Dick Strawbridge Lieutenant - Colonel Richard Francis " Dick " Strawbridge , MBE , ( born 3 September 1959 ) , is a British engineer , television presenter and environmentalist . He is often referred to as " Colonel Dick " . Background and personal life . The third of seven children , Strawbridge was born in Burma and raised and educated in County Antrim , Northern Ireland , attending Ballyclare High School from 1971 – 76 . He was married to Brigit Strawbridge and the couple have two children , James and Charlotte , but the couple separated in 2010 . Strawbridge is the owner of a large moustache , which he claims is " the best in showbiz " . Has one son ( born February 2013 ) with partner Angel Adoree , founder of The Vintage Patisserie . Honorary Doctorate . Strawbridge was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Plymouth University in 2010 . Army career . Strawbridge received a commission in the British Army in 1979 , after attending Welbeck DSFC ( becoming head of college ) and joined the Royal Corps of Signals in January 1980 . Promoted to Lieutenant in April 1981 , and Captain in October 1985 , he became a Major in September 1991 . He was awarded an MBE in 1993 for his distinguished service in Northern Ireland , promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June 1999 , and left the army in November 2001 . Television career . Strawbridge is best known to the general public as an engineering and environmental expert on such television programmes as " Scrapheap Challenge " ( on which his team , Brothers in Arms , were series champions and on which he took over from Robert Llewellyn as the main presenter in Series 11 ) , three series of " It ' s Not Easy Being Green " for BBC Two , the six - part BBC Two series " Crafty Tricks of War " of which he was the main presenter , " Planet Mechanics " , and as a regular guest presenter on " Coast " . Following his switch of career to television , Strawbridge often refers to himself as a " telly tart " . " Scrapheap Challenge " . Dick began his career in television as the ' Yellow Team Leader ' for six episodes in the first ever series of ' Scrapheap ' He has to date appeared in over 30 programmes of " Scrapheap Challenge " and " Junkyard Wars " , winning the " Scrapheap Challenge " trophy in series 3 with his two younger brothers David and Bobby as ' Brothers in Arms ' , and the " Junkyard Megawars " trophy in 2003 . On 5 June 2008 , it was announced that he would be returning to " Scrapheap Challenge " for its 11th series . Dick took over from Robert Llewellyn as the main presenter with his expert team of ' Dick ' s Diamonds ' , including his technical mate Jim Milner . The series was shown on Channel 4 in 2009 and will return in 2010 . " It ' s Not Easy Being Green " . Dick , along with his family , have filmed three series of " It ' s Not Easy Being Green " for BBC Two . In series one , which was shown on 28 March 2006 , the family moved to a new home near St Austell , Cornwall and attempted to live as green a life as possible , using renewable energy and environmentally friendly resources . The second series started in Spring 2007 with a different format : Dick and his son James aided several members of the public in larger and smaller ecology projects around the country . Series three saw another format change as the programme took on more of a ' magazine ' theme . " Coast " . Also in 2006 , Strawbridge appeared as a one - off presenter on the BBC2 series " Coast " , examining the workings of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge , a role he revived in the 2007 version of " Coast " , presenting a short part of the program on the failure of Exercise Tiger . In Series 4 of " Coast " , July 2009 , Strawbridge examined the terrain of the Normandy landing beaches . Since then Dick has become very much part of the " Coast " team , appearing in many episodes mainly using his engineering and military history experience . Some of his favourites have been visiting off - shore wind turbines in Denmark and exploring the beaches of Normandy . " The Hungry Sailors " and " Saturday Farm " . In 2011 , Strawbridge and his son James filmed a 20 part series , " The Hungry Sailors " , which was broadcast by ITV . The series saw them set sail around Britain ' s coastline to experience all the amazing local food the coast has to offer . They moor the boat and visit producers inland , then it ' s back to the boat to cook up a storm . In 2012 , filming began on a second series of " The Hungry Sailors " around the Cornish coast , taking in the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly . The series was broadcast from 1 July 2013 . Since 20 April 2013 , Dick and James have presented ITV Food series " Saturday Farm " . Other TV appearances . Strawbridge also had a major role in the BBC ' s commemoration of the 60th anniversary of D - Day , and was the co - host and resident " boffin " on the 2005 game show , " Geronimo ! " . He also appeared as a regular team captain in the US series , " Junkyard Mega - Wars " . Dick also starred in " The Big Idea " , in which he tested out amateur inventions , and featured in the short series " The Re - Inventors " , a series of five , hour - long programmes commissioned by the UK digital channel UKTV History and first broadcast through the week of 11 December 2006 . Each episode featured Strawbridge and his son James reconstructing an invention of historic significance , with only a limited budget ( £500 ) , a limited time of two days and limited facilities ( a specially constructed mobile workshop ) to construct a modern version . They then try it out against the real thing . UKTV History also shows " Crafty Tricks Of War " from time to time . On 21 February 2008 edition of " Ready Steady Cook " on BBC2 , Strawbridge cooked spotted dick . Dick Strawbridge currently presents " Planet Mechanics " on the National Geographic Channel . On 13 November 2009 , Dick was a guest on Robert Llewellyn ' s " CarPool " . In summer 2010 , he appeared in " Celebrity Masterchef " , reaching the final alongside Christine Hamilton and eventual winner Lisa Faulkner . On 20 November 2010 , Dick appeared on the " Children in Need " Special of " Bargain Hunt " . In 2012 , Dick was announced as presenter of new Channel 5 series " Beat The Ancestors " , which commenced broadcast in February 2013 . Other activities . Dick Strawbridge lived at Newhouse Farm in Cornwall where much of the filming for all three series of " It ' s Not Easy Being Green " was done . For a while with his son James he ran eco courses at the farm in order " to share our experiences , demonstrate all the systems we have invested in , and offer eco advice " . The farm has been renamed Bumblebee Farm and is now being run by Brigit Strawbridge whose dream is to " turn it into the UK ’ s first Wild Bee Sanctuary and a Centre of Education for all things wild and wonderful . "