Ben Fogle Tonight: The Ex-Tech Salesman Who Turned a Derelict French Pig Farm into Fantasy Farm
Tuesday 3 November 2026, 9pm, Channel 5. New episode (series 21, episode 10), one hour. Also on Channel 5 +1 at 10pm.
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild is on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight. This week Ben is in rural western France with Mark. Mark sold technology for a living until he decided the corporate life wasn’t for him, and he swapped it for a falling-down pig farm. He has rebuilt the place as his home and a personal sanctuary, and he calls it Fantasy Farm.
Who is Mark?
Mark had a corporate career in tech sales, and he walked away from it. The place he chose to start again wasn’t an obvious one: a ruined pig farm in the French countryside.
Today Fantasy Farm is his home, a sanctuary and the project that fills his days, with nature, making things and a simpler routine at the centre.
This is the kind of story New Lives in the Wild does best. The location matters less than the reason someone ended up there, and Ben’s questions about what Mark left behind tend to be the part of the hour that sticks.
Where tonight fits in series 21
Series 21 started on Channel 5 in January with six episodes: Uganda, Norway, Montana, a narrowboat in Cheshire, Tenerife and Missouri. It came back on 13 October and has been on Tuesdays at 9pm since:
| Date | Where Ben went |
|---|---|
| Tue 13 Oct | French Polynesia: a family running an off-grid pearl farm on the atoll of Ahe |
| Tue 20 Oct | Norway: a former Oslo radio DJ in a remote snowbound cabin |
| Tue 27 Oct | Chilean Patagonia: a large, almost entirely self-sufficient family on an isolated coast |
| Tue 3 Nov | Western France: Mark at Fantasy Farm |
The next episode isn’t in the TV listings yet. We’ll put its date and time on our Channel 5 TV guide once it is.
Another Ben Fogle show on tonight
You can make a night of it. Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle is on BBC Scotland at 8pm, an hour before New Lives in the Wild. It’s episode 1 of 4, a repeat of the series first shown in 2021. Ben travels through the Inner Hebrides and goes to Iona to look at how faith took hold on Scotland’s islands and why it still matters to the people who live there. BBC Scotland repeats the episode on Saturday 7 November at 7.15pm.
On Sunday 8 November at 1.40pm, U&Dave has Ben with Hugh Dennis in World’s Most Dangerous Roads, driving through the Peruvian Andes.
How to watch
| Platform | Channel 5 | Channel 5 +1 |
|---|---|---|
| Freeview | 5 (HD on 105) | 38 |
| Sky | 105 | 205 |
| Virgin Media | 105 | 305 |
| Freesat | 105 | 128 |
Once it has aired, the episode is on 5 (Channel 5’s free streaming service, formerly My5), with earlier episodes from the series.
Everything else on Channel 5 tonight, from 6am to the early hours, is in our Channel 5 TV guide. For the best of tonight across every channel, see what’s on TV tonight.
Frequently asked questions
What time is Ben Fogle on tonight?
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild is on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight, Tuesday 3 November 2026, and runs until 10pm. Channel 5 +1 shows it again at 10pm.
Where is Ben Fogle tonight?
Rural western France. He stays with Mark, who gave up a corporate job selling tech and now lives on a former pig farm he has rebuilt and named Fantasy Farm.
Is tonight’s Ben Fogle a new episode?
Yes. It’s series 21, episode 10, and a first showing on Channel 5.
Can I watch Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild again?
Yes. After it airs, the episode is on 5, Channel 5’s free streaming service (formerly My5), along with earlier episodes from the series.
Is there another Ben Fogle programme on tonight?
Yes. Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle is on BBC Scotland at 8pm. It’s episode 1 of 4 and a repeat: the series was first shown in 2021.
What channel number is Channel 5?
Channel 5 is 5 on Freeview (HD on 105) and 105 on Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat.
Related: Channel 5 TV guide | What’s on TV tonight, Tuesday
