Bear Grylls says new BBC series Wild Reckoning is ‘rewarding’ and ‘beautiful’

Adventurer Bear Grylls has labelled his new BBC reality series which is set in the Welsh wilderness as “one of the most rewarding and beautiful things I’ve been involved in”.

Wild Reckoning will see the 51-year-old joined by a team of mediators, psychologists and survival mentors as he helps families, siblings and couples repair deep personal rifts through a series of physical and psychological challenges.

Participants will be sent to Saint Tudwal’s Island West, an island in North Wales owned by Grylls, and will be “stripped of their everyday comforts and led on a transformative adventure”.

Speaking about his new 16-part series, Grylls said: “I think it’s one of the most rewarding and beautiful things I’ve been involved in; it’s just real lives, real emotions and real relationships.”

He said he thinks being in the wilderness helps people confront their issues as “there’s nowhere to hide”, adding: “You can’t storm off. You can’t just pick up your phone. You can’t just get in the car. The wild doesn’t judge, but you can’t hide.

“Masks don’t last very long when you’re cold and hungry and scared and it’s just the two of you. We’ll put the framework there, but you’ve got to do it.”

He continued: “In relational issues, like to hide behind things. We blame this, we blame that, we have things to hide behind. In the wild, we don’t.

“That’s why it’s a vulnerable, difficult place, and that’s why a lot of people haven’t gone to that before.”

Grylls said the show will see participants confront issues including grief, trust, hurt, sibling issues, childhood trauma and abandonment issues.

He said: “Sometimes the really complex, difficult (issues) around childhood and trauma and all of this, it’s not going to be solved in a couple of days in the mountains.

“But what you do is light a fire, and you start a process.”

Grylls added: “Sometimes the hardest bit is actually just sitting down together, not fighting, and just listening and saying, ‘I want to redefine this in our relationship’.”

Wild Reckoning launches on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on February 23 at 2pm.