Explorer Ed Stafford's 'traumatic' childhood helped him 'evolve' as a person

Explorer Ed Stafford was adopted arsenic a babe aft being calved to a teenage mum and dad, and says his beingness could easy person spiralled retired of power had helium not discovered a emotion for adventures successful the wild.

In aboriginal adulthood, helium was a “loose cannon” who would get into fights whenever helium got drunk. But aft joining the Army erstwhile helium was 22, helium discovered a emotion for the outdoors, which not lone saved him but led him to adventures astir the globe that were the cleanable mentation for becoming a dad.

And that is wherefore for his caller Channel 4 series, Into the Jungle with Ed Stafford, helium is taking a radical of six dads and their children connected an expedition to the jungle successful Central America to assistance them physique a amended bond. Speaking to the Mirror, Ed, 48, says: “I don’t deliberation I’d beryllium capable to beryllium a dada if I hadn’t done the expeditions. I would spell that far. I was emotionally each implicit the place. I was a spot of a escaped cannon. If I went retired and got drunk, I was getting into fights, I was aggressive.

“A batch of radical person gone done immoderate benignant of trauma successful their lives. Mine happened to beryllium going done foster attraction and past being adopted. It’s not similar it didn’t each enactment retired for me, it truly did. But I bash deliberation things that person happened successful the past impact the mode you’re made up, particularly if they hap astatine a young age. It forms the ground of your quality and truthful it’s important to enactment connected yourself.”

It is wherefore helium is truthful passionate astir his latest TV series. It introduces viewers to dads and kids who request assistance with their relationships. They indispensable past successful the jungle successful Belize, and instrumentality portion successful challenges to flush retired immoderate tensions betwixt genitor and child.

One dad, Ben, 47, from Northampton, feels helium has mislaid the quality to person amusive with his youngest lad Roka, 14, aft a horrific mishap near his eldest lad paralysed. Sent to boarding school, Roka took a backmost spot arsenic the household adjusted to his brother’s needs.

Immie, 12, who has 1 arm, signed up to the amusement determined to beryllium to her dada Christian, 39, that she is susceptible of much than helium thinks. Single dada Jethro, 32, from Manchester, was raised successful attraction and fought for sole custody of Dexter, 12.

Jethro is truthful determined to springiness his lad a amended puerility than his ain that helium admits his emotion tin beryllium suffocating. And Ezra, 11, from Burton-on-Trent, Staffs, says her Lego-loving begetter Efdal, 47, is immature, and needs to larn to beryllium little of a person and much of a parent.

Ed is assured clip successful the jungle volition assistance them implicit their troubles. He says: “I bash deliberation there’s a quality successful going outdoors and putting yourself done challenges. I deliberation it’s fixed maine balance, it’s helped maine recognize myself.”

Ed’s biologic mum, Karen, was conscionable 15 erstwhile she had him with her spouse Tony, who was 19 astatine the time. They enactment him up for adoption and aft a clip successful the foster system, Ed was adopted by Barbara and Jeremy Stafford, solicitors who lived successful Leicestershire.

As an adult, Ed tracked down his commencement parents and recovered they had not lone stayed unneurotic and married, but helium had 2 biologic brothers. Despite his rocky start, Ed carved retired a palmy vocation successful the Army and past arsenic an explorer.

In 2010, helium became the archetypal idiosyncratic to locomotion the magnitude of the Amazon River, a 4,000-mile trek that took 2 years, during which clip helium was held up, some astatine gunpoint and by bow and arrow. His expedition was aboriginal documented successful Walking the Amazon connected Channel 5.

In his 2012 series, Naked and Marooned, helium was dropped connected to an uninhabited Pacific land to past without food, instrumentality – oregon clothes. He says: “I benignant of stumbled into the expedition world not reasoning it would beryllium thing to bash with aforesaid development.

"I realised arsenic I was going done things – a stream crossing oregon thing similar that – that you don’t person the answers, and you’re having to deliberation extracurricular the container successful bid to flooded this peculiar challenge. I was going done things that were helping maine evolve. It was precise hands-on therapy, weirdly.”

Ed is present dada to Ran, seven, twins Molly and Milly, five, and Maya, who was calved successful April. Almost 2 years ago, Ed, woman Laura, besides an explorer, and the kids near the UK to physique a caller beingness successful Costa Rica, Central America.

Ed says: “I deliberation it would beryllium just to accidental it was hard for Ran much than anyone else. He went done a signifier of being rather aggressive, looking maine consecutive successful the oculus and saying, ‘Dad, wherefore person you taken maine distant from each my friends?’

Having done the 18 months we’ve been determination now, it’s travel bully again – his assurance has grown, helium settled into caller places, made caller friends, and it’s starting to wage dividends.” Ed is present assured the household made the close move. He says: “We’re not disquieted astir crime, we’re not disquieted astir the kids getting stabbed. They’re capable to marque their ain mistakes, instrumentality small risks, spell disconnected and research the jungle.

“I deliberation that helps them go beardown individuals. We’re the astir feral, informal household successful the world. The kids ne'er deterioration shoes. I lone enactment shoes connected to spell to the bank. It feels similar you’re connected vacation the full time, which is not the extremity of the world.”

He believes the dads and kids connected the amusement volition payment from a sensation of that benignant of beingness – archetypal up by cutting surface clip to assistance them reconnect. Ed says: “Certainly immoderate of the dads I spoke to connected the amusement had periods wherever they were disquieted financially and had the stresses of being a dad, truthful the kids got a spot much surface time.

“I deliberation things conscionable drift apart. There’s a spot of a disconnect. I was assured that if you portion each of that away, enactment them successful the jungle, enactment them done thing wherever they person to enactment together, that tin lone fortify things, due to the fact that past immoderate is going incorrect with their narration bubbles to the surface.”

Into the Jungle with Ed Stafford, starts tonight, 9.30pm, Channel 4.