has been staple on the BBC for more than three decades and has seen a variety of presenters join its ranks over time. Broadcaster Ben Fogle, 51, joined the cast in 2001, however, after eight years on the show, he was unexpectedly axed from his position. At around the same period, Ben's co-presenter Miriam O'Reilly was also removed from the team. Then aged 52, she publicly stated that her departure was age-related.

Speaking to the Daily Express, Ben disclosed that he was let go because of his "accent". He said: "When Miriam was dropped from Countryfile she said it was to do with age. I was working with her and dropped from the show at the same time and was told it was because of my accent. Ben added: "I don't want to name names but I was told by someone [high up on the show] that my accent was inaccessible."

After leaving Countryfile, Miriam successfully won an age discrimination case against the . Unlike Miriam, Ben did not take legal action and even made a comeback to the nature show in 2014. He departed once more a year later for undisclosed reasons. Ben, the son of British actress Julia Foster and Canadian veterinarian Bruce Fogle, grew up in a large house near Marble Arch in London.

The adventurer has been happily married to his wife Marina Hunt, a co-founder of The Bump Class, for 18 years. They first crossed paths during a chance encounter while walking their dogs in Hyde Park.

"I grew up in South Kensington and I met Ben in Hyde Park," she told Luxury London in 2019. Ben and Marina tied the knot in an intimate church wedding in Monsaraz, Portugal, in 2006.

The couple are proud parents to two children, a daughter called Iona, born in 2011, and a son called Ludo who they welcomed in 2009. Tragically, their second son Willem was stillborn in 2014.

Speaking about the devastating loss, Ben told The Sun: "A number of years ago, my wife and I lost a son, who was stillborn and it's amazing how you deal with a loss like that. My wife Marina was very raw with her emotions.

"Mine were much more measured, it doesn't mean I felt it any less, but I probably kept them within, and one of the big things that happened to me was that I became obsessed about control, because I'd lost control there."

He continued: "I was actually in Canada when it happened, and I had to take a flight to get back. I didn't know if my wife was going to survive. It was like one of the periods in my life, I've had a few, when I had lost all control.

"And what my brain, this amazing thing, did was it made me absolutely obsessed about control. And I wanted to control everything."