Alex Bellos

Freelance writer and broadcaster, Alex Bellos was born in Oxford and grew up in Edinburgh and Southampton. After studying mathematics and philosophy at university he joined the Evening Argus in Brighton as a trainee reporter. In 1994 he joined the Guardian as a reporter and in 1998 he moved to Rio de Janeiro, where spent five years as the Guardian's South America correspondent. Since 2003 he has lived in London, as a freelance writer and broadcaster.

The books by Alex Bellos include: 'Futebol, the Brazilian Way of Life', 'Pelé, the Autobiography' (as ghostwriter) and 'Alex’s Adventures in Numberland' (US title: 'Here’s Looking At Euclid').

In 2003 Alex presented a five-part series on Brazil for the BBC, called Inside Out Brazil. His short films about the Amazon have been broadcast on the BBC, More 4 and Al Jazeera International.