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Discovery fires Bear Grylls

British adventurer Bear Grylls has been fired by the Discovery channel in the US following a contractual dispute.

British adventurer Bear Grylls has been fired by the Discovery channel in the US following a contractual dispute.

In a brief statement, Discovery said the network has “terminated all current productions” with the host of Man Vs. Wild after seven seasons. He had also hosted Worst-Case Scenario for the channel.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Discovery had been unable to secure Grylls’ participation in two projects he was allegedly contractually obligated to complete.

Reacting to the news Grylls tweeted, “Super proud of my team and all they’ve built with ManVsWild. Looking forward to the next set of Adventures!!” He also added: “Thank you fans for your support!! Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. #TEAMBG.”

A representative confirmed, “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. Bear has loved the Man vs. Wild journey and looks forward to producing further cutting-edge content again soon for his loyal audience.”

Grylls, 37, has become popular with Australian audiences via SBS after his show became the network’s best replacement following the loss of Top Gear. He has also filmed Aussie episodes for Man vs Wild.

But the show was also criticised in its early years for exaggerating Grylls’ wilderness exploits. In 2007, the show was briefly taken off the air in the U.K., and Discovery began airing it with a disclaimer allowing that Grylls was not in fact left alone to survive in the wild. In an interview with The Times last year, Grylls discussed weeping after undergoing a pelting with wind machines designed to re-create a massive storm in northern Norway.

“They blasted the hell out of me, and I thought I could get a shelter and fire going, but I just got beaten by this thing and was really shaken,” he recalled at the time. “The emotion was there because I thought, ‘The reality is, if you found yourself in this situation, you’re dead.'”

Source: LA Times

3 Responses

  1. That is disappointing but not surprising, they had a few new shows last year but nothing in the US for months, guess we know why now.

    So who owns the rights to Man v Wild?

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