Bear Grylls slammed for claiming he as soon as drank ‘water squeezed from elephant dung to survive’
Telly adventurer said it tastes ‘as bad as it sounds’ but folk should never be ‘too proud to do what it takes to survive’
Bear Grylls had to put his survival skills to the test after he opened up on how he saved himself from dying of thirst(Image: Water2)
TV viewers have accused Bear Grylls of telling a right stinker by opening up on some of his extreme adventures. He caused a furore after claiming he once drank “water squeezed from elephant dung to survive”.
The telly adventurer said the liquid “tasted as bad as it sounds”. But he said he supped it because “it was the job”.
The 51-year-old ex-SAS trooper, whose shows included Man vs. Wild, Running Wild and The Island, urged fans “never be too proud to do what it takes to survive”. He wrote on X: “I once had to drink water squeezed from elephant dung to survive.
“It tasted as bad as it sounds. But it was the job! Never be too proud to do what it takes to survive. Humility is a weapon.”
But viewers poured scorn on his boast claiming parts of his shows were stunted. One said: “Stop lying man. I watched that ep back in my childhood. It was staged.”
Another replied: “Weren’t all your shows staged? Literally a road like a half a mile away?” One more asked: “What did the camera crew drink?”
Someone else said: “Could you not have asked the camera crew if they had a spare bottle of Evian?” Even Grok hinted about possible foul play.
One fan asked the X chatbot if Gryll’s show was ‘even legit’ or staged like TV wrestling. Grok replied: “Man vs. Wild mixes real survival elements with staging for TV.
“Bear Grylls’ skills and locations are genuine, but some dangers are exaggerated (e.g., smoke machines, pre-scouted spots, crew support). It’s not fully scripted like WWE, which is pure entertainment wrestling, but more like reality TV with dramatized ‘how-to’ scenarios.”
In 2008 Grylls apologised for misleading viewers of his Channel 4 show Born Survivor which became Man vs. Wild. A programme consultant claimed instead of camping in the wilderness Grylls stayed in a motel and scenes were set up.
Grylls said then: “If people felt misled on how the first series was represented, I’m really sorry for that. I’m the person that takes the rap for these things, even though I’m not always involved in the editing side of it.
“But ultimately it is me on screen. The truth is much less exciting — we film these things over six days and, after filming the night stuff, we’re back with a crew in a base camp lodge — whether it’s a tented camp in the Saraha or in Sumatra poncho’d up in the jungle.”
He said his hotel may have “four walls but not a roof or a roof with no walls”. He added: “Yes, we had a lot of those but when we’re filming the live night stuff, we’re out,” he added.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
