Bear V Mears: BBC survival expert says Channel 4 rival is 'just a showman'

Taken from the Mail Online 

It is one handy hint which does not feature in the TV survival expert's handbook.

What do you do when under attack from another TV survival expert?

This is the quandary facing Channel 4's Bear Grylls following a vitriolic onslaught from his BBC rival Ray Mears.

In an interview, Mears dismissed the former SAS man as nothing more than a 'showman' and 'boy scout'.

Bear Grylls apparently chewing raw fish on his show

He also attacked TV directors for trying to 'hype' things up, after Grylls was said to be surviving in 'hell holes', while staying in a motel for his show.

According to Radio Times, 44-year-old Mears laughed out loud when asked if he watched his opposite number's programmes for tips.

He said: 'Do I look for tips from Bear Grylls? Yes  -  on how not to make television programmes! As far as I'm concerned, these people are just showmen.

'I think the viewer knows that if you want to really know how to take care of yourself in the wild, I'm the person to talk to.'

The presenter, whose new series Ray Mears Goes Walkabout begins on Sunday, added: 'I welcome competition, but I want to see real experts, not boy scouts pretending to be.'

Mears claimed his shows, which have also included Wild Food and Extreme Survival, have helped save lives.

'You can take short cuts if you want, but we never have.

'I've had many arguments with directors, telling them, "We do it the right way or not at all". That caused a problem in the old days, but now directors see what happens if you cheat.'

Last summer, 33- year- old Grylls was criticised over revelations that his existence during filming his series Born Survivor had been more comfortable than the programme suggested.

The Old Etonian's escapades attracted 1.4million viewers as he demonstrated gruesome survival tips which included sucking the fluid from fish eyeballs and squeezing water from animal dung. But an adviser to the programme claimed that much was not as it seemed on television.

Viewers were not told that, far from roughing it, Grylls was spending some nights in the Pines Resort hotel at Bass Lake, California, where the rooms have Internet access and it is advertised as 'a cosy getaway for families' complete with blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

In another episode when Grylls declared he was a ' reallife Robinson Crusoe' stuck on a desert island, he was actually on an outlying part of the Hawaiian archipelago and retired to a motel at nightfall.

Mark Weinert, a survival consultant brought in for the programme, said one show also wrongly gave the impression that the adventurer built a Polynesian-style raft using only materials around him, including bamboo and palm leaves for a sail.

Mr Weinert had in fact led a team that built the raft, which was then dismantled so that Grylls could be shown constructing it on camera.

'If you really believe everything happens the way it is shown on TV, you are being a little bit naive,' Mr Weinert told the Sunday Times.

Invited to respond to the attack by Mears, Bear Grylls was unavailable for comment.

Paul Revoir

MailOnline 

Comments (7)

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R.M
written by frog_n_chips , June 22, 2008

WELL ITS RAY FOR ME GOT HIS BOOKS AND WATCH HIS PROG'S I DON'T THINK BEAR GRYLLS AS ANYTHING ON RAY

Ray vs. Bear
written by Vagabond , July 06, 2008

Anybody with any knowledge in this field knows Ray is the leader in Bushcraft. (Mors Kochanski is the grand father of them all) However it is good to point out that Bear Grylls does infact know his stuff. Unfortunately it has become obvious he takes a few short cuts "for the filming" of his show. Keeping in mind he has had training, regularly practices his skills & knows about survival in many geographical regions. I agree it is unfortunate that these bits of news are coming to light about the short cuts, however I am saddened by Rays comments. It comes across very cavalere, almost arrogant. I really wish he would have said: "I have no comment about Bear Grylls" then when asked if he could learn anything from him maybe have said: "If it's a challenge, I'd be more than happy to accomidate that".

Ray was right
written by AlaskaRidgeRunner , July 09, 2008

I don't even think you can discuss Ray M. and Bear G. properly in the same contest. Ray is the real thing. You can watch any episode of his survival programs and be a better woodsman than you were before you saw it. There is knowledge transfer, and a lot of it. Bear is just exactly what Ray said, a showman. His program is basically a "Fear Factor" spinoff for 8-year-olds that want to see somebody suck the insides out of a fishes eyeball. He may have skills and knowledge, but the sensationalist nonsense that he puts on film surely doesn't show that.

I also don't think that Ray was arrogant in his comments. He didn't offer his opinion until he was asked. And when he did, he only said what we all already know. I personally think Bear is a simple fake. But, if I'm wrong and he does have something to offer, he should do so. What he shouldn't do is put garbage on the air and then present himself as someone who is actually contributing something meaningful.

I can tell you that Ray Mears is taken very seriously here in Alaska and Bear Grylls is laughed at.

RVG
written by Vagabond , July 10, 2008

Ray's knowledge & skill has never been challenged or questioned.
The only thing people have to go on with Bear is stories in the media & his T.V. show. The unfortunate thing with that is there is so much more to the story than what we are hearing. I don't disagree about the fact that his show is geared toward the fear factor crowd, hell it's what sells. But to call him a fake based on media stories is foolish.
It's all about marketing & Ray has certainly benefitted nicely with marketing.

Ray all the way
written by apebytate , July 18, 2008

to tell the truth Bear grills has always struck me as needlessly showy, even before the media articals came to light. ive watch ray mears for years and will watch the same programs again and again as there is no mistaking the quality

Ha ha ha
written by listenclear , August 19, 2008

The two pictures at the top say it all.
Totally classic!

...
written by Naicitrom , September 07, 2008

It was Bear that got me into the whole idea of survival training which in turn got me into bushcraft and Ray Mears. And I hardly consider someone with Bears track record (check up on it if you don't know it...) as a "fake". Showman, yes. Fake, certainly not. Also he has said his show is a "how-to" programme, not a documentary.
Anyway I'm starting to sound like a fanboy. Ray is a genius, undoubtedly, and the two guys shows interweve brilliantly in my opinion.

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