New Disclaimers for Man vs. Wild

Filed in archive Outdoor News on November 7, 2007

If you read the October issue of Outside, then you probably know Bear Grylls broke his silence about allegations surrounding the authority of his wildly popular show, Man vs. Wild. What you may not know is the precautions the Discovery Channel is taking to keep visitors and try to reclaim some of its star's reputation.

In a statement released by the Discovery Channel, the network announced that they have begun airing re-edited shows with a disclaimer and narration by Grylls that explains what was staged.

Personally, I think it's rather convenient that we are finding about all of these new elements days before the premiere of a new season of Man vs. Wild. I'm a fan. I've made no secret of that. But, as a fan, I would have rather known all of this before the new season.

"I think the new shows will reassure them," Grylls says of the upcoming season. "Everything is strong and double-checked. Discovery is so cautious of everything. If I so much as break wind on these shows, it's acknowledged now."

Last July, British television network Channel 4, which airs the show in the United Kingdom as "Born Survivor," confirmed that Grylls had stayed indoors during some of his expeditions, although the show had depicted him spending the night in the wilderness.

"I think a lot of the controversy was fueled by people wanting to know more," Grylls, 33, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. "They wanted to know how we did stuff behind the scenes."

The former British Special Air Service soldier's flight above Mount Everest in a paramotor - a paraglider with a motor - will be documented in a one-hour special, "Bear's Mission Everest," premiering Friday (10 p.m. EST).

New episodes of "Man vs. Wild," premiering Friday (9 p.m. EST), will have more revelations about Grylls' survival tactics in desolate places such as the Sahara desert, the jungles of Panama and the Patagonian plains.

"I hope they go down well," Grylls says. "I think the irony is that people are going to enjoy seeing more behind the scenes. It's going to make the whole program better."