Bear Grylls' REAL name is revealed as he proves he was a daredevil from the start in fun throwback snaps

He's famed for his no-nonsense attitude and ability to thrive in the harshest conditions using his survival skills. Most recently, Bear Grylls has been putting celebrities through their paces with Celebrity Bear Hunt, tasking the likes of Mel B and Lottie Moss to evade being captured by him in a series of tasks. Bear, 50, has been wowing viewers of the new Netflix show, proving to be utterly fearless by sky diving into jungle terrain, setting up makeshift zipwires across snake-addled forests and, once again, proving how to use urine to make a meal.

While Bear picked up many skills as an SAS trooper, his love of adventure came from the start, with early snaps showing the star throwing himself into all manners of situations. As a child he was known by a different name, christened Edward Michael Grylls. He previously revealed his elder sister nicknamed him Bear when he was just a week old and it 'stuck', with the star going on to use it professionally when he found fame.

Bear Grylls' real name of Edward has been revealed fun throwback snaps prove he has always been a daredevil (pictured with a fake moustache in 1998 after climbing Mount Everest). Photographs obtained by the Mail show the star aged 24 making a dramatic entrance into the packed hall of The Royal Geographical Society from a skylight above - dangling from a rope. Throwback snaps from his earlier years prove that Bear always had an animalistic approach to the unknown - throwing himself into tasks with abandon.

Photographs obtained by the Mail show the star aged 24 making a dramatic entrance into the packed hall of The Royal Geographical Society from a skylight above - dangling from a rope above shocked attendees. That same year he became one of the youngest ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest and upon his return posed sporting a stick on beard and moustache, having been upset he hadn't grown any facial hair during his lengthy expedition.

Bear had already been in the SAS, broken his back in a parachuting accident and become the youngest British person to climb Mount Everest before finding fame. Now he is known for daredevil shows like Born Survivor or the celebrity version, Running Wild, for which he took President Obama to Alaska and recently went hiking through the jungle with Narendra Modi, the controversial hardline prime minister of India.

Yet despite proving his skills, people often question if his shows are real. That started with the first series of Born Survivor in 2007, when a crew member said Grylls would film scenes as if he had stayed the night in extreme situations, then go and stay in a hotel. ‘If people felt misled on how the first series was represented, I’m really sorry for that,’ said Bear then, promising to be more transparent in future.

That same year he became one of the youngest ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest and upon his return posed sporting a stick on beard, having been upset he hadn't grown any facial hair during his lengthy expedition (pictured with expedition leader Neil Laughton). Bear had already been in the SAS, broken his back in a parachuting accident and become the youngest British person to climb Mount Everest before finding fame (pictured in 1998).

Now, Bear is entertaining the nation with Celebrity Bear Hunt. The competition show sees a group of unlikely celebrities get dropped into the Central American jungle as prey for one of the world's most fearsome predators – Bear. As Bear puts them through their paces, those who fail to impress will face the dreaded 'Bear Hunt'. The Bear Hunt is said to be a brutal game of cat and mouse where they'll be hunted down by Bear himself and, if captured, face elimination from the show.

Show bosses pulled out all the stops with their line-up which features Spice Girl Mel B, Strictly judge Shirley Ballas, Boris Becker and model Lottie Moss. Also joining the A-list line-up is Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Steph McGovern, Una Healy, Kila Bokinni, Leomie Anerson and Danny Cipriani. Holly Willoughby presents the show, and Bear recently admitted that the former This Morning host was very nervous ahead of filming for her new show as she embarked on her TV comeback.

He explained just how nervous Holly was as he confessed: 'She was was in at the deep end.'. Now, Bear is entertaining the nation with Celebrity Bear Hunt, presented by Holly Willoughby, which sees him 'hunt' down a host of celebrities in the Costa Rican jungle. Speaking on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with The National Lottery on Virgin Radio UK on Tuesday morning, Bear chatted about working with Holly as he said: 'She was a dream.

'I've never really worked with anyone else like that before. She's just gentle, heart led. She was nervous. She was in at the deep end. 'What a great girl, and she added such a beautiful bit of empathy and love, a sort of warmth to the celebs when they're back at camp because they were nervous. 'Everyone's kind of high octane in it. And she was great. She was great.'. Age: 48. Profession: Spice Girl, TV presenter and X Factor judge.