Bear Grylls has 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 on Tuesday as he promotes his new speaking tour, Never Give Up - which comes to Wembley Arena on April 24.
Grylls said he broke his back in three places in an incident in Africa and then spent months in military rehabilitation. Host Richard Maddely asked what “went through his mind” during the accident in which his parachute ripped during an SAS exercise in Kenya in 1996.
The 49-year-old 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.”
The Never Give Up speaking tour will begin in April in Glasgow. For ticket details, click here.
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 49-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.
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.
What is the Bear Grylls Adventure?
The Bear Grylls Adventure is an outward-bound activity centre at the NEC, close to Birmingham International railway station.
It features a Royal Marines-inspired assault course, archery, axe throwing, high ropes, snorkelling and shooting.
Opening the centre in 2017, Grylls said: “That ‘never give up spirit’ is what I hope to inspire in as many people as possible through this.
“The scale of challenges found at Bear Grylls Adventure are truly mind-blowing and It allows others to find the courage to conquer their own Everest.”
