Roaming all over the world over

Ahead of his first ever theatre tour, which includes dates in Courier Country next week, intrepid TV adventurer Simon Reeve shares some of his exhilarating experiences with

You might imagine that as one of the UK’s most adventurous travellers, Simon Reeve might have had an actionpacked daredevil childhood. But he admits: “I never stowed away on a plane or anything like that – my adventures were restricted to riding my BMX and my grandmother’s magical mystery tours.

“She would take my brother and me in her car when we were very little to explore nearby towns. She had an adapted car and we’d shout: ‘Go left, Grandma!’. It was exhilarating for a six or seven-year-old to be in charge of a vehicle with a willing chauffeur,” recalls Simon, who grew up in West London.

But after 15 years spent making more than 70 programmes he’s more than made up for his slow start in the world of adventure.

“He’s dodged bullets on frontlines, hunted with the bushmen of the Kalahari, dived with manta rays, seals and sharks, survived malaria, walked through minefields, tracked lions on foot, been taught to fish by the president of Moldova, adopted by former head-hunters, and detained for spying by the KGB.

Next week will see the intrepid adventurer visiting Courier Country as part of his first ever theatre tour, An Audience with Simon Reeve.

“I’ll be recounting stories and anecdotes from some of my most exhilarating adventures from around the world – my best and worst moments,” he says. “I’ve had some magnificent adventures and met some of the most inspiring people on the planet. So obviously I’ve got lots of tales from my travels, and this show is a tremendous opportunity to share them with audiences across the UK. There’s a lot that I see and film that never makes it into the programmes, so there’s also behind-the-scenes stories to tell and footage to show,” he continues.

Simon, 46, hopes his show might help push people into unfamiliar territory.

“The world can seem a scary place, but it really isn’t,” he says.

“This is the golden age for travel. These days, ordinary people can have adventures that in the past only kings and queens could have dreamt of. It’s a myth that the world is getting smaller – we can all get dulled into thinking social media is where we get our main meaning but I’ve never heard anyone say they’d rather be on Facebook than see the coral on the Great Barrier Reef.”

Simon is proof you don’t need a string of qualifications to achieve your dreams, revealing: “I didn’t get on with school. I flunked an exam, walked out and never went back. I left school with basically no qualifications.”

He was on the dole for a while and then had a few different jobs.

“I ran some charity shops, then I worked in a jewellery shop for a day and at the Ministry of Defence for half a day,” he says. “After I left, Special Branch came to the house looking for me because I had worked in a secret department. I got turned down for a job as a white van driver, even though no one else applied for it. I had nothing and I was going nowhere.”

I’ve had some magnificent adventures and met some of the most inspiring people on the planet.