EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: TV explorer Levison Wood embarks on biggest adventure - fatherhood with Brazilian model

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Trusting in what he describes as 'almost blind optimism', he never envisages failure – an indomitable spirit which sustained him on active service in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention when circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula or walking the length of the River Nile or the Himalayas, where he flew off a cliff when the brakes on a car failed.
But even Levison Wood has admitted that he's struggled in one often bewildering environment – the 21st century dating scene where, he told me a while back, he hoped to encounter 'a woman with a sense of adventure and a sense of fun'.
So I'm delighted to reveal that the former Parachute Regiment officer turned explorer, author and broadcaster, has pulled off what he can justifiably consider his greatest triumph to date...He's about to become a father after falling for Brazilian firecracker Ana Protasio, a beauty whose accomplishments traverse numerous fields.
'Ana's a therapist and a yoga instructor and a model,' Levison, 43, tells me from the Alps, where he and Ana are on currently on holiday, relaxing in what, for Levison, is trademark manner – 'climbing mountains'.
It would seem an appropriately invigorating prelude to the impending addition to the Wood family.
'We're happily expecting our first child at the end of July,' confirms Levison, who's travelled across at least 120 countries, contending with broken bones, tigers, crocodiles and – so far – one cannibal.
It's tempting to see the couple's romance as the perfect incentive for a chap to hack his way into the undergrowth. 'We met travelling in Costa Rica and stayed friends,' says Levison, adding that they 'reconnected' last year.
Being an officer and a gentleman, he declines to disclose Ana's age and even refrains from saying whether they are engaged – or married – but assures me: 'We're very serious in our commitment to each other.
'I've got some very exciting projects I'd love to do in South America,' adds Levison, whose latest book, The Great Tree Story: How Forests Have Shaped Our World, was published this spring.
That should earn Ana's seal of approval.
How Princess Anne put boot into rugby star
Princess Anne enjoyed cutting her pal Scottish rugby international Kenny Logan down to size when he was bursting with pride at representing his country.
'I remember playing in the World Cup in 2003, when England won, [Scotland coach] Ian McGeechan said, 'Think about the five million people in Scotland supporting you'. And running out on to the pitch and turning around and meeting Princess Anne,' 53-year-old Logan recalls.
'She said to me, 'You all right, Kenny?' I said, 'Yeah, yeah,' and shook her hand. She said 'I can't believe you still get a game'.'
He adds of the princess, who's patron of Scottish Rugby: 'She was horsey, I was horsey, farming, and outdoors. We had a great relationship. And even when I see her now she'll always say hi or try and sell me a horse or something like that.'
There's no place like home for Sir Michael Palin, who still lives in the 'modest' family house in unfashionable Gospel Oak, north London, that he bought with his late wife, Helen, in 1966.
He has resisted the celebrity tendency to move somewhere bigger and swankier. 'Helen influenced our living an unostentatious life,' says the former Monty Python star, 82.
'I like meeting people. I like hearing their stories. I don't want to be cut off because of what I do and [it] is such a nice little area. You've got everything you want here. So why move? Unless you feel you want to or your status demands it.'
His only concession was to buy the cottage next door and combine the houses.
Lady Amelia takes a twirl at art show...
Lady Amelia Windsor, whose sister Marina announced her engagement this week, is clearly in the mood to celebrate.
The Duke of Kent's 29-year-old granddaughter gave a twirl in the courtyard of Burlington House as she arrived at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition preview party.
Lady Amelia, who was once named as the 'most beautiful royal' by Tatler magazine, wore a one-shouldered, lime green mini-dress to the art event.
Her sister, Lady Marina, 32, is to wed IT specialist Nico Macauley.
...While potter Perry really is a picture
There was little chance of Sir Grayson Perry failing to stand out from the crowd at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition preview party.
The cross-dressing potter, 65, was a riot of colour in a purple wig and an orange and yellow jumper featuring exaggerated puff sleeves.
He paired the eccentric top with blue satin shorts, orange tights and fuchsia pink laced boots.
The ceramicist has been a member of the Royal Academy since 2011.
Kemi Badenoch says she has received advice from every living former Tory leader, with one exception. 'They've all offered me, actually, all except Liz [Truss], have offered advice,' she says. Interviewing her, comic