FOR more than a decade fans have marvelled at its real life tales of escape from the rat race.
And another collection of inspiring people who have bravely gone off-grid will share their stories when Ben Fogle‘s New Lives in the Wild returns to TV screens next year.
The popular Channel 5 programme is set to air for its 18th series in January, and it will feature the return of a popular face from a past episode.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Ben, 50, said: “Another series of New Lives in the Wild should be on in January, on Channel 5. It’s been going for many, many years. And there are some really beautiful stories I really like bringing hidden stories to the masses as such.
“I take great pride that the show is never about me. It’s always about other inspiring people. I’m probably not supposed to give too much away, but, hey, whatever, one of the stories is a rather beautiful one of an English woman and her Australian husband who are rewilding the outback.
“So they’re trying to bring back the lost flora and fauna of the outback which most of us think is a very bleak red environment. But actually, there is a lot there. There are a lot of indigenous, beautiful creatures which also means trying to get rid of invasive species. And I think you know, the whole debate about invasive species is really interesting. I think it’s very pertinent.”
From rhododendron, most of which are native to east Asia, in the plant world to green parakeets in London parks and North American crayfish in streams, invasive species are found all around us.
They are defined as non-native species that cause ecological harm by colonising new areas and damaging the environment and upsetting ecosystems.
Ben also revisits a familiar face in North Queensland resident Bette, 79.
For more than 30 years she has lived in a remote cabin and faced devastating flooding and threatening neighbours.
The mum-of-four moved to the wetlands from Byron Bay with her youngest daughter, who was just seven at the time, in 1988, describing it as a “spiritual place”.
Ben said: “I also revisited Bette, who was a someone who appeared on a previous series. Everyone loved her. She lived up in Northern Queensland and she experienced a once in a lifetime flood that very, very nearly took her life.
“So yeah, there’s there’s gonna be some really really exciting stories coming up in this new series. And I’m really looking forward to people seeing them because I think in the television world they are a breath of inspiration in what can otherwise be quite a heavy world of news and politics.”
Alongside his TV work, Ben has undertaken epic adventures such as scaling Everest, rowing the Atlantic with Olympian James Cracknell and travelling to the South Pole like the polar expeditions carried out by the great explorers Shackleton and Scott.
But in the last couple of years his biggest battle has been his mental wellbeing.
Earlier this year he revealed he had been diagnosed with ADHD after weathering a “mental health storm”. The diagnosis helped him to understand his strong emotions – from free-flowing tears to intense friendships – and vulnerability.
Fortunately, he is now in a better place and told us: “I love my work, I love my life, I love what I’m able to do, and I’ve always tried to be a positive person.
“I went through a year of really struggling to maintain that positivity, but I feel I’m out the other end now, and I’ve got my positive mojo back, and I credit that to slowing down, having more sleep, spending more time with your loved ones, and really immersing in an analogue wild, natural world rather than a digital one.”
With New Lives in the Wild in the can, Ben has returned home and landed an ambassadorial role with Sea Life London Aquarium as a rainforest explorer.
The South Bank attraction has reopened its Rainforest Adventure zone which transports visitors into an enthralling environment with critters and interactive features.
It also raises awareness of the plight that rainforests face around the world from deforestation to poaching and wildfires in a fun and educational way.
Ben said: “Well, listen I love rainforests. I’ve spent a lot of time in rainforests over the years and I am obviously a keen advocate for
encouraging, infusing, and inspiring different generations, and in particular, those who aren’t lucky enough to actually go to a rainforest.
“Rainforests are very hard environments, so I think this is a great way of families to be able to immerse themselves in the world of rainforest without the leeches and parasites, and humidity and damp.
“I grew up in London so I have spent a lot of time at all sorts of
museums and aquariums, and I know the value they hold to families and for schools in terms of education. So I was very keen to to be involved.”
I went through a year of really struggling to maintain that positivity, but I feel I’m out the other end now, and I’ve got my positive mojo back.
Ben Fogle
The father-of-two added: “I’m also acutely aware that I am very privileged that I, and in indeed, my family, sometimes gets to visit places which not everyone has the opportunity, socially, economically, geographically, to to reach.
“So, for me, things like this rainforest experience, I think, really, genuinely, are important in terms of the reach that that it it gives to parents.
“I think, as a parent, you know, we all have a very specific responsibility to share our own experiences and our own values.
and you know the rainforests are under threat. That’s the only way to to describe them. Now, I’ve seen first hand the impact we humans are having on them. So I kind of want my own children to be aware of those.
“I think there are real problems coming, but I like to empower my children rather than to shock them into eco-anxiety and some of the other problems that are affecting youngsters. So yes, I think we, as parents, have multiple roles in terms in terms of engaging, not necessarily frightening, but being realists.”
Adventure is never far away in Ben’s life, and he rarely feels as alive as when he’s in the great outdoors.
So it’s no surprise that the broadcaster has no plans to slip quietly into retirement and daily trips to the nearest golf course.
“Well, if you look at someone like Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who is in his eighties, he climbed Everest after double heart bypass surgery when he was in his seventies. So I would like to take inspiration from people like Sir Ran,” he said.
“I hope I’ve got at least another 25 years of doing stuff. Now, stuff doesn’t have to be climbing K2 or Everest. I think an adventure is just something that takes you out of your comfort zone, and I think we all we all have a comfort zone that we like to inhabit.
“And you know it’s that famous old saying, ‘ships are safest in harbour’. but that’s not what they’re made for, and and I think that we as humans do tend to take the easy option, and I could sit back and think ‘Well, do you know what? I’ve had a pretty good career. I’ve done some good challenges. I’ve got two children I’m very proud of. I’ve earned a handsome salary over the years. I could just put my feet up and play endless golf’.
“But what I’d say to that is, I hate golf. I’m terrible at golf, and it doesn’t even appeal to me. So I kind of want to carry on doing what makes me happy, and what makes me happy is just making the most of opportunities that that come along, so yes, I hope that there’ll be many, many more adventures to come.
“They won’t all be physical climbing or rowing adventures, but that, I think, is what is so exciting about life. You never know what is going to be around the next corner.”
Be one of the first explorers to discover the vibrant rainforest where adventure awaits! Guests can start to experience the new Rainforest Adventure zone from Monday 8th July.
SEA LIFE London Aquarium, situated on the South Bank, is open seven days a week. For the latest opening times, feeding times, prices and more see http://www.visitsealife.com/london/
