Bruce Dickinson has come 13th in a fencing tournament

Bruce trained with the British Olympic fencing squad in the 1980s, and has told The Times in a recent chat he fences around four times a week.

He also said he has switched from the fast-paced foil fencing to épée, as he finds it more "tactical".

Bruce went on: "I've found an amazing club in France, full of incredible fencers who all kick my a***.

"It gives me something to aim for - I want to get to the stage where only 75 percent of them kick my a***!"

Bruce, whose wife Leana Dolci is French, also enjoys hobbies including flying - and is a pilot who once worked for Astraeus Airlines.

He's also an entrepreneur with his own line of beer with Robinsons Brewery called Trooper.

In 2014, Bruce was diagnosed with throat cancer, but got the all-clear the next year after nearly three dozen radiation sessions and weeks of chemotherapy.

He told Rolling Stone about his new outlook on life after the brush with death:

"I really appreciate every day, but that means that every day I have to do something, even if it's consciously doing nothing - at least do something consciously.

"When I did my series of one-man shows around the States almost two years ago, I made up a T-shirt that said, 'Life is better than all the other options.' And if I had a mantra to live by, that would be it."

Bruce is far from the only celebrity with a side-interest in flying, with other A-list pilots including John Travolta and Tom Cruise.