My biggest challenge? Raising three young children in my 50s... TV adventurer Steve Backshall says fatherhood is harder than going up against crocodiles, sharks and hippos
He's the fearless adventurer who has wrestled with some of the world's most deadly predators, from 15ft crocodiles to killer sharks, and from venomous snakes to ferocious polar bears.
But for wildlife expert Steve Backshall, it's at home where he faces his toughest challenge.
The host of BBC 's Deadly 60, who is married to Olympic champion rower Helen Glover, admits that having three young children while in his 50s, is physically draining.
He told The Mail on Sunday: 'I do wish I had the energy I had when I was in my 20s and 30s, to have the ability to sprint around playing football and rugby all day long with my kids, and for me to still be popping and buzzing with energy.
'But obviously I haven't and it's tough to keep going when you're 52 and you've got three kids under six.
'But I've got knowledge and experience and a whole array of things I can teach them about, help them with.
'Also I've got no choice! These are the cards that I was dealt, and I've got to make it work.'
Backshall and Ms Glover, 38, have a son Logan, six, and five-year-old twins, Willow and Kit.
He describes his wife as a 'mega-mum' and is proud that she was the first British female rower to go to an Olympic games after having children.
Backshall, who presents a new podcast, That's Just Wild, said of his career: 'I think they are very excited by it and very proud – but also, the fact I go away a lot, they don't like at all.
'They really struggle with it. It's been hard ever since they could understand what I was doing.
'They would take me doing an office job and seeing me every day over me having this incredibly exciting job but always being away for long periods of time. Especially at the age they're at.
'Right now for this one little precious period of time in their lives all they want is to be with Mummy and Daddy.'
Backshall, who took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, admits that he's an old fashioned father, saying: 'I do think that discipline and rules and structure are important for kids.
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