Mud Sweat & Tears - Bear Grylls [116]
Any of these could have resulted in an axing. But it hung in there, ratings grew, and before I knew it we were part of people’s vocabulary and consciousness. That takes time – but when, and if, it happens, it all then becomes simpler.
Let me explain.
When a TV show starts out, it is incredibly competitive: maybe one in a hundred TV ideas goes on to get made into pilot (tester) episodes. Maybe one in twenty of those pilots will go on to have a first series commissioned. And maybe one in ten of those will be asked back for a second season.
It takes a sprinkling of fairy dust and a lot of goodwill.
But do two seasons and you will quite probably go on to do five – or more.
So we got lucky. No doubt. And I never even asked for it. Let alone expected it.
I was simply, and blissfully, unaware.
But on this journey, Man vs. Wild has had to endure a lot of flak from critics and the press. Anything successful inevitably does. (Funny how the praise tends just to bounce off, but small amounts of criticism sting so much. Self-doubt can be a brute, I guess.)
The programme has been accused of being ‘set up’, ‘staged’, ‘faked’ and ‘manipulated’. One critic even suggested it was all shot in a studio with CGI. If only.
Another recurring negative was that following my advice would be dangerous to the viewer. In fact, more likely, lethal.
But the format has always been: what to do if you are faced with the ultimate wilderness disaster.
I work within my own skill levels to show what I would do – from all my training – in order to survive.
Watch. Enjoy. It just might save your life one day.
Of course, such situations don’t happen often. It is why the crew have a pretty clear idea that I am going to come across certain obstacles – whether they are rapids, cliffs, snakes or sinkholes. That is the show.
The team do the recces. Then we get briefed by local rangers, indigenous people, and Search and Rescue. It is all part of our preparation. Including grab bags, satellite phones, ropes, med kits, even anti-venoms.
If you are going to tackle the wild – then be prepared.
It would have been much easier just to have gone out there and made a safe, predictable survival show – showing you how to sit tight and wait for rescue. And it would have bombed.
If you want that, then there are a multitude of bushcraft DVDs on offer.
As for me – I just wanted to go wild and have fun with my buddies.
CHAPTER 108
On one occasion, after a particularly long spell away from home, I got Shara to fly into the mountains we were filming in.
‘Bring the boys, my love, I miss you.’
That night, I hitched a lift with the crew, jumped into the helicopter that was extracting them back to base, and went to the lodge they were staying in.
Shara was there, waiting.
I spent the night in my family’s arms and went back to film the next day. Reckless, I know.
But the press got wind of it, as they do, and they went for the jugular. It made for a killer headline. I totally understood. But who hasn’t made the odd mistake?
In hindsight, it was more than reckless – it was an error, and it opened a can of worms for the papers to feed on.
But, for the record, it had been total heaven to see Shara and the boys.
So which do I value more – being a hero or being a father?
There’s a third option, Bear. It is called patience.
I know. It is never my strong point.
So this was another moment that could have sunk the show, but Channel 4 and Discovery backed me. They knew all too well how hard I work and the risks I take – every day.
And the best response to the critics was the show’s subsequent runaway success.
The second element to why the show has worked is undoubtedly my team.
And, guess what? I am not alone out there.
I work with a truly brilliant, small, tight-knit crew. Four or five guys. Heroes to a man.
They work their nuts off. Unsung. Up to their necks in the dirt. Alongside me in more hellholes than you could ever imagine.
They are mainly made up of ex-Special