I think 99% of the people criticizing Bear could not survive overnight in their back yards, let alone in the wild.

Chris, St. Petersburg, USA

Crossing the Sahara in the blazing sun... sleeping in extreme cold without mittens ... jumping into an ice-cold stream with your only set of dry clothes on...eating raw animals which probably will make you sick as hell... Grylls's survival techniques are worse than useless, they are suicidal.

E.J. van Ginkel, Leiden, Netherlands

Your all missing the point boys!!.......its just a TV show.
Its a million miles away from being in the thick of it for real.....its just something to watch while you are eating your dial a curry and downing your 6 pack of cheap lager.
get up from your armchairs and do something yourselves!!

George EX UKSF, Pattaya, Thailand

UK SF (that is the SAS to your average Joe public) has previously invited Ray Mears to instruct/lecture on their survival courses.
Some how I don't think they will be doing the same with Bear..

D. Nukim, London, UK

How much danger is there in a Holiday Inn minibar?

J.Wilkes, Gloucester,

Ray Mears is about a millions times better than Bear Grylls.

Phil, London, UK

I have to say that while I find Bear entertaining, in much the same way as I find Harry Hill entertaining, I know for a fact that given the choice, I'd take Ray Mears advice over Bears. Actually...Who is better? Bear Grills or Ray Mears?.......Theres only one way to find out....

Rob, Weston Super mare,

Well, I've learned a lot of decent techniques from Bear and whether he stays in hotels or not doens't bother mem the fact is he is presenting the world with techniques for survival (Now I need to figure out how David Curtis got such a long post and I can't say all I wanted to lol) Keep it up Bear!

James "Sunbird" Carrington, Edinburgh, Scotland

Put aside for a moment the fact that Edward Grylls grossly exaggerates his time in the Territorial Army (in his case SAS stands for Saturdays and Sundays). Ignore if you will the insult to our intelligence by performing all manner of blatantly stage-managed stunts whilst presenting them as genuine. The stark truth is that not everyone can see through this ruse and his advice and conduct could get someone killed in a real life survival situation. The last possible thing you want to be doing is crossing rivers in sinking boats or approaching wild horses or swimming submerged in canyons whilst the sun beats down above etc.. Your top priority is keeping yourself dry, warm sheltered and fed; in other words safe.
For an authentic program on survival, watch and learn from Ray Mears; he makes it look easy. See Edward Grylls for the phony that he is, who should really be presenting his programme as: Adventures and Wheezes from the Dangerous Sports Club.

David Curtis, Fulham, England

Sorry Bear, but Ray Mears will always be the daddy of the tv survival format.

Matt, Wiltshire,

3 Cheers for Bear!

SH

SH, London,

No one can question Bear Grylls, having served his country as an SAS solider he should have already earned enough honour and respect for two life times. His shows may have been ‘dramatised’ but this does not detract from the fact that he has experienced these situations for real and is only demonstrating them to us, are people really complaining that this family man does not put himself in these dangerous positions for our entertainment?
As for why, that is for each man to know and decide in his own heart but trying to complete a physical act that no man has done, or that few dare to risk, is a great act. To leave this western world that we all inhabit and to push ones self to the limits is not only brave but it inspires men to be more then they are, to become what they are capable of being.

Oliver Kinne Aslett, Tunbridge Wells, England

Simply put this Man allows us to live vicariously through his actions. I'm an Englishman who lives amongst the jungles of North Thailand...we have no desert or artic tundra to explore..Mr. Grylls gives us a taste & entertains! Bear, hats off to you.

Warren Howe, Chiang Mai, Thailand

What Bear Grylls does is in no way humiliating or cheap. Even if those things are true, the man does things on his show that are awe inspiring. I would like to see these nay sayers down climb a 100ft raging waterfall with no ropes. They couldn't, they would die. The fact is that adding some smoke and hot coals to a shot does not discredit what the man can physically do. He is a marvel of bravery and physical ability. He should be knighted. Get the Queen on that, quick!!!

Mark, Houston, Texas, USA

I met David Hempleman-Adams once, and I thought the same about him as I do about Grylls: why? Back in the day when nobody had ever reached these places it made a kind of sense, but now I just wonder what demons are chasing someone who leaves home and family to continually and wilfully risk their life.

Julian, Warwick, UK

Bear Grylls is the best! he is my hero!

matt, london, UK

bear grylls is an amazing man who has done incredible things he should not be blamed for whatever the producers do, especially by people who have nothing better to do than post bad comments about him on a website! he is an inspiration to me. keep up the good work!

matt, london, england

bear is my hero!

matt, london, UK

It's amazing what someone can achieve when bankrolled by rich parents.

His stunts are all about the money, nothing he does is impressive. He achieves nothing that no other ordinary person could do if they could afford the equipment and time his privileged status allows. Unlike other "adventure" type shows there is nothing to learn and nothing to inspire, its ultimately a televised ego trip.
People who admire him really need to consider who much their self esteem has dwindled.

Chris, Preston, UK

At last someone (thanks lads!) reminding us Bear was in the TA and not (22) SAS. Bear always seems to forget?

He was badged and passed TA SAS selection not the higher standards of Regular SAS 6 months continuous selection. he served 3 years part-time (so less than a year full-time, inc TA selection!) and not as he'd like us to believe 3 years full-time or if he's on the Jonathan Ross show he adds 2 years to take it to 5 years? Spin... Spin... Spin... he reminds me of Jeffrey Archer?

Note to Editor... Any chance you could run an article on Lofty Wiseman? A real SAS legend?

TREVOR, HEREFORD,

Agreed Joe, David Davis was in the same Territorial army SAS regiment as Bear Grylls but how often do you hear "Former SAS Shadow Defence Minister"?

Chris, Cambridge,

This man was NOT a member of 22 SAS , for the second time i have tried to write this and the Times has not reported it.... HE IS NOT AND HAS NEVER BEEN A FULLTIME SOLDIER and never passed Regular Selection.

joe, Baghdad, uk

The best thing about the Bear Grylls tv show is what Harry Hill does with it.

Wolfie, London, UK

If the information regarding the first series was true, I believe it was a mistake though by the television people. You cant deny Bear Grylls is an action man hero, unless he got the lift to the top of Everest or he was attached to a plane when he took the microlight up.
If I had an ounce of his determination, his stamnia, his physique or his integrity I would be one happy man ! He could smile more mind !

phil, Rugby,

I'd like to see Bear do a NYC survival. let him spend a week on the streets, and explain to the world how to survive.

Christopher Dunn, Eugene, USA/Oregon

Rather than watch a TV program about adventures, go out in to the real world and have one of your own. There is nothing more boring i life than a couch adventure or a couch sportsmen

Clive, Dartford, Kent

What is the point in lambasting a guy (who clearly was marketed for a US audience) when he has proven himself to be worthier than most men could ever claim to be. Having passed SAS selection, recovering from a near paraplegic back injury to summiting Mt. Everest, circumnavigating the Arctic in a dingy, and paraglidding higher than anyone has done before. It's easy to criticise but how many people have achieved any one of these things?

Who cares if a television programme, which is for our entertainment after all, is made more entertaining. This is pointless criticism caught up in the fallout of more serious television misrepresentations such as competition fraud.

Andrew, Hampshire, UK

Ignoring the cynicism in the other comments, I think Bear Grylls has nothing to prove to any of us, whether his programmes are slightly assisted or not. His adventures away from his TV series more than prove his skill and bravery. The point of the programmes is not so much that he personally survived the situations when they were filmed, but rather to show how to deal with similar situations - to do that effectively I can imagine that, yes, some things do need to be set up slightly, especially when considering limited time, budgets and weather windows.

This carping is typical of a media and a public that loves to poke holes in things, and yet very few would have the guts to go anywhere near the situations Grylls puts himself into, assisted or not.

Alex Kerr, London, UK

I've always been hard on Bear for the hotel and horse incident but I've now come to see that it isn't just Bear at fault, it's the crew and producers who are probably more to blame. I still think Les Stroud's Survivorman show holds more credibility. The one thing about Bear I will say is that no matter where he sleeps, he's one of the toughest individuals alive.

Phil, New York, USA

If I was in a boat that had as many leaky holes as do his excuses in this interview, I would abandon ship.

Radbuster, Denver,

I've always been hard on Bear for the hotel and horse incident but I've now come to see that it isn't just Bear at fault, it's the crew and producers are probably more to blame. I still think Les Stroud's Survivorman show holds more credability. The one thing about Bear I will say is that no matter where he sleeps, he's one of the toughest individuals alive.

Phil, New York, USA

for all those leaving negative comments about Bear Grylls how many of you were in the SAS or have climbed Everest? Exactly.

Jenny, London,

He is a fraud for men to put it bluntly. He is shown to do dastardly things as men might have done in a real war. But it is just television. Remember Bernard Levin portrayed as a lonely traveller on a donkey in the Holy Land. The canteen, first aid station and the back office were invisible. Television reality is not real.

jane, Whittlesey, uk

Hold on, this is a bit of entertainment we are talking about, not third world poverty.

I think you would be hard pushed to knock this gent for anything.

SAS or Surrey Ambulance Service matters not. Who really cares if he stayed in a hotel a few times?!

The man is a class act, anyone who knocks him should look at the holes in their own lives.

Go da Grylls

Paul careless, hove, UK

He is entertaining if you take everything he does with a pinch of salt, he has made a carear out of a combination of non truths....the same goes for his time in the Territorial Army.

nick, surrey, uk

The bit about the bear suit was a little hard to swallow.

Dan, council bluffs,

Bear Grylls rocks!

Patrick Bateman, London,

Extraordinary person.

David, London, UK

It's television. The primary function is to sell you product. The fluff between the adverts is just to keep you amused until the next ad.

terryleon, portland or us,

I love Bear Grylls.

Norman, Birmingham, Alabama