Bear Grylls defends baptising Russell Brand: ‘My faith says we shouldn’t judge’

In recent years, TV’s best-known survivalist, Bear Grylls, has been more upfront about his Christian faith than ever.

His most public display came in 2024, when the 52-year-old was one of two people present at the baptism of disgraced comedian Russell Brand, just five months after he was first accused of sexual assault, which he denies.

Posting a picture of the trio hugging in the river, Brand wrote: ‘Me, Bear Grylls, The River Thames and of course, The Holy Spirit.

While speaking to Grylls ahead of his new Amazon Prime series The Chosen in the Wild, Metro questioned whether his feelings on baptising Brand have changed in the years since.

After facing backlash for standing in solidarity with the movie star, whom he had filmed an episode of Running Wild with the year before, Grylls initially told the Daily Mail that ‘it is a privilege to stand beside anyone when they express a humble need for forgiveness and strength from above.’

A year later, he doubled down on his decision, telling The Times that he ‘tries to live in a way that I never judge and I always try and love’. He shared that his guiding phrase was often ‘What would Jesus do?’

Two years on, with Brand admitting to having sex with a 16-year-old at age 30 just weeks after pleading not guilty to a string of new rape and sexual assault charges, we ask if he still stands by that ethos?

‘I think all our faith changes and evolves, and I’d also say I have many doubts as well. I really struggle with so much of it.

‘But I don’t know, I think at heart, my faith says we’re connected together and we need each other, and not to judge people and to love people,’ the TV personality says.

He also shares that the phrase, ‘What would Christ do?’, very much remains a steady mantra for him and is one that shapes how he approaches ‘relationships and your own life and risk and adventure and all that stuff.’

‘I really try and keep that as that compass in my life. I don’t know. It’s like I say, I’m not super religious, but I do try and just start the day as a discipline on my knees and to say sorry, and to say thank you, and then to say help for the day ahead, and then I crack on with it.’

As Grylls explores his faith on the public stage, he fulfilled a longtime ambition in 2025 by retelling the life story of Jesus with his Sunday Times bestseller, The Greatest Story Ever Told, a project he worked on while filming the Netflix show, Celebrity Bear Hunt.

Now, he’s getting up close and personal with Jesus in an entirely different way with his new Amazon Prime series, The Chosen in the Wild.

For those not in the know, The Chosen is a wildly popular show about the life and times of Jesus Christ, boasting hundreds of millions of viewers, five seasons and counting and a fiercely loyal global fanbase, including Grylls himself.

Now the Emmy winner is taking the main cast members, Jonathan Roumie (Jesus), Paras Patel (Matthew), Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), Noah James (Andrew), and Luke Dimyan (Judas), on their own adventures in the wild.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever had so much emotion across so many episodes, such consistent, honest vulnerability and heart from actors as I have in Chosen in the Wild, because these roles really have changed their lives, and that surprised me. It really did,’ he shares.

In fact, the show has even made one of his lifelong wishes come true, albeit in an unconventional way.

‘I was nervous because my secret dream would be to do Running Wild with Jesus, and this was about as close as I was ever going to get.

‘We’d done President Obama and Modi and Julia Roberts and Ben Stiller and all these people, but this was just special. I was nervous beforehand. I wanted to do it justice because I knew that so many people would be excited about this one,’ he reflects.

In fact, the thrillseeker went as far as to say that out of the dozens of shows he’s done throughout his career, this is the one with ‘the most fan anticipation’.

‘The fans of The Chosen don’t really know what the actors are like. People are desperate in the same way I was. I was a fan of the show, but I was so excited to take Jonathan away to actually find out what he was really like, and this show really shows that in a very visceral, powerful way,’ he teases for the 280 million reported viewers of the beloved series.

He promises a refreshing level of candour from Jonathan, who has a whopping 4.2 million followers on Instagram, who is ‘incredibly honest about his battles and struggles with playing Jesus on a personal level’.

‘[Jonathan] is such a beloved person to so many viewers, so many different cultures and countries. They’re not just watching it for entertainment. The Chosen is different. It really goes into people’s hearts and affects their lives. [This show] felt different from Running Wild for me,’ he shares.

For Grylls, his Christian faith ‘comes alive’ most in nature when he’s in the mountains again, as well as among friends.

‘Even if I lie on the grass a little bit with the dogs or put my feet in a stream or connect with the earth again, for me that is my spirituality.

‘Those two things actually shape my faith: friendships and the outdoors. Chosen in the Wild, as a show, brings those two things together beautifully, and in a way I didn’t anticipate.’

All six episodes of The Chosen in the Wild will be available to stream from August 9, 2026 on Prime Video