Bear Grylls appointed chief scout
The adventurer and former SAS reservist Bear Grylls, most commonly seen on television jumping from helicopters, plunging over waterfalls, climbing inside dead camels and eating anything that still wriggles, has been appointed the chief scout.
In its boldest move for some years, the Scout Association handed the daredevil presenter a remit to help attract the 6,000 volunteer adult leaders it urgently needs to clear the waiting lists of 33,000 children – including Grylls’s own.
“It’s the proudest appointment I’ve ever had,” Grylls said yesterday, explaining that he first learnt survival techniques as a scout. “Scouting is where it all began. It gave me a lot of confidence. Sitting round the camp fire, I would have laughed – as would the leader – if I had known I would one day become chief scout.”