Bear Grylls

Bear: (on his ultimate Wild adventure) Antarctica – the coldest, windiest, biggest, least-inhabited and remotest place on Earth.

Bear: (on climbing Mt. Everest) I remember collapsing to my knees and just crying and crying inside my mask as all those emotions from so long began to flow. Neil and myself, with our oxygen off, just hugged. It is an extraordinary place and you see the curvature of the earth at the edges and at 7:22 am we watched as the dawn came up over all the land of Tibet 20,000 feet below.

Bear: I loved climbing because of the freedom, and having time and space. I remember coming off Everest for the last time, thinking of Dad and wishing that he could have seen what I saw. He would have loved it.

Bear: Americans are cool, if you show just a chink of vulnerability, they respond so much. They'll pat you on the arm and say, 'Hey kid, you're all right'. Brits will respond but they are much more cynical.

Bear: (on how he got his nickname) Bear is an old nickname I've had since I was about half an hour old. And it's kind of stuck.

Bear: (on the most dangerous animal he has encountered) [I had] a very close call with a very tough adder in Kenya. These are especially dangerous, and kill more people than any other snake in Africa, the reason being they tend not to get out of your way because they're fat and lazy. They also have the fastest strike of any snake in the world.

Bear: (on which is worse, being really hot or really cold) Being really cold. I have been unfortunate enough to spend much of my life being really cold, and I lie at home now in a hot bath and complain to my wife that there's not enough hot water. She says, 'If people could know how pathetic you really are.'

Bear: (on summiting Mount Everest) It was a long 3 1/2 months. Sadly, four climbers lost their lives. But two of us did reach the top and that moment was everything I'd ever dreamt of and more. I felt very lucky to reach the top and to get off that mountain alive.

Bear: (when asked about ever being afraid) Yes, of course. I'm human, and I've spent a lot of time on mountains and expeditions and even on this series you come out being frightened. But I've learned that that's OK. What matters is to keep smiling, keep going, and as Churchill said, never give up.

Bear: (on how he got into climbing and survival) I was brought up to climb with my dad when I was a young kid. It was a big part of my life growing up. My job with the British Special Forces was to climb and combat survival as well.