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Q&A with Bear Grylls
Q: Tell us what the new shows are like.
A: In many ways these are the shows that I’ve always wanted to make. They are even more extreme and full of action, but are more intimate too. I feel I can just be myself - the good, the bad and the ugly! Each programme in the first series was an hour long but in this run we end up with two hours for each location, allowing us to go into greater depth.
Q: Where are the new shows filmed?
A: We’ve gone to much more remote and unforgiving environments. There will be two episodes in the jungles of Panama, two in the Sahara desert, and two in the mountains of Patagonia in South America. These places have taken me in many ways to my limits.
Q: What is the key to surviving in these extreme environments?
A: they are all tough, but you have to have a sense of humour, keep smiling and never, ever give up. You also need to keep hold of your faith. Of course, training and experience are important, but they’re not enough on their own - and that’s one thing you really learn in survival situations. Ultimately what matters is: how big is your desire to stay alive? How far are you prepared to go?
Q: Your trips make for gripping viewing. Why are people so fascinated by watching others push themselves to the limit?
A: I think people are just drawn to human endeavour. It resonates with us all, deep inside. Although it feels like the more I suffer, the more people seem to enjoy it! I consider this a weird compliment!
Q: How important is local knowledge?
A: The new shows will at times feature me with local people showing how they survive, such as the Embera tribesman in the jungles of Panama with whom I stayed. Local knowledge like theirs has evolved and been tested over hundreds or thousands of years. It has been an honour to hang out with some of these guys.
Q: You seem incredibly brave. Do you ever get scared?
A: Of course I get scared! But fear comes from what you’re not familiar with, and such fears can be overcome. I often feel more at home in wild places, and I tend to come alive in them. Things that are scary are things that you don’t know well. Some cities are pretty scary for me, but I’ve realised that it’s natural and OK to feel scared sometimes. It is how we deal with it that matters.
Q: What was the most demanding challenge you faced while in the Sahara Desert?
A: It might sound obvious but it was simply the intense heat. We were right there in the middle of the summer, and it was about 130 degrees. It was so intense that three of the crew had to leave with heatstroke. I almost collapsed as well whilst gutting and skinning a camel to shelter inside its carcass. It took me hours in the intense heat and I started to hallucinate. I felt quite scared by how fast the desert can consume you.
Q: It sounds pretty tough out there, but isn’t it all just sand?
A: The desert isn’t just sand, and I actually ended up having to do quite a lot of climbing to get out of wadis, the barren desert canyons. In one place I had to climb a 400 ft face to get out, which in 130 degree heat was pretty full on.
Q: Presumably there isn’t much to eat in the Sahara?
A: There isn’t much, but you have to take what you can get. We were working with the Berber tribesmen and on one occasion I killed and ate a horned viper, one of the most poisonous snakes around. I also ate and drank the intestinal raw fluid from the dead camel- but that's another story!
Q: What about shelter? Isn’t it cold in the desert at night?
A: It is, and you have to try to improvise. I managed to skin a dead camel, and then use its skin as a blanket one night. It kept me sort of warm, but it stank of rotting flesh. I smelt for about three weeks afterwards!
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