Day I danced the tango in utter agony

AFTER travelling around the world and facing many death-defying challenges, wildlife expert and explorer Steve Backshall admits that life on the edge has taken a grim toll on his body.

- Olivia Buxton

Steve, who turned 50 this year, says he is "in bits" due to his many injuries.

In 2008, he nearly died after falling 10 metres down a cliff face while rock climbing in the Forest of Dean.

He broke his back, left leg, and left foot, and to this day acknowledges how lucky he was not to have died or been paralysed, but he has needed 11 operations on his ankle.

When he danced the tango to Born To Be Wild with Ola Jordan on Strictly in 2014, he was suffering from a terrible ankle issue that has plagued him ever since. "I've got a fused left ankle, and a right ankle and right knee which is playing up, and my left shoulder is giving up. I am 50 now and in bits.