Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Isle be back: TV Castaway Ben Fogle reveals his heart is in the Hebrides

Ben Fogle with daughter Iona
Ben Fogle with daughter Iona

He famously spent a life-changing year on a Scottish island and yesterday Ben Fogle revealed he plans to go back for good.

The TV presenter and adventurer celebrated the 20th anniversary of Castaway – the series that made him a household name – by returning to the Outer Hebrides.

After giving a talk to 70 islanders on Luskentyre beach, he led a hardy group of 30 swimmers in the freezing sea opposite the island of Taransay where the TV castaways were marooned.

Fogle, 46, said: “I have been to a lot of places and this is the most beautiful place on Earth to me.

“I want at some stage to live here. I’m not at that stage of my life yet, but it is something I eventually want to do. I love it here. This is where my roots really are – where I feel at home.”

Fogle brought his Tales From The Wilderness tour to Luskentyre, often named among the most picturesque beaches in the world, and revealed he would like to return to the Hebrides with wife Marina and children Iona and Ludo.

It’s 20 years since Fogle was one of a group left to fend for themselves on the island of Taransay, off Harris, for the millennium BBC series Castaway 2000 – Britain’s first reality TV programme.

“2020 is a pretty big year for me. It marks 20 years from the time I was marooned on the island of Taransay for the BBC series Castaway,” said Ben, who was accompanied by his daughter Iona.

“I wanted to come back and thank the islanders. This still feels like home to me. Castaway changed me in so many ways, including internally. I was not the star of Castaway. The island of Taransay was, the Outer Hebrides was, Scotland was.”

Ben with the 30 swimmers

He admitted it was ­“traumatic” leaving the island at the end of the year-long stay for the series, but it had led to huge opportunities for him.

“This is where it all began for me and I wanted to just say ‘thank you’, and highlight the precious environment we have here,” said Ben.

Last year he made an emotional trip back to Taransay, saying it was his “favourite place in the world”.He simply tweeted a picture of the island and wrote: “Home.”

Back in 2010 he tearfully returned to Taransay, along with 20 of the original 36 castaways for a tenth anniversary reunion.

© PA
Ben Fogle on the 2000 TV series

Since Castaway, Ben, 46, has climbed Mount Everest, rowed across the Atlantic, raced across Antarctica to the South Pole and crossed the deserts of the Empty Quarter in the Middle East.

He has also presented ­numerous programmes for the BBC, ITV, Channel 5 and Discovery, including the hit series New Lives in the Wild.

Last week, Trish Prater, another of the show’s Castaways, told The Sunday Post how her time on Taransay had changed her life and encouraged her to live on the island of Rousay.

The reality TV pioneer now spends her days delivering the post and tending her land.