbet, Andy}}