Simon Reeve’s popular BBC series Wilderness makes an epic return to screens as the star recounts his deadly encounters
Simon Reeve shares insights into the dangers he encountered(Image: ITV)
Presenter Simon Reeve has shared some of his near-death experiences while filming his new BBC series.
For his brand new series, Wilderness with Simon Reeve, the host returns to screens with four new expeditions to some of the world’s wildest and most remote places.
From trekking deep into Papua New Guinea’s jungle-clad mountains and diving with sharks in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, to exploring Canada’s Yukon and crossing almost 3,000 miles of Mongolia by 4WD, horse and on foot, these journeys promise to be bigger, wilder and more ambitious than ever.
With such major expeditions throughout the series, Simon has shared insight into disasters that almost cost him his life. Sharing his thoughts with the BBC, the 54-year-old was asked to elaborate on his near-disasters, which he revealed he had “several”.
Explaining the hair-raising moments, he said: “In Papua New Guinea, I had a makeshift bamboo chair in our camp. It looked pretty sturdy, right up until the moment it collapsed beneath me and a sharpened length of bamboo speared straight through the side of my t-shirt. It missed me. But it was close. Definitely a near-disaster.”
He also shared insight into a terrifying moment in Canada. He continued: “Even supposedly safe Canada was tricky.
“After getting up in the night to film the Northern Lights, I was half-asleep, freezing cold and fumbling with the stove in my tent.
“A burning log tipped onto the bone-dry mossy floor and suddenly there was a trail of fire heading towards my bed. In a bit of a panic, I kicked the log out through the tent flap and then extinguished the remaining flames with the nearest available liquid: a bottle of what I’ll call ‘Trucker’s Tango’ beside my camp bed. Thankfully I have a very poor sense of smell.”
The star also said: Then there was Bear Cave Mountain in the Yukon. Every night-time trip to the outside loo involved thoughts about what if I slip on the ice in my long johns, knock myself out and become breakfast for a wolf or a grizzly? It was one of the most remote places I’ve ever been.
“We were about 100 miles, as the crow flies, from the nearest other humans. It was like being in the middle of an ocean – except the ocean had bears.”
Wilderness with Simon Reeve will consist of four episodes which are 60 minutes each. The series is produced for BBC Two and iPlayer by The Garden, part of ITV Studios and co-produced by The Open University. The series has been written and presented by Simon Reeve.
Wilderness with Simon Reeve airs Saturday at 7:45pm on BBC Two.