HE has rowed the Atlantic Ocean, crossed Antarctica on foot, run across the Sahara and crossed the Empty Quarter on camel.

But when adventurer Ben Fogle was a child he actually dreamt of becoming an actor.

So it is something of a wish fulfilment that he is now appearing on stage in his current theatre show talking about his life.

Ben said: "I always wanted to tread the boards as a child and aspired to be an actor and that didn’t work as I was rejected by all the drama schools and so now finally, aged 41, I am going to do my theatre tour.

His 19-date Call of the Wild tour takes him to Parr Hall on October 22.

Ben added: "Whenever life becomes too comfortable for me, I need to shake it up and this is the first time I have ever done anything like this.

"I have done talks before but this is going to be a little more theatrical. It is sort of sharing my life and adventures with the audience.

"It is the story of where I got to where I am today and how someone who grew up in London ended up working in the furthest, wildest corners of the world and how it's made me the person that I am."

Ben has also presented numerous hit programmes on the BBC, ITV and Channel 5 including, New Lives in the Wild, Extreme Dreams and Through Hell and High Water.

And he confesses that his five-year-old son is already a chip off the old block.

Ben said: "Ludo loves the outdoors and animals like me. He has been saying that he wants to be a vet like my dad Bruce - his grandfather - pretty much since he could talk.

"I adore my children - my daughter Iona starts at Ludo’s school this September and I’m a typical proud dad.

"They are amazing and when I come back from a trip, the first thing they want to know is where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing and why I’ve been there."

Another passion for Ben is dogs and his book, a homage to the world’s most popular breed, is out this month and called simply, Labrador.

Ben was always famed for his close relationship with his black Labrador Inca who was first introduced to the viewing public when he appeared on television for the first time in BBC’s Castaway in 2000.

The reality series followed Ben and a group of 35 volunteers for 12 months as they were tasked to build a self-sufficient community on the remote Hebridean island of Taransay.

It launched his TV career and also ignited in him a lifelong passion for travel and adventure.

Inca died three years ago but new puppy Storm, another black labrador, arrived like a whirlwind into the Fogle household late last year and will make her TV debut this autumn on his TV shows, Channel 5’s New Lives in the Wild and ITV’s Countrywise.

Ben said: "It’s been lovely forming that bond with a new dog. I lost Inca a while ago so there is no weirdness and everyone loves Storm. I have taken her on two shoots now and she is a natural performer.

"She steals the limelight and outshines me, which was how it was always meant to be really - as I get older on screen, I get a younger dog to counterbalance it!"

As well as writing the book - his seventh - he has been filming six different television shows this year one of which is New Lives in the Wild:UK, a home grown spin off of his international series, which will focus on extraordinary people who have swapped the rat race for simpler and more secluded lifestyles in remote parts of the British Isles.

He added: "The UK series has been a real eye opener and I’ve loved doing it. It’s been a fascinating insight and proof that we can live a wild existence here in this country. I am really lucky I get to dip into all these places.

"And it inspires me for where we might live in the future."

Another project is a new BBC2 series called The Big Fish, a competition to find Britain’s best all-round angler. It has been described as the fishing version of the Great British Bake-Off and is made by the same producers of the hit show.

It is a big-budget production from the BBC’s natural history unit and will follow eight amateur anglers from across the country testing their skills in some of the most stunning and challenging environments around the world.

Now his children are slightly older, he is able to enjoy taking his family away to join him on some of his travels.

Ben said: "I’ve been been doing a series about the African wildebeest migration and I’ve done four trips to Africa this year and on the third one that I took the family and I saw it from their perspective.

"Watching my children see elephants for the first time was magical. Their reaction makes me really appreciate what I do - living in Adobe mud huts and camping out in the savannahs.

"I often take it for granted but it is actually mind-blowing for young children and young minds. We went camping and they loved hearing lions roar from our tent, getting muddy and cooking over an open fire.

"They took it in their stride. We seize every moment with them.

Ben dreams of becoming an actor are unsurprising as Ben’s mother is actor Julia Foster, who made her name in the classic 1960s movies Alfie and Half A Sixpence, and is starring in the Hollywood remake of Dad’s Army which comes out next year.

Ben added: "I am really proud she is in Dad’s Army and that she is getting back into acting. She loves it so much and it has been her career for so many years.

"I grew up around TV studios, actors, actresses, and that was a fundamental part of my childhood. I’d love to work with her one day, maybe we could do a play together on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival."

- Ben Fogle presents Call of the Wild at Parr Hall on October 22. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345.