Steve Backshall: ‘I’m not retiring – Attenborough is 99 and still working’

From swimming with hippos in Botswana’s Okavango Delta to navigating the submerged cave systems of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, adventurer and wildlife presenter Steve Backshall has built a career on adrenaline, curiosity and respect for the natural world.

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“I’m a massive nerd when it comes to nature,” he admits, “but it’s my passion. I lose myself in it completely. The other day I just started talking about a particular kind of cephalopod for 15 minutes. Even after doing this professionally for 27 years , I still learn something new every single day.

“For instance, did you know that licking a banana slug has the same effect as Novocaine? It can numb your tongue – people have even used it to soothe toothache. And some species of squid release ink that contains dopamine, which makes predators high and distracted enough to forget about the chase.”

The son of two British Airways ground staff, Backshall spent much of his childhood either jetting around the world with his parents or helping to care for rescue animals on their smallholding in Bagshot, Surrey.

He earned a diving licence and a degree in bioscience from Canterbury Christ Church University – steps that ultimately led to his dream role as “adventurer in residence” for the National Geographic Channel in 1998.

Dozens of perilous expeditions later, Backshall fronted CBBC’s Deadly 60 in 2009 and became a household name, captivating a generation with tales of venom, talons and teeth.

Today, Backshall lives in Henley-on-Thames in a riverside home that generates electricity which is fed back into the grid with his wife, the Olympic rower Helen Glover . Having met in 2014 at a Sports Relief event, they have three children: Logan, seven, and five-year-old twins Kit and Willow.

Has fatherhood forced him to dial down the danger? “I’ve done utterly crazy things, some of them not all that long ago,” he admits with a grin. “But these days, I’m starting to take on more ‘normal’ jobs, because I’ve got three young kids . Anything that lets me be at home so I can pick up the kids from school at 3pm, that’s what I’m gravitating towards. I’ll still do expeditions, that’s what I do best, but variety and finding balance is important.”

Recently, Backshall has turned his attention to raising awareness about sewage pollution in UK rivers – an issue close to his heart, given that his family regularly canoe and paddleboard along their local stretch of the Thames.

He has also launched a podcast, That’s Just Wild , with wildlife biologist Lizzie Daly and eco-journalist Sarah Roberts, delving into the untamed and unpredictable world of nature.

“The natural world is incredible – and we have to take care of it,” says Backshall. “There are millions of species out there, probably as many as 20 million, and they all have something weird about them, something exciting and interesting. It would be a tragedy to lose a single one.”

At 52, Backshall could be forgiven for craving a quieter life, but while he may be choosing work that keeps him closer to home while his children are young, retirement , he insists, is still a long way off.

After a career spent exploring some of the world’s most remote and perilous places, his next expedition takes him into the cave systems of Slovenia in search of the olm – a rare, sightless salamander so elusive that few people have ever laid eyes on one.

“There have been moments where I’ve thought, ‘You know what? I’m done with this. I’m absolutely knackered’,” says Backshall. “I’m not 20 any more, and when I’ve been on the road for months, I miss my family, especially because a lot of the places I’m going don’t have phone reception – I’m completely off-grid.

“If that feeling becomes the norm, that’s when it’s time for me to get out. Being able to travel the world and see all these amazing things is a privileged position, and if I’m not appreciating it, not treasuring it, I should be doing something else. But who knows when that will be. Sir David [Attenborough] is still doing bits and pieces, and he’s 99!

“It can be tough and a little lonely on occasion, but it’s still the most fun, brilliant job I could imagine, so why would I give that up?”

That’s Just Wild is available on all major podcast providers