Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild
Season 17
202312 episodes
Episode 1
Sierra Nevada
Jan 3, 202344m
Ben travels to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the USA to meet Mike Basich, a snowboarder who left professional sport to reconnect with nature. Ben joins him in his hand-built log cabin and follows him as he embarks on a life changing project.
Episode 2
Australia - Rainforest: Bette
Jan 10, 202344m
Ben heads Down Under to meet Bette, an elderly woman living alone in a ramshackle house in the wilds of northern Queensland. She is a no-nonsense personality and refuses to cook Ben any dinner. But as the week progresses she warms to her guest and explains what drew her to the harsh Australian wilderness 30 years ago. She also talks about her complex relationship with men, and reveals how she has been seriously threatened when defending the natural world around her from development.
Episode 3
USA - Californian Desert: DNA
Jan 17, 202344m
Ben heads to Slab City in California to meet an extraordinary homeless artist called DNA, who Ben had previously met whilst in the area making another documentary. Ben joins DNA in his 'Mad Max' camp on a desert hill, an extreme place to seek refuge, but like most residents in Slab City, he discovers DNA had few choices. Ben learns the harsh reality of what it's like to be homeless in the US, and the downward cycle that people can find themselves in.
Episode 4
Uruguay – Rhona Mitra
Jan 24, 202344m
Ben journeys to South America to visit Rhona Mitra, a British born actress who left the bright lights of Hollywood to live alone in a remote valley in Uruguay. He discovers that Rhona is now committed to rehabilitating horses and the pair attend an animal auction looking to rescue any mistreated animals. Later that evening, Ben experiences nature's fury for himself when a violent storm hits while he shelters in a fragile biodome.
Episode 5
Italy – Tuscan Hills – George & Sophie
Jan 31, 202344m
Ben heads into the heart of the Casentinesi Forest National Park in Tuscany to visit British couple George and Sophie who have breathed new life into a Tuscan farmhouse. He joins the couple and their three children at their off-grid home, and is soon put to work collecting honey, tending to their vegetable garden and making homemade pizzas.
Episode 6
Oregon River
Feb 7, 202344m
Ben spends time with Rob, a man he previously met living in California's Slab City, and his 18-year-old son Damien, to experience what it is like to be homeless in the wild. Together, they dig a toilet, go fishing for crayfish, kayak the school run, and cut firewood for their campfire dinners.
Episode 7
Zambia
Feb 14, 202344m
Ben journeys into the heart of Zambia to live with a British family who have built a safari lodge on the edge of a national park. Ben uncovers what prompted this intrepid couple to start a new business and a family in the unforgiving bush, and learns how they have had to overcome fire and flooding to keep their African dream alive.
Episode 8
The Azores
Mar 7, 202344m
Ben travels to the Azores islands, a remote archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, to meet Magnus, Lucy and one-year-old Frey. The family live in an off-grid cottage on a steep sloped mountain which Magnus's nomadic father bought in the 1980s, and they have spent the past 15 years taking on the gargantuan task of restoring the property and land.
Episode 9
Dorset
Mar 14, 202344m
Ben spends a week in Dorset with former paratrooper Chris who, despite losing nearly everything, has spent the last five years walking the UK's coastline. Ben joins Chris and his faithful dog companion, Jet, 27,000 miles into their walk, and also meets Chris' partner and fellow hiker, Kate. Whilst in their company, Ben learns how to desalinate sea water, forage the nature around him and how to charm local fisherman for food.
Episode 10
Australia Revisit
Mar 21, 202345m
Ben heads back to Western Australia to revisit 69-year-old Barbara, a Swiss woman who has lived alone in an isolated Bush camp for 16 years, and he quickly learns that the past eight years have not been easy. He discovers that not only has his friend had to deal with a serious cancer scare, but she came close to losing everything in a devastating fire.
Episode 11
Sweden Revisit
Mar 28, 202345m
Ben heads back to Sweden to revisit Annalisa, a single mother who was developing a forest hideaway on the fringes of society for her and her young son. Now three years later, Annalisa has a new partner and an enviable homestead, and Ben learns of the extraordinary journey the trio took during the pandemic and how they sustain their thrifty life with such passion and ambition.
Episode 12
Bulgaria Revisit
Apr 4, 202345m
Ben revisits nomads Miriam and Peter in the vast forests of the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria, having previously met the couple in 2016. Ben joins the couple at their off-grid cottage, and hears how the pair had to drastically change their lives when Peter suffered acute kidney failure, and how they have adapted to their new lives as "slomads".