Bear Talks… Up Close and Personal

How about going and staying in a nice hotel for a holiday programme?

Exactly! My wife keeps saying to me: 'There are so many lovely things you could be doing on TV, like a holiday programme. You truly have the most ridiculous job.' On the other hand, she's always put up with me doing this stuff, and it's what I love. And it's work, and I'm alive and in many ways I'm much more comfortable in those places.

My confidence is often much higher when I'm out there than when I'm back here. For example, I had to do the Oprah Winfrey Show last week and I found that absolutely terrifying. She said 'What are you scared of?' and I said 'Well, if I'm honest, this, for me, is really scary'.

You referred to your wife. You two have a young family, so she must be very tolerant to let you do what you do.

She's unbelievably patient and long-suffering. It has been hard, because I've been away so much filming, and they've all been reasonably risky endeavours. I think that's always going to be hard, and I hate being away from them. We've got two little boys who are just heaven, and I find that the hardest part of my job.

You have a strong faith – is that important to you when you're out in extreme environments?

Yes, but my Christian faith is also a big part of my everyday life. I always say that it takes a proud man to say that he needs nothing, and I freely admit that I've needed that faith in my life, and it's been a real backbone for me.

But it's not just a support when I'm out there; it's a wonderful thing in really positive moments as well. I remember when I was in the Amazon, in the middle of a really dense bit of rainforest, where no human would have ever been or probably will ever go again, and looking up and seeing at the top of a tree a beautiful bright purple flower, and thinking 'Nobody's ever going to see that flower. That's God's extravagance.' Even though no-one's ever going to see it, he just can't help but create something beautiful.

Do you have life insurance?

I don't know – I think the producers sorted that out. I did try, a few years ago, to get insurance, and the company said I was uninsurable – and part of me was quite flattered and thought that was quite cool. But I've now got to the stage where I think 'Bugger cool, I would quite like somebody to insure me.'

Lastly, what on earth do you tell people you do for a living?

I sort of generally mumble awkwardly and look at my feet and try and avoid answering the question. What's hard is that my little boys just love all these adventures, and they love me telling them about it. But you don't want them going off to school saying 'My dad skydives into all these places' and so on – they'll end up getting bullied. So I tell them to say that I'm an accountant.

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