Bear Grylls has climbed Everest, served in the SAS, and repeatedly risks his life making some of the most dangerous programmes on television. So I put the chances of him crying on my Life Stories show – something that has become a familiar feature – at less than zero. ‘You won’t crack me,’ he joked, when we met in his dressing room before filming started. ‘They all say that,’ I replied. Bear laughed, nervously. Halfway through the interview, he began watching a home video that his sister had given us of him and his father sailing together when Bear was a young boy. His dad was the man who constantly encouraged him to ever greater heights of endeavour and achievement. But he sadly died when Bear was only 26. As Bear watched the grainy video for the first time, he began to weep uncontrollably. He then stood up, said: ‘I’m sorry, I need a break’ and walked slowly around the silent studio floor, sobbing into his hands – as the audience sat in stunned silence. It was an extraordinary moment. In the bar afterwards, Bear said he was embarrassed about his reaction. ‘I don’t know what came over me,’ he said. ‘I do,’ I replied. ‘You loved your dad and you miss him – and that’s the least embarrassing thing imaginable.’ He nodded. Bear’s made a £40 million fortune, but I suspect he’d swap it all for the chance to go sailing with his dad again.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 09:49:00 +0000
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