Adventurer Steve Backshall has revealed he has fully recovered from a horrifying shark incident in the Indo-Pacific, where he perforated both eardrums while free-diving onto a whale shark. The incident occurred last October during the filming of his new Sky series, Shark With Steve Backshall.
The 48-year-old BAFTA-winning naturalist described the night dive ordeal, saying he had 'blood running out of my ears' and was in agonising pain. He told the Mirror: 'I had a bit of a cold and I free dived straight down onto the whale shark and perforated both my eardrums and came racing up to the surface in agonising pain and jumped out.'
Backshall, who is married to Olympic gold medal rower Helen Glover, said he is now 'back up and fighting fit', adding: 'Mostly trying to figure out how on earth to keep up with my three tiny kids!' The couple have three children: Logan, three, and twins Kit and Willow, one.
The adventurer is set to host Seven Worlds, One Planet Live In Concert at the O2 in London on March 31, followed by his Ocean tour starting at Usher Hall in Edinburgh on April 2.
Backshall also reflected on his time on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, which he said was painful due to osteoarthritis in his right knee. The knee problem developed after he broke his left ankle in a climbing accident in 2010, requiring 11 operations. He said the pain was 'agony' during the show.
