Say it ain't so Bear!

There is no doubt in our minds that the Man vs. Wild star, former British Special Forces solider, and guy who has been to the summit of Everest, Bear Grylls is one tough guy. You can tell that by the catch and release technique that he is using in this photo from his website, BearGrylls.com.

However, we must confess that we were a little disappointed to find out via Reuters that parts of his show were staged and that he is sometimes whisked away to a cozy hotel room when it appears he is sleeping under the stars.

The network issued a statement Monday in response to an investigation launched by British television network Channel 4, which carries the program under the title "Born Survivor: Bear Grylls." Channel 4 confirmed that host Bear Grylls had partaken of indoor accommodations on at least two occasions when his series had depicted him spending the night in the wild.

"Discovery Communications has learned that isolated elements of the 'Man vs. Wild' show in 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," the network said in a statement.

We understand. After all we have never been ones to believe everything we see on television. We do however have it on good authority that while filming he only stays at hotels that do not provide room service and is not allowed to avail himself of the contents of the mini-bar.

***Update*** more info arrives via the comments section:

Link to Dailymail.co.UK story about pre-built rafts and folks in bear costumes.

Link to the BearWiki: A site devoted to pointing out bad survival advice from Grylls.

All the more reason we prefer Survivorman.