Ben Fogle, 51, has a quiet life in Henley in a wonderful family home with his wife Marina and their two children, Ludovic, 15, and daughter Iona, 13, but his childhood residence was a little more chaotic.
© Alamy Stock Photo"I grew up in a tall townhouse in Westminster. My father, veterinary surgeon Bruce Fogle, had his clinic on the lower floors and we lived above," he told MailOnline.
It wasn't just his family that he lived with, there were staff and animals too. "The house was very full. As well as me and my parents, there was my older sister Emily, my younger sister Tamara, our nanny and two nurses who lived on-site as the clinic was open 24/7."
He went on to reveal: "My sisters and I got extra pocket money for cleaning the kennels. The operating room was in the basement too, and it was one of the creepiest places ever."
A parrot even greeted Ben in the reception room before he went up to the family flat – imagine that when you come home from school each day!
Ben has admitted that his busy city childhood has made him rebel against that kind of life. "Maybe that's why, as an adult, I’m passionate about nature and open spaces – the total opposite of my London childhood," he told the publication.
Ben's family home
© InstagramThe presenter now has 1.3 acres of land to enjoy at his family residence in Henley. There's also a tennis court, a swimming pool and a pond. The beauty of the space has been shown off on Marina's Instagram page, with stunning family snaps of them basking in the sunshine come summer.
Ben has shared glimpses inside the property to his own Instagram feed, including the view from his kitchen sink as well as his "view from the loo".
While the residence sounds pretty fabulous already, it's about to get even better! As reported by The Sun, Ben has submitted planning permission for major changes at the residence, transforming an existing garage and workshop into a podcast and yoga studio.
The planning application reads: "The purpose-built, multi-use building will provide home working space allowing the applicants to work from home and reduce the need to travel.
"It is accepted that the proposed building is large but it is believed to be acceptable given the scale of the existing dwelling and extent of the residential curtilage."
Life on the road
Ben is preparing to leave his beloved home behind for a life on the road as he embarks on a tour. From Inverness and Aberdeen to Swansea and Chester, the star is travelling all over to bring tales of his exotic travels to the stage.
When Ben shared his tour dates, he captioned his poster with the words: "If you want to hear me bring my adventures to life on stage, I am bringing my sell-out stage show to a theatre near you in March. From Antarctica to the Nile and from Chernobyl to Everest I’ll be bringing the wilderness to life in my theatre show.
"I’ll take you behind the scenes of New Lives in the Wild and share some of my thoughts and ideas in a show that will leave you hopeful and happy. Tickets available from the link in my bio…"
