Television wildlife presenter Steve Backshall has opened up about the profound and life-saving bond shared by his six-year-old twins, Kit and Willow, from the moment they entered the world. The 52-year-old naturalist and his wife, Olympic rower Helen Glover, 39, experienced immense heartbreak in 2018 when one of the twins they were expecting tragically died in the womb, with their son Logan surviving.
A Miraculous Moment of Connection
Helen, who herself has a twin brother, and Steve welcomed twins Kit and Willow in 2020. However, the joy of their arrival was overshadowed by a terrifying medical emergency. Steve recounted on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast that Willow was born not breathing, leaving doctors in a frantic state.
"Our little girl arrived in the world not breathing, and it took a good while before she was," he explained. "She was lying there, blue, everybody is going crazy, as they do in these moments, and there's doctors racing everywhere."
The Twin Bond That Saved a Life
In a remarkable turn of events, medical staff placed Willow alongside her twin brother, Kit, which prompted her to start breathing. "They took her twin brother and placed her alongside him and she started breathing," Steve recalled. "There is something so special in that connection in twins. In that one moment it started in perfect synchronicity between the two of them."
Parenting Challenges in His 50s
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday last year, Steve admitted that raising three young children—Logan, now eight, and the twins—while in his 50s has been the most physically exhausting phase of his life. "I do wish I had the energy I had when I was in my 20s and 30s, to have the ability to sprint around playing football and rugby all day long with my kids, and for me to still be popping and buzzing with energy," he confessed.
"But obviously I haven't and it's tough to keep going when you're 52 and you've got three kids under six," he added. Despite the fatigue, Steve emphasized his commitment, noting he brings knowledge and experience to parenting, and has no choice but to make it work with the cards he was dealt.
Family Dynamics and Career Sacrifices
Steve describes Helen as a "mega-mum" and takes pride in her achievement as the first British female rower to compete in an Olympic Games after having children. However, his demanding career as a TV adventurer, which involves frequent travel, poses challenges for the family.
"I think they are very excited by it and very proud – but also, the fact I go away a lot, they don't like at all," he said. "They really struggle with it. It's been hard ever since they could understand what I was doing."
He revealed that his children would prefer him to have a regular office job where he is home daily, rather than his exciting but often absent role. "Right now for this one little precious period of time in their lives all they want is to be with Mummy and Daddy," Steve concluded, highlighting the bittersweet realities of balancing family life with a high-profile career.
