TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle has travelled the world for 15 years, triumphing over challenges, but nothing prepared him for the blow of losing a child, he tells Gabrielle Fagan

It takes a lot to rock Ben Fogle. The man has endured and survived countless perils and hazards on his travels around the world, from man-eating crocodiles to a flesh-eating disease, but the loss of his third child took him into uncharted territory.

"When something like that happens, it's a reminder of our mortality. I've taken on big challenges over the years, like rowing across the Atlantic in a tiny boat, and you construct a sense of immortality, but then you experience what we went through and it shakes you to your core," says the adventurer of the trauma 14 months ago, when his wife, Marina, suffered a stillbirth nearly 33 weeks into her pregnancy and almost died.

At the time, he was away in Canada to celebrate his grandmother's 100th birthday and flew back to London not knowing throughout the 10-hour flight if either his wife or his baby son - the couple named him Willem - had survived.

He and Marina, 38, who have two children, Ludo, six and Iona, four, had bereavement counselling and the panic attacks and anxiety Fogle, 42, suffered in the months that followed the tragedy in August 2014, have largely gone. They will not try for other children because of the risk to Marina's health.

"We all deal with grief in our way and we've found ways of carrying on. I don't have the anxiety I used to and, although you will never forget, you kind of move forward. It makes the children you have doubly precious. You value what you have and make the most of what you have, which is what we've done," he says quietly.

The devastating experience has proved a spur for the TV presenter, who in the last year has managed to work on no less than six television series and produced a book, his seventh, Labrador: The Story Of The World's Favourite Dog. "When suddenly your focus changes, you see the years going by and it's an extra reminder that you don't want to live life with any regrets. I've always been conscious of seizing the moment, but after last year, it's become even more relevant to me. I'll probably slow down for a bit soon though, so I have a little more time to enjoy life instead of racing from one thing to another."

There's no sign of that yet - he's back on screen presenting the fifth series of Channel Five's New Lives In the Wild, and using his considerable charm and empathy to bond with those who've pursued alternative lifestyles and overcoming considerable odds to do so.

"In the developed Western world, we've tried to close the door on the wilderness and construct a comfortable existence, where we minimise risk, but we've ended up dominated by a technology driven 24-hour lifestyle. Over the last few years, there's a fast-growing group of people looking to regress and turn back the clock."

Fogle first found fame in 2000 living on the remote Hebridean island of Taransay for BBC reality series, Castaway. For the past 15 years, he's faced huge physical challenges, from trekking the Sahara to crossing the Antarctic, as well as forging a presenting career on programmes ranging from Countryfile to Harbour Lives.

Fame, success and fortune notwithstanding, he still nurtures a dream of turning his back on it all to live his own 'wilderness' and recently pinpointed an uninhabited Scandinavian island where he hopes to set up home. It appears unlikely, though, that he could spend long in any one place without getting itchy feet - he seems to spend his life in perpetual motion with frequent absences from home.

"My being away a lot does put a strain on family life and our relationship, but Marina and I have been married for almost 10 years now and it's always worked for us. We have a good system and we've worked out coping mechanisms," he says. Marina has revealed the couple have regular 'MOT' therapy sessions with a marriage counsellor to help them cope with the pressures of working and parenting, and to strengthen their relationship.

"Of course, I'd rather spend more time with her, but it's what my job entails. I proposed just after I'd rowed across the Atlantic, so she's always been very pragmatic about it - she knew she wasn't marrying an office worker," he says.

  • Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild UK starts on Thursday at 9pm on Channel 5