Naturalist Steve Backshall has revealed he had a near-death experience while filming his upcoming TV series.

In his new show Expedition, Steve is seen travelling the world and putting himself in all kinds of dangerous situations, with one particularly perilous moment standing out.

Describing an incident that occurred while kayaking on an uncharted river in Bhutan, he told The Mirror: “We came to rapids at the end of the day and there was concern from everyone that it might be a step too far, but getting out was almost ­impossible because we were in a ­high-sided canyon, so we chanced it and ran the rapid.”

However, Steve quickly noted that it was, indeed, “a step too far… way too far”, as his kayak flipped over, trapping him underneath.

“I’d enough time to understand that I had no strength left and was drowning.” he recalled. “I realised it was how it ends, how I was going to die. I had time to think through the impact, that I would never get to see my baby son grow up.”

Filming Expedition took a year in total, meaning Steve was away from home for some key moments, including many which involved his baby son, Logan.

“I missed out a lot while I was away,” he admitted. “At first Helen was very heavily ­pregnant with a pregnancy that was going far from smoothly, and then I had a new baby.

“I went weeks without speaking to home and always missed some big moments.”

Expedition, a 10-part series, airs on Sunday nights at 8pm on Dave.