Recently, Bear Grylls made a comeback to television as the lead hunter in Netflix's Celebrity Bear Hunt, hosted by Holly Willoughby.
In the show, viewers witness him searching the Costa Rican wilderness for celebrities like Mel B and Una Healy.
If you breezed through the season, Grylls has just announced seasons three and four of his other show, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, just dropped on Netflix.
He teased the show on Instagram with the caption: “If you’ve just finished watching our Number One Netflix show: Celebrity Bear Hunt and are seeking out your next mission in the wild check out these adventures with some true global icons such as @rogerfederer @shaq @juliaroberts @courteneycoxofficial and others!”
He added: “We head out on some pretty intense survival journeys, in some of the world’s most challenging terrains. You’ll love these!”
The adventurer is also coming out with a new interactive children’s book called You Decide Your Adventure, set for release in the UK on May 29.
If you just can’t enough of Grylls, here’s everything you need to know about him.
Who is Bear Grylls?
Edward "Bear" Grylls is an adventurist best known for presenting television centred around the extreme, survival and the wild.
After a military career, he took part in a number of adventures, including climbing Everest, circumnavigating the UK on a jet ski, crossing the North Atlantic and climbing an Antarctic peak. From there, he started presenting adventurist programmes, mostly for Channel 4, such as Born Survivor, Worse Case Scenario, The Island and Running Wild. The latter saw him take on adventures with celebrities and he later said Cara Delevigne was his favourite guest.
The 50-year-old hails from Northern Ireland and was given the nickname Bear as a four-year-old. He is the son of former Tory politician Sir Michael Grylls.
Grylls is a committed Christian and has fronted a campaign for the Alpha Course, a church-run project that provides an introduction to the faith and a chance to ask questions.
He has been married to Shara Cannings Knight since 2000, and they have three sons born between 2003 and 2009.
Grylls is also recognisable as the face of the Scouts and was elected as ‘chief scout’ in 2009. He has spoken in the past about the difficulty in encouraging parents to volunteer.
He previously described thinking he would never return to adventuring after breaking his back in three places in a parachute accident.
The TV presenter spoke of his ordeal on Good Morning Britain in December 2023 as he promoted his speaking tour, Never Give Up – which came to Wembley Arena last year.
Grylls said he broke his back in three places in an incident in Africa and then spent months in military rehabilitation. Host Richard Madeley asked what “went through his mind” during the accident in which his parachute ripped during an SAS exercise in Kenya in 1996.
He said: “At the time, you are desperately trying to sort it out, it was getting dark and you’re in a fuzz of what’s wrong… can I change it?
“In a heartbeat, boom, my world went black. I came to and it was a long journey back to this African hospital. I remember a doctor sticking a syringe in my back and the pain going. I was thinking, ‘I’m better’, and trying to get up but they’re saying, ‘You’re not better’.”
He said that he had confidence in his physicality which was dented. “It was a stumbling and difficult journey,” he said. “I couldn’t even go to the bathroom without agonising pain.”
Was he really in the SAS?
Yes, after leaving school Grylls served in the 21 SAS (Special Air Service) as a trooper from 1994 to 1997. The parachuting accident aforementioned marked the end of his career in the army.
Why was Bear Grylls Adventure shut down?
Grylls’ activity centre in Birmingham, called Bear Grylls Adventure, closed its doors in December after six years.
It featured a Royal Marines-inspired assault course, archery, axe throwing, high ropes, snorkelling and shooting.
The Covid-19 pandemic's long-term financial impact and “commercial challenges” led to the attraction's closure.
The site was run by Merlin Entertainments, which said they wished to give its other attractions in the Midlands priority.
