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

Explorer Ed Stafford was adopted as a baby after being born to a teenage mum and dad, and says his life could easily have spiralled out of control had he not discovered a love for adventures in the wild.

In early adulthood, he was a “loose cannon” who would get into fights whenever he got drunk. But after joining the Army when he was 22, he discovered a love for the outdoors, which not only saved him but led him to adventures around the globe that were the perfect preparation for becoming a dad.

And that is why for his new Channel 4 series, Into the Jungle with Ed Stafford, he is taking a group of six dads and their children on an expedition to the jungle in Central America to help them build a better bond. Speaking to the Mirror, Ed, 48, says: “I don’t think I’d be able to be a dad if I hadn’t done the expeditions. I would go that far. I was emotionally all over the place. I was a bit of a loose cannon. If I went out and got drunk, I was getting into fights, I was aggressive.

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“A lot of people have gone through some sort of trauma in their lives. Mine happened to be going through foster care and then being adopted. It’s not like it didn’t all work out for me, it really did. But I do think things that have happened in the past affect the way you’re made up, especially if they happen at a young age. It forms the basis of your character and therefore it’s important to work on yourself.”

It is why he is so passionate about his latest TV series. It introduces viewers to dads and kids who need help with their relationships. They must survive in the jungle in Belize, and take part in challenges to flush out any tensions between parent and child.

One dad, Ben, 47, from Northampton, feels he has lost the ability to have fun with his youngest son Roka, 14, after a horrific accident left his eldest son paralysed. Sent to boarding school, Roka took a back seat as the family adjusted to his brother’s needs.

Immie, 12, who has one arm, signed up to the show determined to prove to her dad Christian, 39, that she is capable of more than he thinks. Single dad Jethro, 32, from Manchester, was raised in care and fought for sole custody of Dexter, 12.

Jethro is so determined to give his son a better childhood than his own that he admits his love can be suffocating. And Ezra, 11, from Burton-on-Trent, Staffs, says her Lego-loving father Efdal, 47, is immature, and needs to learn to be less of a friend and more of a parent.

Ed is confident time in the jungle will help them over their troubles. He says: “I do think there’s a beauty in going outdoors and putting yourself through challenges. I think it’s given me balance, it’s helped me understand myself.”

Ed’s biological mum, Karen, was just 15 when she had him with her partner Tony, who was 19 at the time. They put him up for adoption and after a time in the foster system, Ed was adopted by Barbara and Jeremy Stafford, solicitors who lived in Leicestershire.

As an adult, Ed tracked down his birth parents and found they had not only stayed together and married, but he had two biological brothers. Despite his rocky start, Ed carved out a successful career in the Army and then as an explorer.

In 2010, he became the first person to walk the length of the Amazon River, a 4,000-mile trek that took two years, during which time he was held up, both at gunpoint and by bow and arrow. His expedition was later documented in Walking the Amazon on Channel 5.

In his 2012 series, Naked and Marooned, he was dropped on to an uninhabited Pacific island to survive without food, equipment – or clothes. He says: “I sort of stumbled into the expedition world not thinking it would be anything to do with self development.

"I realised as I was going through things – a river crossing or something like that – that you don’t have the answers, and you’re having to think outside the box in order to overcome this particular challenge. I was going through things that were helping me evolve. It was very hands-on therapy, weirdly.”

Ed is now dad to Ran, seven, twins Molly and Milly, five, and Maya, who was born in April. Almost two years ago, Ed, wife Laura, also an explorer, and the kids left the UK to build a new life in Costa Rica, Central America.

Ed says: “I think it would be fair to say it was difficult for Ran more than anyone else. He went through a stage of being quite aggressive, looking me straight in the eye and saying, ‘Dad, why have you taken me away from all my friends?’

Having done the 18 months we’ve been there now, it’s come good again – his confidence has grown, he settled into new places, made new friends, and it’s starting to pay dividends.” Ed is now confident the family made the right move. He says: “We’re not worried about crime, we’re not worried about the kids getting stabbed. They’re able to make their own mistakes, take little risks, go off and explore the jungle.

“I think that helps them become strong individuals. We’re the most feral, informal family in the world. The kids never wear shoes. I only put shoes on to go to the bank. It feels like you’re on holiday the whole time, which is not the end of the world.”

He believes the dads and kids on the show will benefit from a taste of that kind of life – first up by cutting screen time to help them reconnect. Ed says: “Certainly some of the dads I spoke to on the show had periods where they were worried financially and had the stresses of being a dad, so the kids got a bit more screen time.

“I think things just drift apart. There’s a bit of a disconnect. I was confident that if you strip all of that away, put them in the jungle, put them through something where they have to work together, that can only strengthen things, because then whatever is going wrong with their relationship bubbles to the surface.”

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