Pen Hadow was stranded for eight days

The 41-year-old adventurer was airlifted from the North Pole to the Eureka Weather Station on Ellesmere Island, off Canada, on Tuesday.

From there he flew to Resolute Bay and was due to travel onwards to Ottowa and Toronto.

He is expected to arrive at Heathrow Airport at 0815 BST on Friday.

I'm looking forward to a shave Pen Hadow

Speaking from their family home in Hexworthy, Dartmoor, Pen Hadow's wife, Mary, said: "He's extremely tired.

"He's been travelling for 30 hours having just done one of the biggest endurance feats left on earth.

"He's in transit at the moment so I'm out of communication with him. The next time we speak will be at Heathrow."

Mrs Hadow said she and their children Wilf, four, and one-year-old Freya, both named after explorers, would travel to London on Thursday ahead of their reunion.

"I am really excited and can't wait to see him. Wilfy can't wait to go to London and has already packed his rucksack. Freya is just laughing and smiling," she said.

Mr Hadow reached the Pole on 19 May but became stranded on the floating, unstable ice as harsh weather prevented rescue teams from reaching him.

He was forced to survive on meagre rations with only a signal beacon as a means of contact and was eventually airlifted off the ice by a Canadian rescue team.

The explorer, who owns his own polar travel company, braved harsh temperatures, swam in the freezing sea in a special dry suit and negotiated huge pressure ridges to achieve his goal.