Discovery Channel Not That into the Wild

Bear Grylls won't be starring in Into the Wild II anytime soon.

The British adventurer and star of the Discovery Channel series Man vs. Wild was not particularly at risk during many of the scenarios presented during the show's first season, as demonstrated by a string of reedited episodes that reran Monday on the cable network.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Discovery started an investigation in July into allegations that the 33-year-old Gryll wasn't braving the great outdoors to the extent that Man vs. Wild, which is produced by a British company and also airs on the U.K.'s Channel 4 as Born Survivor, would have you believe.

The feats of survival Grylls accomplished over the past two seasons included staving off hypothermia in Alaska, eating raw meat and fish, avoiding becoming dinner for a grizzly bear and drinking his own urine to fight dehydration in the Australian Outback. He has explored, among other places, the Costa Rican rainforest, the Rocky Mountains, the French Alps, a Kenyan savanna and a deserted island in the South Pacific.

All of which he did do.

But, at the beginning of each show, Grylls' voiceover would intone that he headed off into the wild "alone," toting only a knife, a flint and perhaps some water. (Apparently not in the urine episode.) The camera crew does not aid him in any way, he said.

"If I’m honest, I’m quite on the edge here," Gryll told the New York Times in June. "I’m really exposed."

The married father of two sons added, "I'm working within my own limits. I trained for this all my life."

Responding to the report of Man vs. Wild's deception, Discovery admitted in a statement that "some episodes were not natural to the environment and that for health and safety concerns the crew and host received some survival assistance while in the field."

Meaning, according to show consultant Mark Weinert, that Grylls sometimes crashed in motels—replete with Internet access and hot tubs— when he was supposedly sleeping outdoors and that the crew sometimes helped him fashion rafts and other modes of transportation that he's shown to be crafting or discovering (those horses weren't really wild…) alone.

"If you really believe everything happens the way it is shown on TV, you are being a little bit naive," Weinert told the New York Post in July.

Man vs. Wild's second season premiered in June, with Grylls sidestepping alligators and preparing a turtle dinner in the Florida Everglades, but Discovery said the following month that there would be some changes in how the show was presented.

"Moving forward, the program will be 100% transparent and all elements of the filming will be explained upfront to our viewers," Discovery said. "In addition, shows that are to be repeated will be edited appropriately. Bear Grylls is a world-class adventurer and a terrific talent."

The four first-season episodes that aired Monday (featuring more detailed narration—"Grylls is wearing a safety harness," for instance—and more specific scene-setting to enhance the educational aspect), as well as new installments that are still being edited, now feature this disclaimer:

"Bear Grylls is trained in extreme survival techniques. He and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life-threatening situations, as required by health and safety regulations. Professional advice should always be sought before entering any dangerous environment."

Of course, viewers thought they were getting professional advice, from Bear Grylls, who has also served in the British Special Air Services, trained for the French Foreign Legion and climbed Mount Everest.

A special, Bear's Everest, is scheduled to premiere on Discovery Nov. 9, and then season three will roll out in three two-hour installments starting Nov. 16.