How near-death experience made Backshall appreciate fatherhood

TV ADVENTURER Steve Backshall has recalled the terrifying experience of almost drowning and said the near-miss gave him a greater appreciation of being a father.

The Deadly 60 and Expedition presenter was filming one of his TV shows in Bhutan and was kayaking in ice-cold rapids in the Himalayas.

The broadcaster was plunged into the freezing water when his boat capsized and he was trapped for nearly five minutes. His life was saved when a member of his team used a safety line to drag him out. During an appearance on Desert Island Discs, Backshall said the experience, while filming a 2019 episode of his Expedition series, made him realise how lucky he was to be a father.

Backshall, who has three children with Olympic rower Helen Glover, said: “I had a much greater appreciation of what I had and what I had to lose and what was really important. And increasingly that is fatherhood, having the opportunity to see my babies grow up. And I think I always, up until that moment, had been a bit of a searcher, looking for, trying to figure out what life is all about and what life is for.

“And I had thundered around the planet desperately doing all these crazy things in attempt to find out what I was put here for. And then found it in something as simple as becoming a dad. And it was such an emotional moment.”

Backshall, 47, married Glover, 34, a month after she won gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016. The couple welcomed twins in January.