Mary-Ann Ochota (Polish pronunciation: [ɔˈxɔta] O-hot-ah;[1] born 8 May 1981) is a British broadcaster specialising in anthropology, archaeology, social history and adventure factual television.

[7] She contributed to series 1 and 2 of the ITV archaeology programme Britain's Secret Treasures presenting the history of artefacts including the Pegsdon Mirror, Putney 'Brothel' Token, Stone Priory Seal Matrix, Lincoln Roman Statue, Canterbury Pilgrim Badges and the wreck of HMS Colossus.

[14] In 2023 Ochota featured on BBC1's flagship outdoors show Countryfile, talking about her passion for landscape archaeology and the Ridgeway trail.

[2] Ochota's notable radio documentaries for the BBC World Service include A Dirty Secret about global sanitation,[16] Why We Cut Men exploring the history and impact of male circumcision in USA and Uganda,[17]Will the Unicorns of the Sea Fall Silent?

[19] Ochota was also a regular presenter of episodes for the long-running World Service anthropology series The Why Factor exploring aspects of human life including surrogacy, pet ownership, dark tourism, the appeal of dinosaurs, veganism, restaurants and a special episode on The World's Marriage Story,[20] on the eve of Price Harry's marriage to Meghan Markle in 2018.

For BBC Radio 4 Ochota has featured as a correspondent on long-running strand From Our Own Correspondent[21] and has presented radio documentaries including The Lost Sounds Orchestra about sound in the past,[22] and Open Country Exercise Shallow Grave about how archaeology can help military personnel recover from trauma.

[25] Ochota was co-host of Wiley Science Communication podcast This Study Shows, with physicist Professor Danielle George.

Ochota's selection included a chocolate bar, a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Taj Mahal She has also been interviewed by Sarah Williams for the Tough Girl podcast[28] and featured on Private Passions on BBC Radio 3.

[29] Ochota writes regularly for newspapers including The Guardian, The Observer and The Daily Telegraph on countryside issues and outdoor activities.

[36] Ochota's first book, published by Headline in 2013, in association with the British Museum and ITV accompanied the TV series of the same name, Britain's Secret Treasures.

[41][42] Ochota was part of an expedition exploring Australia's Simpson Desert in 2015, joining a team of archaeologists, botanists and zoologists looking for evidence of human settlement and influence.

In that time, she hosted two series of the BMC podcast Finding Our Way, showcasing people with diverse backgrounds and life experience who are active in walking, climbing and mountaineering.

[48] Ochota is a member of the Natural England Landscape Advisory Panel, serving as one of the independent experts advising the board.

Ochota is a patron of The Tony Trust, a small grant-giving charity that helps young people afford the cost of Outdoor Activity courses.

In her early 20s Ochota featured as a model in several commercials including Kellogg's Special K.[60] She has been chair and interviewer at the Institute of Art and Ideas philosophy festival How The Light Gets In in Hay on Wye,[61] and hosted events for British Museum, Science Museum, Royal Institution, British Library and CBI.