Entertainment
Bear Grylls led secret Everest trek to recover body of Spencer Matthews’ brother 23 years after death-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro
Michael Matthews died in a mountaineering accident in 1999.
Bear Grylls embarked on a mission to recover Michael Matthews’ body (Picture: Getty Images)
Bear Grylls has revealed his efforts to retrieve the body of Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews’ brother who died on Mount Everest more than two decades ago.
Michael Matthews, who is also the brother-in-law of Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa, died in 1999 in a mountaineering accident. The incident happened just hours after he incredibly became the youngest Briton to reach the world’s highest peak aged 22.
However, his body was never found causing years of further heartache for the Matthews family.
Grylls, who is close friends with Spencer and Michael’s brother James – Pippa’s husband – has now revealed that he even tried to recover the adventurer’s body but to no avail.
Speaking at the Oxford Union Society this week, Grylls said: ‘We actually had an expedition on Everest to try to recover the body of the brother of a good friend, who climbed it the year after I was there but was never found.
‘We had a team of, like, 10 Nepalese guys and some other incredible Western climbers. We did manage to recover one body. It was not of Michael; it was a Nepalese climber.’
Michael died aged 22 just hours after becoming the youngest Brit to reach the peak of Mount Everest
Spencer Matthews was said to be making a documentary about Michael’s last moments and his family’s heartbreaking ordeal (Picture: WireImage)
‘We really tried. We had the best team in the world.’
He added, according to the Mail Online: ‘The story has not come out yet, so I am not going to talk too much about it, but it was a really special moment for [Michael’s] family.
‘It is the reality of high-altitude mountaineering, as people pay the ultimate price up there.’
Michael is the younger brother of James Matthews, here with wife Pippa Middleton (Picture: GC Images)
Grylls became the youngest Brit to reach Everest’s summit aged 22, the year before Michael broke the record (Picture: Rex Features)
Michael’s record-breaking achievement came a year after Grylls became the youngest Brit to reach the Everest summit.
In March, it was reported that Spencer was making a documentary about his brother’s final moments.
A source said at the time: ‘Spencer’s documentary about Michael and his final days is at the very early stages and Disney+ have shown an interest.
‘Though the Matthews family were never able to recover Michael’s body, there is a guide who believes they know his final resting place.’
They added: ‘It is a hugely emotional project and will be a very upsetting journey for many reasons, but Spencer is hugely passionate about embarking on it if he can make it work.’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Entertainment – MetroRead More
