My TV shows see me cheat death – but I’m not ready to give that up to be with a woman, says Levison Wood
HE’S been heralded as a real-life Indiana Jones and the next Bear Grylls, but for Levison Wood’s army of female fans he is simply Britain’s Most Eligible Bachelor.
At 41, the Army officer may still be single — but that isn’t due to lack of offers since he started making his shows for Channel 4 in 2015.
Levison even gets advice, however unconventional, on landing a wife during his adventures, the most recent of which saw him travel to Namibia, in southern Africa, to film desert lions.
He said: “The lead woman in the Himba tribe initiated me into the tribe by putting clay dreadlocks in my hair, which she said would make me look a lot more stylish.
“They also have this test for men, a sort of coming of age ceremony when they are 12, where they get their bottom two front teeth knocked out with a brick.
“I’ve obviously still got my teeth, and they were taking the p*** out of me, saying, ‘You’re never going to find a wife and get married if you’ve got those teeth’.”
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Endangered species
Thankfully handsome Levison declined their offer of makeshift dentistry as he filmed new C4 series Levison Wood: Walking With . . .
The three-parter, which starts tomorrow with orangutans in Borneo, also sees him encounter polar bears in Greenland as he focuses on the world’s most endangered species.
The project is the latest in a telly career that has seen Levison combine adventuring with natural history — and gain quite a following.
Men want to be him and women want to be with him. Though he admits that despite now being in his 40s he’s in no rush to settle down.
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He said: “I’d love to have a family one day, but I don’t think there is any need to follow convention and settle down at all.
“Sod that, I’m more up for continuing the adventures, no matter what. But I try to avoid talking about finding someone and love, as the last time I did, I ended up with a stalker.”
In 2020 the said stalker was jailed for three months after more than eight months of harassment during which the woman contacted Levison’s parents and turned up outside his house in South West London.
Levison, who grew up in Staffs, became so anxious about leaving his home that he sold up and moved.
The unwanted attention came after he hit the big time on Channel 4 in 2020 with his series Walking With Elephants, settling in among the greats of TV natural history when he followed the 650-mile migration of the animals in Botswana.
Levison — who served in the Army in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2010, during which he came under fire — had begun his TV career in 2013 when a Channel 4 camera crew tagged along with him to walk the near 4,000 miles from southern Rwanda to the Mediterranean in Egypt for his series Walking The Nile, screened in 2015.
Soon after came Walking The Himalayas, a 1,500-mile trek along the mountain range, then in Arabia With Levison Wood in 2017 he explored Iraq, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Jordan on foot — meeting Iraqi troops fighting IS.
Levison then Walked The Americas, from Mexico to Colombia, for another show, before going from Russia to Iran in Crossing Wild Frontiers in a four-part docuseries.
Although his new series focuses on animals, Levison promises it will be as gritty as always, and distances himself from Sir David Attenborough’s “shiny” TV series.
He said: “I’ve been working in conservation for 15 years. I was an expedition and safari guy before I went on TV, so this kind of TV is my bread and butter.
“This isn’t your typical Sir David Attenborough-style wildlife show. It’s not the sugar-coated version, it’s quite brutal in places, and I think the audience will be quite shocked. It’s not for the faint-hearted.
“There are a lot of difficult truths as I don’t want to shy away from some of the more disturbing facts. I wanted to make the type of programming that inspires people to take an interest in conservation and do something about it.
“I wanted to shine a light on this area. The Earth is facing the biggest and most significant challenges with global warming and climate change, and I’m deeply passionate about conservation.
“So to demonstrate I headed to three very different environments — the desert lions in Namibia, the orangutans in Borneo and the polar bears in the Arctic.
“I wanted to hammer home that we might lose some of these species. If people can’t visit these places, and don’t see it on TV, then why would they bother to try to save the animals, whatever they might be?”
It promises to be a difficult watch, which Levison says is likely to be due to the programme being equally difficult — and sometimes even life-threatening — to film.
He said: “The times I’ve been closest to death weren’t in the Army but on expedition.
“For this series, in Greenland there was a real risk our boat could have been crushed by ice as the waters change direction with the wind, and in the desert you’re up against wild animals.
“Our crew got chased by a lion in Namibia. I had to dive into the back of the car because one was bounding towards me. That was slightly terrifying.
“There are risks everywhere and you have to be very, very vigilant.
“You can imagine the length of the safety form that needs to be filled out. But everyone accepts there are loads of risks. If you want to show people these stories some- body has to be out there on the front line.
“At least I’m not getting shot at this time.”
With such a sense of adventure at the heart of his show, Levison is keen not to step on the toes of his friend and fellow soldier Bear Grylls, currently hosting Running Wild: The Challenge on Disney+.
To keep their ventures very much separate, Levison has no plans to team up with any celebrities.
He said: “Bear’s got that market covered and I’m very happy just doing what I do, which is going to these incredible places and telling these stories.”
Instead, he hopes to team up with a female explorer for his next series — as he admits he struggles to get an insight into some aspects of tribal life due to his gender. He said: “Sadly, when I go to meet these communities with these more traditional patriarchal societies I’m mainly presented with men to speak to.
“I’d like to show more of the female side of life, but as a man I typically don’t get access to that.
“There’s a lot of really inspiring female explorers out there doing great work and really I’d just like to see more of that, with more female explorers on TV with their own programmes.
“I’d love to partner up with a female explorer on a TV show — so applications are open!”
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He won’t be short of women throwing their hats into the ring.
- Levison Wood: Walking With Orangutans is on Channel 4 tomorrow at 8pm.
LIFE-LONG URGE TO EXPLORE
LEVISON is an Army Major who quit to become a full-time explorer, author and TV presenter.
Born to parents Levison Sr, a geologist, and Janice, a teacher, Levison is the fifth generation of his family to serve in the Armed Forces.
After secondary school he completed a history degree at Nottingham University, with a life-long hope of becoming an explorer.
But instead he joined the Parachute Regiment in 2006 after officer training at Sandhurst and served four years in Afghanistan, with promotion to Captain in 2008.
Levison, who has one younger brother, Peter, left the Armed Forces in 2010 with a goal of pursuing writing and photography as a full-time career, before he rejoined the Army in 2012 as a reservist Major.
He has four military awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his service.
In 2017 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Staffordshire University in recognition of his work as an explorer.
Levison rose to fame after the publication of his book Walking The Nile, in 2015, with the television miniseries of the same name following shortly after. He has now written 13 books.
Levison, who is single and lives in London between his travels, has been made a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club, which promotes scientific exploration, and he is an ambassador for Unicef.
His writing career has seen him interview and photograph a broad range of famous faces, from actor George Clooney to spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.