Home World USA Latin America Europe Asia Africa TV Shows Showbiz Travel Lifestyle Opinion Science Politics Health Sports Tech Entertainment Business
Entertainment October 25, 2025

Inbetweeners star reveals ‘disgusting’ secret about Bear Grylls

Inbetweeners star reveals ‘disgusting’ secret about Bear Grylls
Bear Grylls with a face covered with dirt in Celebrity Bear Hunt
One thing about Bear Gyrlls left Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas horrified (Picture: David Tarling)

InbetweenersactorJoe Thomasdished the dirt on the foul-smelling interaction he had withBear Gryllswhile filmingNetflixseries.


The 41-year-old appeared on reality competition showCelebrity Bear Huntearlier this year, hosted byHolly Willoughby, in which a group of clueless celebs have to evade Bear Grylls while surviving in the Costa Rican wilderness.


There’s no doubt that Bear, 51, is one of the most famed TV survivialists around but making it in the natural world is not a task for the weak-willed. Sacrifices must be made such as… personal hygeine.


In a new interview Joe admitted there was one aspect of Bear’s survival guide 101 that he simply couldn’t stomach.


‘He is very smelly.

Get personalised updates on all things Netflix

Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.


Sign up to our newsletterand then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.

‘There was a bit where he blindfolded me using the thing he’d have around his neck, I mean that sounds quite kinky, and genuinely he was like the f***ing smelliest thing I’ve ever… I mean disgusting,’ he recalled toThe Sun.

Joe Thomas in a still for Celebrity Bear Hunt
Bear Gryll’s pungent odour was a step too far for the TV star (Picture: Ray Burmiston/Netflix/PA Wire)

Joe went as far as to pose that the TV personality might not ‘wash at all’ in an attempt to camoflage his odour because ‘if you smell nice that’s when the animals smell you’.


As such, he miserably added: ‘So I genuinely think he might not have washed. That was the smelliest thing I’ve ever smelled.


‘It was like it’d gone beyond like old sweat. It was into a whole kind of new spectrum of smells, so that was a moment.’


The Man vs Wild star certainly takes an immersive approach to life (he would completely dominate a game of two truths and a lie) and has done everything fromeating goat’s testicles to drinking his own urine.


During filming for this new series, Bearwas bitten by a non-venemous snake in the Bear Pit(a particuarly dagerous part of the rainforest), although he took it in his stride.

Bear Grylls and Holly Willoughby
The survival expert has encoutered all sorts of bonkers scenarios in his life (Picture: Netflix)

As he said at the time: ‘There’s always going to be a risk – we’re in the jungle, there are wild animals, there’s venomous snakes, there’s scorpions, crocodiles. But it’s about managing that risk.


‘A member of the safety team is with each of the cast in the Bear Pit but at a distance, so if they see them getting into a situation they think is going to be dangerous they would step in.’


And he wasn’t the only one to encounter danger while filming.


At one pointLaurence Llewelyn-Bowen had to be hooked up to oxygenafter almost drowinginsharkinfested waters.


‘I was struck by what a lovely shade my lips had gone, bluey grey. I might bring that out in a wallpaper. It was a really, really weird thing, because, yes, I could tell that I was quite close to not existing but I didn’t feel panicked about it,’ he recalled toMetrowhen the show came out.


Despite the chaotic goings-on the showwon’t be returning for a second season. Perhaps the only silver lining is that celebrities will be saved from smelling Beartooclosely.


Celebrit Bear Hunt is available to stream on Netflix now.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with theMetro.co.ukentertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting ourSubmit Stuffpage – we’d love to hear from you.

Share this article

UMVA MAG

UMVA Mag is your trusted source for breaking news, in-depth analysis, and compelling stories from around the world. Covering politics, business, technology, entertainment, sports, health, science, and more — we deliver journalism that matters.

Independent, Accurate, Unbiased
24/7 Breaking News Coverage
Trusted by Millions Worldwide