Bear Grylls biggest scandals – from fraud claims to unexpected sacking

British adventurer and TV personality Bear Grylls took the world by storm when he first hosted his four-part TV show Escape to the Legion in 2005.

Following on from the programme's success, the star went on to present a number of much-loved television series including Bear's Wild Weekend, The Island and Bear's Mission, to name a few.

The star quickly became known for his outlandish survival techniques like eating animal insects and drinking his own urine, as he demonstrated to intrigued viewers what it takes to stay alive in the wild.

Providing his skills and teaching members of the general public and celebs along the way, Bear, whose real name is Edward Michael Grylls has received praise for his thought-provoking and hair-raising shows.

But although he has been the recipient of several accolades over the years, including an OBE, the star has also found himself in hot water and controversy.

Daily Star has taken a look at Bear Grylls' most scandalous moments to date.

Shock sacking

Bear was previously the star of Discovery Channel's programme Man vs Wild but in 2012, the broadcaster decided to let him go.

The US channel said at the time: "Due to a continuing contractual dispute with Bear Grylls, Discovery has terminated all current productions with him."

His publicist also confirmed the news and said they were unable to reach a "mutual agreement on new programming".

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, PR Heather Krug explained: "Bear's goal has always been to make life-empowering shows for his many fans around the globe, and he has taken great risks to bring Discovery such award-winning programming over seven seasons.

"Unfortunately, Bear and Discovery have not been able to come to mutual agreement on new programming, and he disagrees with Discovery's decision to terminate current productions."

She added: "Bear has loved the Man vs. Wild journey and looks forward to producing further cutting edge content again soon for his loyal audience."

'Fraud' claims

Although many are impressed with Bear's knowledge about life in the wild outdoors, his programmes have often been the centre of controversy as many have claimed that what he shows on TV isn't entirely true.

In 2008, the television host hit headlines after survival consultant Mark Weinert – who worked on Man vs Wild – started speaking to the press about what went on behind the scenes.

Mark claimed that Bear was a "fraud" as he was the one who assembled a Polynesian-style bamboo raft off camera but Bear took the credit for the raft on the programme.

According to Mark, while filming in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains Bear actually spent some nights with the show’s crew in a warm lodge fitted with televisions, stone fireplaces, hot tubs and Internet access.

Father's scandal

Bear's dad Sir Michael Grylls worked closely with Margaret Thatcher and was a member of Parliament during the 1980s.

However he caused controversy as he supported the shutting down of coal mines and putting a public ban on smoking, which later made him an enemy for a sizeable portion of the UK population.

He was also caught in a "cash for questions" scandal in 1997.

When Thatcher's Tory party was about to leave British politics in 1997, Tony Blair's Labour movement took over to rule Britain.

But as a close ally of Thatcher's, Sir Grylls was embroiled in a plot that saw certain members of Parliament being paid sums of money from Mohamed Al-Fayed at the time.

A report soon emerged that Bear's father "seriously misled" the British public and other members of the government by not declaring he had received the money from Mohamed.

The reports also stated that his actions was "below the standards the House is entitled to expect of its members.

Council Issues

Bear, who lives on a remote island off the coast of Wales with his family, was also caught in another issue involving his local council.

In 2013, Bear erected a humongous metal slide that ended with a drop off a cliff face into the seawater below.

After receiving criticism for his slide the star said: "The slide is not for the paying public and therefore the health and safety is not for other people.

"It's for me and the kids and friends to use when we are there. It has an element of danger to it, you do hit the water pretty hard. But do you know what? There are a lot more dangerous things around."

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