Bear Grylls shares reason he agreed to Who Do You Think You Are as he learns of royal link | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV

Next month, a fresh batch of stars will embark on a personal journey to uncover their family ancestry and unknown heritage.

BBC viewers will see the likes of Claire Foy, Emily Atack, Bear Grylls, Chris Ramsey and Kevin Clifton delve into their histories.

Dev Griffin, Chris and Xand van Tulleken and Lesley Manville will also be taking part in the new series which is set to air on June 1.

However, 48-year-old Bear Grylls confessed he very nearly didn’t take part in Who Do You Think You Are as he’s not a fan of doing TV shows.

Bear is a well-known survival and outdoor adventurer who has had many of his own shows since 2006 such as Man vs Wild, Into The Wild, The Island and Running Wild.

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Speaking about the upcoming genealogy series, Bear confessed it was his sister who gave him the nudge to agree to take part.

He told Radio Times: “I didn’t have an aspiration to do the show.

“But my mother has always really wanted me to do it because she had hoped we were related to someone royal.

“She’s now 82 and my sister took me to one side and said, ‘Mate, you have to do it. Forget about the TV side of it’.”

It looks as though his mother’s wishes came to fruition as Bear discovered he did indeed have a special link to royalty.

Throughout the process, it transpired that the adventurer was related to Scottish nobleman Archibald Campbell, First Marquess of Argyll.

Beheaded in 1661, over his support of Oliver Cromwell and resistance to the religious changes during that time period, Archibald is related to Bear on his mother’s side.

However, that’s not the only royal in his family tree as the show revealed he’s a descendant of Scottish monarch Robert the Bruce.

Despite being unsure about taking part, the 48-year-old confessed he’s pleased he decided to give it a go, especially after knowing about his two links to royalty.

He added: “My mum loves the royalty bit, but for me, the experience was about being connected to maverick spirits.

“Who loved their families, and were dogged, who knew their faith and who were not ashamed of it.”

Who Do You Think You Are starts on Thursday, June 1 with Andrew Lloyd Webber.