[2] Born in Buckinghamshire in 1979, his father's work with General Motors took the family to the United States when Bell was six and on to the outskirts of Paris when he was nine.

[6] He had previously worked for French radio station Connexion FM and the Energy Saving Trust before he started in television.

During 2017 he presented further Channel 5 programmes: Inside the Tube – Going Underground,[18] Great British Royal Ships,[19] and The World's Greatest Bridges.

[20] He co-presented The Great Fire (with Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb)[21] and Brunel:The Man who Built Britain.

[23] In 2018 Bell presented further programmes for Channel 5 with The Flying Scotsman airing in February,[24] World's Tallest Skyscrapers in June[25] and Walking Britain's Lost Railways in September.