By Kate Thomas
Copyright hellomagazine
Ben Fogle has left his followers amazed with a photograph taken after a month-long expedition to the South Pole. The New Lives in the Wild star posted a throwback shot of himself looking “weathered and worn” at the Amundsen-Scott Base in Antarctica. The TV personality, who is certainly no stranger to an intrepid adventure, reflected on the difficult journey that taught him so much about “fortitude and resilience”.
The 51-year-old presenter showed off his slimmed-down, muscular physique in a shirtless photograph that showcased the extent of his 20 kg weight loss during the trip. Looking red-faced and bushy-bearded, Ben was hailed as a “true inspiration” by fans who applauded him for his efforts.
Reflecting on his huge achievement, Ben wrote: “Throwback to the South Pole. My expeditions have taught me so much about fortitude and resilience. We are all far more capable than we give ourselves credit. Each journey and adventure has pushed me in different ways, physically and mentally. I have learnt a great deal about myself over the years.
“On an expedition, you stand or fall, live or die according to your own actions. Nothing focuses the mind like facing mortality. After a month in Antarctica this was the state of me at the Amundsen-Scott Base where we were given a medical Weathered and worn, we had lost nearly 20 kilos. I also still had Leishmaniasis, the flesh eating bug I’d picked up in Peru. Happy days.”
Ben first skied to the South Pole in 2009 for the televised race On Thin Ice. He returned to Antarctica in 2023 to film the Channel 5 series Endurance: Race to the Pole, recreating the historic journeys of early explorers like Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Ben’s adventurous past
Conquering the South Pole is far from Ben’s biggest achievement. He has climbed Mount Everest in 2018 and competed in the seven-day, gruelling Marathon des Sables across the Sahara, as well as joining forces with James Cracknell to row the Atlantic Ocean in 2005, setting a British pairs record. Their partnership continued in 2013 when they crossed 700km of the Arabian desert using traditional equipment and camels.
It seems the star might be feeling self-reflective as he recently announced his intentions to “slow down” and stop travelling for work so much. The presenter is keen to stay closer to home and spend more time in Oxfordshire with his wife Marina Fogle and their two teenage children, Ludo and Iona. Revealing his plan to branch out into business, Ben said it felt like the next step in his career trajectory.
“Adventure doesn’t have to be physical, but a journey that challenge us, and I am about to begin a whole new journey, wildly out of my comfort zone. Travel is starting to wear me down and I’ve been wanting to slow down and spend more time in the UK. So……I have bought Buffalo. Not a Buffalo THE Buffalo @buffalosystems. The famous Sheffield outdoor brand started by the late Hamish Hamilton in 1979. In the words of Remington Steel, I loved the company so much, I bought the factory,” he wrote on Instagram.
