Bear how do you deal with being away from your family for so long?
I struggle with it. It is the hardest part of the show for me.

How do you feel about the people that say you hand out potentially life threatening advice in the shows as people will try and copy you?
There are a lot of silly people in this world and some may actually take certain parts of the show out of context. I mean I know not to jump into a frozen lake in the first place just because you do! However, 'Joe Blogs' may not.

The show is essentially about surviving disasters. It is about what to do if you have run out of options and all has gone wrong – then watch this and it could save your life. I always work within my own parameters and skills. This is also important. What is safe for one man might not be for another. I just do what I have been trained for and I show how I would get myself out alive.

How are destinations chosen for the show?
We sit down at the start of each season and throw in ideas and listen to what all the fans are saying - ie many people wanted to see me surviving Siberia in winter in -35°, so we did it - just!

Of your new episodes…which was your favorite experience and why?
Probably the desert island show off the Sumatran coast - l love islands and we live on one 6 miles offshore in the UK.

Least favorite?
Definitely the swamps of Indonesia where the tsunami hit - stinking black swamps full of man eating crocs that have been feeding off 65,000 human corpses since the tsunami hit. Teeming with snakes as well - a real hell hole!

You have the TV show. Why put together this book?
Because people always ask me for top tips of how to survive some of the worst places on earth! Plus of course every man should know how to make a snow cave, light a fire in the rain and deal with snakes! More...

How does having a family affect what you do?
It makes me worry much more about the risks.

At the end of your life, what do you want to leave behind you as a legacy?
To have touched peoples lives and to have encouraged many to not be scared to follow their dreams.

How long do you see yourself doing Man Versus Wild?
I always feel like I have done it since I was 4, just without the cameras. I hope to keep living this life but maybe with less mosquitos and danger.

Generally, how do you prepare for and recover from filming?
Eat lots and train hard and spend cosy times with my family.

How do you feel right after you finish filming a Man Vs Wild Episode?
Whacked!

How did you get your own show? Was it unexpected?
The producer came to see me 3 times to persuade me to do it – but I was busy doing my stuff- all the climbing and expeditions- and if I am honest I wasn’t sure I would be any good at TV. I didn’t really have the confidence to do it. But he kept saying forget about the TV! We don’t want a slick host we just want to film what you do- mistakes and all. As soon as I felt I can just be me, be caked in mud, talking to the cameraman about what I am doing to get myself out of this trouble and how it feels, then it all kind of took off.

How is life now, since you are famous?
Weirder!

Are you really as cheery as you appear on TV all the time. It must be tough to spread happyness all the time?
My Dad always said ‘be the most enthusiastic person you know!’.

Like you i have an interest in watches. I know in the past you have worn the likes of Bremonts (great British time piece) and Brietling Emergency's, but you looked to be wearing another one in Mision Everest. Which one did you have on?
I think an old army one with an altimeter on it!

Have you ever thought about doing an urban survival show?
Yes! We are currently planning to do a 3D feature film based in New York around disaster scenarios and how to deal with them and survive. Watch this space.

How did you get the nickname Bear?
I was christened Eddie, that became Teddy, and that became Bear! Not very butch but there we go! I used to find it a bit awkward as a kid but it could have been worse, and since then it has stuck, from Seargant-Majors in the Army to bank managers, I have ever since been ‘Bear’.

Do you recommend any survival courses?
Yes. I believe the best courses I have come across are run by www.bushcraftexpeditions.com. I have worked with Woody who runs these courses and he is in my view one of the best bushcraft experts worldwide. (and a cool, mellow, laid back guy.)

How do you remember all your survival info?
I get very thorough briefings when I arrive in country on all the dangerous and non-dangerous local wildlife and seasonal plants, as well as going through all the evacuation and rescue plans if something goes wrong with either me or the crew. We also always use a bushcraft consultant to advise on the shows. I have also been doing a lot of all this since I was a kid and slowly the info sticks over time!

Will you encourage your kids to join the army and climb big mountains?
My late Dad always used to say to me that what matters is to ‘follow your dreams and look after your friends’. That to him was life in a nutshell. I hope to do the same with my two boys, although if they wanted to then climb Everest with a 1 in 8 chances of dying I might be a bit less enthusiastic! I have seen the raw end of those statistics and I am not sure I would want my kids to go through that themselves. Anyway, what’s wrong with an accountant?! You don’t have to get bitten by mosquitoes all day and bite snake’s heads off to earn a living!

How do you overcome your fear of heights?
I take my time, check my safety and remind myself that most fears are irrational… then I just get on with it! (That last bit is the real key!)

How did you get the nickname Bear?
I was christened Eddie, that became Teddy, and that became Bear! Not very butch but there we go! I used to find it a bit awkward as a kid but it could have been worse, and since then it has stuck, from Seargant-Majors in the Army to bank managers, I have ever since been ‘Bear’.

Have you ever heard of anyone surviving as a result of something they learned from watching your show?
I have received quite a few letters over the last few years from people who say they have used some little bit of info they learnt from the shows in a real-life scenario when they found themselves in trouble, and it is so heartening to read about – ie: some kids who fell through the frozen ice of a lake, or a mother and daughter who got lost hiking in the mountains. Much of the stuff I do is for quite extreme survival and often requires a certain level of physical skill, but there is also much in the shows that is relevant for anyone. Little tips that can save your life if you remember it when it matters. To me, survival is all about ingenuity, thinking outside the box, being inventive and resourceful and ultimately having a simple determination never to quit.

Can you recommend any quality survival books?
Lots! See down the bottom of the ‘books’ page of this site, for my recommended reads. There’s everything, from great feats of physical survival to stories of sacrifice and courage in hellish situations.

What was your best childhood memory?
Climbing with my late father on the sea-cliffs on the Isle of Wight, where I was brought up. To me those times, trying to stick close to his heels and trusting his grip, were pure magic and shaped so much of how I try to live my life.

What was the worst experience for you when making the Born Survivor Series?
Quite a long list! Anything from eating maggots the size of a baby’s fist, to doing battle with a giant porcupine down a narrow, dark, underground pit, to floating down a croc and hippo infested river in a rotting zebra carcass, to sleeping inside a dead camel’s chest cavity to eating raw goats testicles to biting the heads off snakes! You name it! Sometimes I think ‘Bear what the hell have you got yourself into here!?’

Just wondering how tall are you? and what languages other then English do you speak?
Six foot. (I used to be a bit taller before I broke my back!) I speak Spanish and French.

Are you planning any new world record attempts on the horizon?
Always! But I try and keep them under wraps until they are about to happen.

I am doing a talk on you at school – can you tell me something about life?
Life is really very simple- what you put in, is what you get out.

Who were your hero’s when you were growing up?
My late father, and Robin Hood.

Do you have any hobbies? If so what are they?
Guitar, piano, yoga, running with my dog, paragliding and skydiving and climbing, and playing with my two young sons!

Do you ever used any vitamins to help you with you training?
Yes, I have used a natural product called Juice Plus since I was a teenager. It’s great stuff that I have used through so many big expeditions and what I like is that the research into its benefits is so strong. It is a 100% natural, and is wholefood based, and I also love the fact that it provides raw, antioxidant fruits and vegetables in a capsule form. For me it fulfils a key part of my nutritional and training needs. See Bears Health and Fitness page for more info.

How did you recover from your back injury?
I fractured T8 T10 & T12 vertebrae in a freefall parachuting accident in southern Africa. My recovery involved endless back braces and setbacks but I credit it to the great care and attention given to me by the Armed Forces Rehabilitation clinic at Headley court, who looked after me and helped me get back to strength.

Here I was given intensive physio, water therapy, stretching, exercising, counselling and encouragement.

I know how lucky I was to be able to recover fully and for me it is all about the love & hope that both my family and my Christian faith gave me.

I now practise yoga most days as a way of keeping my back strong for my life and I feel this is the key to what I do day in and day out. Sometimes it takes a knock in life to give us the drive to get up and start pursuing those dreams that beforehand are often just fantasies.

My motto is 'to live boldly, follow our dreams, take risks, look after our friends, & smile when the mountain is steepest.'

What is the best survival tool to carry with you besides a knife, flint, and canteen?
Our brain is our greatest survival tool- survival is all about ingenuity: thinking your way round a challenge, calmly, in the heat of the moment. And a big heart is then needed to keep going and to never give up.

What shows would you love to do still?
One in China, one in Antarctica and an urban version!

What are you scared of? Any nightmare?
Heights and big groups of strangers.

Does your wife and sons have adventurous spirit?
My two young boys are pretty wild. They love climbing everything, running around canoeing, they have been paragliding with me, you name it! Shara is adventurous in the sense she puts up with me! She is my dream girl, and always my reason for coming home.

Which was the worse thing that you eat/you drank in the Man vs. Wild?
Frozen Yak eye balls in Siberia and raw goats testicles in the Sahara were quite low points, I guess!

Bear, fristly is it true your a vegetarian (or did my mate make that up) and secondly what was your favourite survival situation throughout the born surviver series?
I try not to eat a lot of dairy or meat as a rule, but the odd steak is a treat and when I am in man Vs Wild mode anything goes!

what was one of the scariest moments you had while filming man vs wild?
Always the moment before it all starts when I am in the helicopter or plane with my parachute, I am always so nervous, mainly of the unknown. The briefings I always get from the Rangers and search & rescue guys, do little to calm my nerves! They generally tell me back to back horror stories of how many people have died in the jungle, desert or mountains below! But I try and get in the zone though and calm everything down for a few minutes before the door opens, then I am into it, and try to just trust my instincts and give it my all.

How is your Christian faith important to you?
It feels like the rock in my life and it has taken me a long time to no longer be afraid to say that. But I have learnt that it takes a proud man to say he needs nothing. Faith gives me a strong backbone and when we find that within ourselves we can then live more exciting, effective, kind, passionate and giving lives. Life has a meaning again. It doesn’t though make life easier in any way, and I still battle with my fair share of struggles and doubt and often great self-doubt, but that is just the product of trying to stretch beyond the norm and to live life fully. I depend on a few simple verses everyday that have held me thro so many tough times. They are a mix of these:

• 'I am here to help you'
• 'I am holding you by your right hand'
• 'The lord himself watches over you'

That’s it for me in a nutshell.

How does Shara cope?
She is super long suffering! …and provides me with the strongest reason for always coming home.

Which is worse extreme heat or cold?
Both when you are in them! At times I have been in such low temperatures, your core goes numb and fingers and toes loose all feeling - then all I can think of is being somewhere hot. When you get the other end of the scale in 130o heat and 100% humidity all your waking thoughts is of an ice-cool beer! The truth is that the place I love the most is curled up under a duvet with my two boys & Shara at home!

What did you do before Man Vs Wild?
In many ways I did basically exactly the same as I do in the show, but without getting paid for it! I climbed, skydived and survived my way off mountains, oceans and deserts, either leading expeditions or as part of the Special Forces. I feel very lucky to now have this as my way of earning a living, doing all this and being part of a very special crew of people making the shows all together.

Whats it like living on a boat?
Simone - It is fun! We bought it when we got married in 2000. It is 105 years old quite rusty but full of character. It can be quite cold in winter but it is so cosy inside, we love it. It is home. We have a work out area on the deck and an outdoor old rusty bath, a hammock and bbq—that’s about all you need to sustain life really! The boys adore it, even though the room they share is about the same size as an average wardrobe!

What type of watch do you use?
Roger - A Bremont- this is a company started by two friends of mine who set out to build the worlds toughest non battery watch. I have given it a serious bashing this year and it has been amazing. Their website is www.bremont.com.

What made you join the army and what did it do for you?
As a kid it is what I really wanted to do. I always loved being filthy dirty, covered in mud and climbing things. The Army seemed a good route to achieve this. It gave me a great sense of pride and a confidence in my abilities that I never had before. I owe so much to the friends I made in the Army and the extraordinary training it gave me. My parachuting accident meant that I had to leave and I remember very vividly what a low point in my life that was, turning my back on all that sense of family I had there. That tight knit community within the SF world is very strong and it is probably why I wanted to return to my climbing after I left. It was the nearest thing to re-finding that intimacy in adversity that the Army breeds. But I have been lucky and a whole new world opened up after I left. I think life teaches us that we need to keep on moving, to keep smiling and really go for it and follow our dreams. We only get one shot at life after all, and as my Mum used to say: ‘if it is to be, it is up to me!’

Does your wife minding you being away so much?
Yes, we both hate being apart. It is the hardest part of my job, leaving her and our two small boys. But it makes the times at home all the more special. I am so blessed with them. They are the centre of my universe and the motivation for always coming back in one piece.

What star sign are you?
Gemini. June 7th 1974

Do you hire yourself out, by the hour perhaps, or are available to help out people in trouble, a bit like Superman does? Wilff
Wilff - I’m often the one needing the help! But yes I do get hired to give talks all around the world, on what qualities have kept me alive in the extremes: and that always boils down to friendships, giving your heart and soul for things, and being able to summon up that little bit extra when every cell in your body is screaming out for rest. That’s my talk in a nutshell!

Where are you at your happiest?
Tarquin - Lying in the long grass, ducked out of the wind, on our Welsh Island hideaway with my family. No phones, no nothing, but family cosiness.

What are you afraid of, and why?
Iti77 - Interviews and strange cities. Watch me squirm here!: (many are on YouTube) For interviews sometimes it is hard having to be intimate with strangers; and strange cities ‘cos they can make me feel quite lost.