Bear Grylls discovers he is related to Robert the Bruce

Adventurer Bear Grylls has said it was "epic" to discover he is related to Robert the Bruce during the filming of Who Do You Think You Are?

The TV presenter and writer travelled to Scotland to learn about his link with the Scottish king.

Grylls said he did it for his mother, who "had hoped" they were connected to royalty.

Speaking to Radio Times, he described Bruce as "a clansman who rewrote the rules of conventional soldiering".

He defeated Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

"He was an inspirational leader who spent time in the great outdoors, he came back transformed and renewed," said Grylls.

"It was epic for me to follow that, and to understand a connecting spirit through our lives."

Grylls also found he is related to Archibald Campbell, first Marquess of Argyll, who was beheaded in 1661 for supporting Oliver Cromwell.

Who Do You Think You Are? - which will be broadcast on BBC One on 15 June - will also look at his Army and Scouting links.