BBC’s fulltime Security Correspondent reporting on events from Afghanistan to piracy off the Somali coast to Arctic challenges. Shot 6 times at close range while on assignment in Saudi Arabia in 2004, left severely wounded and dependant on a wheelchair. Awarded an OBE by HM The Queen in 2005. Author of 2 bestselling books ‘Blood and Sand’ describing his Middle East experiences and ‘Far Horizons’ describing unusual journeys to unusual places. Married with 2 children, lives in London.

President of the Ski Club of Great Britain, Gardner after his injuries relearned how to ski using a bobski (also called a sit-ski), that allows disabled people to ski while seated. He has since competed in the BBC Celebrity Grand Slalom in Courmayeur, coming spectacularly last, and has taken his children scuba diving in the Indian Ocean.

2011 – Elected President, Ski Club of GB

2011 – Journalist of the Year, European Diversity Awards

2011 – Master Wheelwright’s Award

2010 – Winner of BBC Celebrity Mastermind session

2009 – Honorary Doctorate from East Anglia University

2009 – Ability Media International Fellowship

2009 – Honorary Doctorate from Open University

2008 – UAE’s Zayed Medal for Journalism

2007 – Honorary Doctorate from Exeter University

2006 – Winner of El Mundo Prize for International Journalism

2006 – Honorary Doctorates from Nottingham and Staffs Universities

2005 – McWhirter Award for Bravery

2005 – Voted Person of the Year by UK Press Gazette

2005 – OBE from The Queen for Services to Journalism

2002-2005 Twice Nominated for Royal Television Society journalism award

Inspired to travel to remote places from an early age after a chance meeting with the veteran Arabian explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger, Gardner developed a fascination for the Arab world and was determined to read Arabic at university.

After living with an Egyptian family in the backstreets of Cairo, a memorable experience he describes fondly in Blood and Sand, he graduated from Exeter University with a degree in Arabic & Islamic Studies. There then followed a nine year career in banking as an investment banker with Saudi International Bank and then Robert Fleming Bank from 1986 until 1995. Bored of banking, he then took the plunge into journalism, working initially for BBC World TV. Spotting a gap in coverage he moved himself and his heavily pregnant wife to Dubai in 1997 to set up as a freelance Gulf stringer covering all 6 GCC countries and Yemen.

In 1999 Gardner was appointed BBC Middle East correspondent in charge of the bureau in Cairo, but travelled throughout the region. After the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York, Gardner focused on stories related to the so-called ‘War on Terror’, a phrase he always disliked, working to steer his audiences away from many of the prejudices and stereotypings that sprang up in the wake of those attacks.

“He was always cut out for journalism. When Kuwait was liberated, he was there with his camera, doing a piece like a reporter. He’s a good communicator, incredibly good at thinking on his feet, knows how to handle situations spontaneously and comes across really well. I met him studying Arabic and Islamic Studies at Exeter University and described him as incredibly widely-travelled, especially in the Middle East. In one year he travelled to 28 countries. He’s the sort of guy who will get through a passport because he runs out of room,” said friend of 30 years Anthony Campanale.

On 6 June 2004, while reporting from a suburb of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Gardner was shot six times and seriously injured in an attack by al-Qaeda sympathisers. His colleague Irish cameraman Simon Cumbers was shot dead. He was left partly paralysed in the legs and dependent on a wheelchair for life.

After 14 operations, 7 months in hospital and months of rehabilitation he returned to reporting for the BBC in mid-2005, using a wheelchair or a frame.