Bear Grylls: Life, Expeditions and What He Is Doing in 2026
The full profile: 21 SAS, the parachute accident, Everest at 23, fifteen years as Chief Scout, and the two new series that launched in 2026.
Bear Grylls broke his back in a parachuting accident at 16,000 feet. Eighteen months later he stood on the summit of Everest, aged 23. Almost everything else about him — the television career, the Scouting role, the books — follows from those two facts sitting that close together.
Here is the full profile: the military service, the expeditions, every show including the two that launched in 2026, and the controversies that most write-ups quietly leave out.
Who is Bear Grylls?
Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls OBE was born on 7 June 1974 in Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland. The nickname came from his older sister Lara when he was a week old, and it stuck so thoroughly that almost nobody uses the other one.
The family moved to Bembridge on the Isle of Wight when he was four. His father, Sir Michael Grylls, was a Conservative MP; his maternal grandmother, Patricia Ford, had also briefly been an MP. He was educated at Ludgrove and then Eton, where he helped set up the school’s first mountaineering club — a detail that reads less like trivia once you know what he did next.
He speaks English, Spanish, German and French, took a Hispanic studies degree part-time at Birkbeck, and earned a second dan black belt in Shotokan karate as a teenager.
The fall, and then Everest
Grylls served in the 21 SAS (Artists Rifles), a Territorial Army unit, as a trooper from 1994 to 1997.
In 1996, in Zambia, his parachute failed to open properly at 16,000 feet. He survived — one of the highest falls anyone has come through without a working canopy — with three broken vertebrae.
On 16 May 1998, roughly eighteen months later, he summited Mount Everest at the age of 23.
He is often described as the youngest Briton to have climbed Everest. That claim is disputed — James Allen summited in 1995 aged 22. “Among the youngest” is the accurate phrasing, and the achievement does not need the superlative: he had been told he might not walk unaided again.
Image source: pexels.com
He has since held a series of honorary military ranks: lieutenant commander in the Royal Naval Reserve (2004), lieutenant colonel in the Royal Marines Reserve (2013), promoted to honorary colonel of the Royal Marines Reserve in June 2021, and honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College Harrogate in April 2024.
The expeditions
| Year | Expedition |
|---|---|
| 1997 | Youngest Briton to climb Ama Dablam, in preparation for Everest |
| 1998 | Summits Everest, 16 May, aged 23 |
| 2000 | Circumnavigates the UK on jet skis in about 30 days, for the RNLI. Also rows the Thames in a homemade bathtub for a friend who lost his legs climbing |
| 2003 | First unassisted crossing of the North Atlantic in an 11-metre rigid inflatable — Halifax to John o’ Groats, through Force 8 gales and icebergs |
| 2005 | Holds a dinner party at 7,600 m beneath a hot-air balloon, in full mess dress and oxygen masks. It took more than 200 practice jumps |
| 2007 | Paramotors to 9,000 m near Everest, beating a record of 6,102 m, in temperatures near −60 °C |
| 2008 | Antarctic expedition; breaks his shoulder kite-skiing at 50 km/h and is evacuated |
| 2008 | Sets the longest indoor freefall record in a Milton Keynes wind tunnel, with a double-amputee teammate |
| 2010 | Navigates the Northwest Passage — 5,700 nautical miles by ice-breaking inflatable |
The 2007 paramotor flight has a detail worth knowing: his permit only allowed him south of Everest. Crossing the summit would have meant entering Chinese airspace, so he flew to the height and turned back.
Image source: pexels.com
The television career
Grylls has fronted more survival formats across more networks than anyone else working. The spine of it:
- Escape to the Legion (2005, Channel 4) — the first series.
- Born Survivor / Man vs. Wild (2006–2011) — seven seasons, and the show that made him globally famous. Channel 4 in the UK, Discovery elsewhere.
- The Island with Bear Grylls (2014–2019, Channel 4) — with an American version on NBC.
- Running Wild with Bear Grylls (2014–2023, NBC) — celebrities in the wild, including Barack Obama and Narendra Modi.
- You vs. Wild (Netflix) — interactive, viewers choose what he does next.
- World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji (Amazon, August 2020).
- Bear Grylls Meets President Zelenskyy (Channel 4, 28 March 2023) — filmed in Ukraine during the war.
- Celebrity Bear Hunt (Netflix, February 2025) — presented with Holly Willoughby.
What Bear Grylls is doing in 2026
Two new series launched this year, and one of them is a real change of direction.
Bear Grylls – Wild Reckoning began on BBC One on 23 February 2026. It runs to 16 episodes of around half an hour, filmed across North Wales including his own island. The premise is not survival: guests come to work through personal conflicts and damaged relationships while getting through the wilderness together. After two decades of eating insects on camera, he has made a programme about people talking to each other.
Bear Grylls Is Running Wild premiered on Fox on 21 April 2026. It is the ninth season of Running Wild, rebranded after moving from NBC. Each celebrity gets 48 hours in the wild, in locations including Norwegian glaciers, Eryri in Wales, Arctic rainforest, canyonlands and desert. The cast: Elizabeth Banks, Rhys Darby, Colman Domingo, Tiffany Haddish, Matthew McConaughey, MGK, Michelle Monaghan and Uma Thurman.
Image source: pexels.com
Chief Scout — and the end of it
Grylls became Chief Scout of the UK Scout Association on 11 July 2009, aged 35 — the youngest since Robert Baden-Powell in 1920. His term was extended more than once, and he finally stepped down in September 2024, succeeded by explorer Dwayne Fields.
Fifteen years in post makes him the second longest-serving Chief Scout in the movement’s history, behind only its founder. He was also appointed the first Chief Ambassador of World Scouting in November 2018.
Plenty of profiles still describe him as the current Chief Scout. He is not — that changed in 2024.
Image source: pexels.com
Books
He is a prolific author across three lanes. The memoirs: Facing Up (published in the US as The Kid Who Climbed Everest), Facing the Frozen Ocean, Mud, Sweat and Tears (2011) and Never Give Up (2021).
The self-help and faith titles: A Survival Guide for Life (2012), True Grit (2013), Soul Fuel (2019), Mind Fuel (2022), You Vs the World (2023) and How to be a Scout (2023). The Greatest Story Ever Told (June 2025), a retelling of the life of Jesus from five perspectives, reached number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list.
And fiction: the Mission Survival children’s series, plus two Will Jaeger thrillers, Ghost Flight (2015) and Burning Angels (2016).
Business
In September 2018, Bear Grylls Ventures and NM Capital bought British Military Fitness and rebranded it Be Military Fit with Bear Grylls. It runs outdoor group classes in around 140 UK parks and open spaces, led by former and serving forces personnel, and is Europe’s largest outdoor fitness company.
He also co-founded BecomingX, a learning and development company working with Amazon and Accenture, which has been building a learning platform for Ukrainians.
The criticism
A profile that lists only achievements is not a profile. Three episodes are worth recording.
2008 — the hotels. It emerged that on some nights during Man vs. Wild Grylls slept in hotels, including an episode in which he was presented as stranded alone on a Hawaiian island. His response at the time: “If people felt misled … I’m really sorry for that.” The programme afterwards was clearer about the crew’s presence.
2012 — the Discovery split. Discovery dropped him in March 2012 over a contractual dispute. They have worked together again since.
2015 — Saint Tudwal’s Island. He left his 11-year-old son on an island off the North Wales coast as the tide came in. The boy was picked up by an RNLI crew who happened to be on a practice mission. The RNLI publicly criticised the decision, saying its volunteers “had not appreciated” that a child was involved.
Personal life
For a comparable career built on the same mix of expedition and broadcasting, see our profile of Ben Fogle. For the newsroom end of British television, we have UK news presenters and broadcasters.
Grylls married Shara Cannings Knight in 2000. They have three sons, born in 2003, 2006 and 2009. He owns a small island off the Welsh coast, which includes a nature reserve.
He is Anglican and open about it, describing his Christian faith as the “backbone” of his life. He took Irish citizenship in January 2020 and has spoken since about being proud of it. He was previously vegan and now eats a predominantly animal-based diet with fruit and honey. He supported Remain in the 2016 EU referendum.
He was appointed OBE in the 2019 Birthday Honours, for services to young people, the media and charity.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Bear Grylls?
He was born on 7 June 1974, which makes him 52 in 2026.
Was Bear Grylls really in the SAS?
Yes — 21 SAS (Artists Rifles), a Territorial Army reserve unit, as a trooper from 1994 to 1997. He has since been given several honorary senior ranks, including honorary colonel of the Royal Marines Reserve.
Is Bear Grylls the youngest Briton to climb Everest?
The claim is disputed. He summited on 16 May 1998 aged 23; James Allen did so in 1995 aged 22. He is among the youngest, and he did it eighteen months after breaking three vertebrae in a parachuting accident.
Is Bear Grylls still Chief Scout?
No. He stepped down in September 2024 after fifteen years and was succeeded by Dwayne Fields. Only Baden-Powell served longer.
What is Bear Grylls’ new show?
Two in 2026. Bear Grylls – Wild Reckoning, a 16-part BBC One series about relationships and conflict filmed in North Wales, from 23 February. And Bear Grylls Is Running Wild on Fox from 21 April, the ninth season of Running Wild after its move from NBC.
Did Bear Grylls fake Man vs. Wild?
Not the survival techniques, but the framing was misleading in places. In 2008 it emerged he had stayed in hotels on some nights, including an episode where he appeared to be stranded alone. He apologised, and the show was more transparent about the crew afterwards.
Where does Bear Grylls live?
He owns a small island off the Welsh coast, which includes a nature reserve. He grew up on the Isle of Wight from the age of four.
