in conversation with Ben Fogle We chat to the Tv presenter, explorer and author
The 45-year-old TV presenter, explorer and author tells Isabelle Broom about growing up with parrots, overcoming shyness, his new series of children’s books and why he likes to indulge in the naughtier things in life…
I grew up living above my father’s veterinary clinic. We had to walk through the reception and past the consulting room to get into our house above, and I used to spend the afternoons once I’d finished school watching Dad operate on dogs. Beats watching TV! The house was right in the centre of London – I could see Oxford Street and Marble Arch from my bedroom window – and it was a busy, busy place. Two of the clinic nurses lived with us and they were very much a part of the family. It was full of dogs and parrots, as well as waifs and strays that would be invited up from the kennels each night – but I loved it that way.
Dr Seuss was my childhood hero.
He was eccentric, irreverent and so free and liberal with his prose. I loved his crazy humour and his books made my brain fizz. The Cat in the Hat is still a Fogle favourite. I was also a massive fan of Roald Dahl as a child. He came to my school when I was nine and read from The BFG. I’ll never forget that magic morning.
I wasn’t at all intrepid or adventurous growing up. On the contrary, I was the shyest of children. I failed all my exams, which stripped me of any confidence, and really I was happiest at home with my beloved Golden Retrievers, Lib and Lex, who were my best friends. We spent our summers in Canada with my father’s family (he was born there), and I suppose that was where my adventurous streak was born. My grandfather lived in a hand-built house on the shores of a lake and I had so much fun on those eight-week holidays.
Many of my most embarrassing moments to date have involved a dog. When I took
Storm, our three-year-old black Labrador, onto ITV’s Lorraine show, she swiped an entire plate of digestive biscuits when Lorraine’s back was turned, and my late dog Inca once drank a pint of Guinness belonging to a man – not me, I hasten to add – in the pub.
We travel lots as a family. This year,
I am taking my children [Ludo, nine, and Iona, seven] on safari in Mozambique. Travelling and writing are both my work and my hobbies, and I’m so lucky that I get to combine the two. I enjoy walking too. There’s something so calming and relaxing about squelching through mud with some panting dogs. It feels organic and wholesome.
“My children are my first readers”
My children are my first readers. I had wanted to write a children’s book for >>
many years, but wanted to wait until my own children were the right age to appreciate them. It’s been a very different experience to the memoirs and manuals I’ve done in the past, and in many ways it was a collaborative effort with my children. We created Mr Dog
– his name, appearance and the name of the other characters in the books. Almost everything that happens in the 10-book series is based on real experiences I’ve had, like the time my dog found a missing tortoise in our garden that had been carried there by a fox. Or the story of the tarantula that stowed away in my rucksack, hitch-hiked back from South America, and escaped into my house. I have so many stories that I have accumulated over the years. It was amazing to watch Ludo and Iona’s little faces while they read the first manuscript. I was more nervous about their critique than any other reviewer, but fortunately they gave me a nine out of 10. I am still striving for perfection.
Date night is usually date walk. My wife Marina and I try to set aside an hour or two on a rambling walk once a week. Just us and the dogs. No children. It’s our chance to talk uninterrupted and to be together, and we prefer this to a swanky dinner.
I think we can learn a great deal from animals. There is an uncomplicated nature to their lives – it’s black and white. Our lives are so fantastically complicated by comparison. Of course, we have evolved to be a compassionate species, although the way we treat some animals, I wonder how caring humans really are. Dogs have taught me the importance of forgiveness, loyalty and unfailing love. I love them for their compassion.
I don’t have much patience. So, while I am a quick writer, I have a love/hate relationship with the process. I often sit staring at a screen for weeks before anything comes out. It’s like the words need to brew. I wrote my last book, Up, in three days – 70,000 words came pouring out. I couldn’t stop writing. When I stopped the computer was practically steaming! I think the haste works for me – it creates a visceral, honest account.
As a child, I let failure define me. It became an assumption that I would fail. And I did. I have spent the rest of my life trying to rebuild that shattered confidence. Adventure has provided me with the armour to take on the world. As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure without lack of enthusiasm.” He also said that if you haven’t failed, then you haven’t been trying hard enough.
Reality TV no longer exists. It’s been almost 20 years since I appeared on Castaway, and it was so much more innocent and simple back then. We were allowed to be honest and real. Nowadays, those shows have become unreality TV. Most of them are heavily produced and scripted. TV producers no longer have the nerve nor patience to let things happen organically.
I find the whole abstinence thing a little boring. Staying trim is all about moderation. I drink, I eat too many crisps, I like chips – I am quite lazy, but if you consume in moderation and keep fit, then there is no reason you can’t enjoy life. If I want a glass of wine or a chocolate bar, then I will have them. I try to do an hour of physical exercise every day. Some days that might be a dog walk, others it might be a run or a gym workout. There is always time. Sometimes I get up long before the children so that I am done by the time they wake up.
“I have a love/hate relationship with writing my books”
Life is full of so many opportunities. There will always be challenges and there are lots of things I’d like to do – that’s what excites me about life. I’d like to swim the Channel, I’d like to paddle the Amazon. I’d like to walk the Great Wall of China, cycle across America, paddleboard across the Bering Sea, climb K2, run the jungle marathon, and walk from Land’s End to John o’ Groats – and that’s just off the top of my head! w&h
Ben’s first children’s book, Mr Dog and the Rabbit Habit (HarperCollins) is out now. The second book, Mr Dog and the
Seal Deal, is out on 30 May