Biography

On 28 May 2005 Ben's first child, Sam Shephard, was born, followed on 24 January 2007 by another boy, Jack James Shepherd. He named his second son after his favourite TV hero, Jack Bauer, star of hit US series 24 (2001).

Ben took his wife on the Orient Express to Venice for their wedding anniversary.

Ben has broken four Guinness World Records and, over the past ten years, he has completed 14 marathons, run across the UK twice and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

He has one brother, Toby (b. 1970), who works in pharmaceuticals and one sister, Alex (b. 1973), who is in marketing.

Ben is a West Ham fan and loves anything to do with sport. He kite surfs, wake boards and plays rugby, football and golf with mates from London and school.

[on working on breakfast television] One minute you'd be interviewing Madonna, the next it would be the Prime Minister, then someone who'd walked across the country and raised thousands for charity. And there is a real intimacy about that kind of broadcasting. Often you are the first person people will see in the morning.

[on the difference between working on GMTV (1993) and Tipping Point (2012)] Live TV is the most exciting thing in the world to do, whether it's football, or on something like GMTV as anything can happen at any time. So you are always waiting for disaster to strike, although 80% of the time it doesn't happen. This is a very different situation as I have four contestants all trying to do the best they can and I want them to be comfortable and we want to create the best programme we can. So it's a very different skill but just as enjoyable.

[on game show Tipping Point (2012)] The guys who developed it wanted to do a show with this iconic piece of machinery. There is a real sense of nostalgia about it as we've all played on those machines, at the seaside and in arcades. We've supersized it, it looks beautiful.

I'm not as much of a disciplinarian as Dad was but I'm getting like him. I hear myself saying things that really irritate me, such as: 'Do you think your coat lives on the floor?' or 'Is there a reason your shoes are on the table?'. Those are things Dad said but I can't help it. I catch myself doing it and my wife will laugh. I'm proud of Dad but there are some worrying things about it - it's a sign of getting older and growing up.

[on the birth of second child] I actually wanted to call him Bauer and Annie [Shephard's wife] put her foot down. Annie did brilliantly and Jack looks just like Sam [his first child] when Sam was born - he has got tons and tons of hair and massive feet and when he came out he looked a bit like a hobbit.