P423 Teletext on 4 423 Jul18 23:21:00 SCIENCE, CULTURE AND HISTORY ——————————————————————————————— IN A LEGION OF ITS OWN Bear Grylls is made of stern stuff - he's climbed Everest, served in the SAT and recovered from a broken back. Perfect grounding then for one of the most brutal, soul-destroying regimes in the world: the French Foreign Legion. Escape To The Legion sees Bear and 11 volunteers undertake a month's training in the military unit famous for turning society's cast-offs into bold soldiers. He spoke to us about the experience. ——————————————————————————————————1/7—— by Todd Florance GET UP TO SPEED: MOTORING NEWS p701 Film TV today Sport on 4 CinemaP423 Teletext on 4 423 Jul18 23:23:14 SCIENCE, CULTURE AND HISTORY ——————————————————————————————— IN A LEGION OF ITS OWN When approached to make a series for Channel 4, adventurer Bear Grylls knew immediately what to do - go behind the scenes of the French Foreign Legion. "It's something that everybody's heard of, but don't know much about," the presenter of Escape To The Legion says. "It has this romantic image, but nobody actually knows what it's like when you sign up and what happens when the gates close behind you." ——————————————————————————————————2/7—— Big Brother index 444 GET UP TO SPEED: MOTORING NEWS p701 Film TV today Sport on 4 CinemaP423 Teletext on 4 423 Jul18 23:26:47 SCIENCE, CULTURE AND HISTORY ——————————————————————————————— IN A LEGION OF ITS OWN Around 1,500 applicants wanted to join Bear Grylls on his Escape To The Legion experience in Morocco. How did he choose the final 11? "The idea was to pick people who were all escaping from something - they were the kind of people who traditionally joined the Legion," Bear says. "All had strong reasons for doing it, whether they were looking for something themselves or running from something." ——————————————————————————————————3/7—— Festivals 364 National events 365 GET UP TO SPEED: MOTORING NEWS p701 Film TV today Sport on 4 CinemaP423 Teletext on 4 423 Jul18 23:14:15 SCIENCE, CULTURE AND HISTORY ——————————————————————————————— IN A LEGION OF ITS OWN Ex-SAT man Bear Grylls is used to gruelling tasks, and approached Escape To The Legion with a primed attitude. He knew that preparation would be key to surviving. "I was aware that I was supposed to be the one who would hold the whole thing together," Bear says. "I got back into training but a lot of it was about preparing yourself to deal with conflicts, the environment we were in and the intense pressure." ——————————————————————————————————4/7—— Personal Finance news 530 GET UP TO SPEED: MOTORING NEWS p701 Film TV today Sport on 4 CinemaP423 Teletext on 4 423 Jul18 23:14:23 SCIENCE, CULTURE AND HISTORY ——————————————————————————————— IN A LEGION OF ITS OWN The Escape To The Legion participants quickly found out that if one of them made a mistake, they were all punished. "It's all for a reason - they want to weed out the weak links," says host Bear Grylls. "What it means is you're continually punished for something. "We learned not to take it personally. The bottom line was if somebody hahn't done something wrong, they would have found something else to punish us for." ——————————————————————————————————5/7—— T4 latest 415 Films soon 425 GET UP TO SPEED: MOTORING NEWS p701 Film TV today Sport on 4 CinemaP423 Teletext on 4 423 Jul18 23:12:12 SCIENCE, CULTURE AND HISTORY ——————————————————————————————— IN A LEGION OF ITS OWN With hard punishment a daily occurrence in Escape To The Legion, being host of the show bought Bear Grylls no favours. "One of the guys was hungry, and I gave him some sardines that were left on the sergeant's plate after he'd left," Bear recalls. "And of course, I got caught. "I was buried up to my neck in the sand for the whole day. Your whole body gets cramped. I was missing my son and just thinking, 'What the hell am I doing?'" ——————————————————————————————————6/7—— Inspiration from 4Homes 410 GET UP (O SPEED: MOTORING NEWS p701 Film TV today Sport on 4 CinemaP423 Teletext on 4 423 Jul18 23:25:41 SCIENCE, CULTURE AND HISTORY ——————————————————————————————— IN A LEGION OF ITS OWN Having climbed Everest, spent time in the SAT and survived a broken back, how did Bear Grylls see the Foreign Legion? "In many ways it was one of the most intense months I've had," he says. "But I knew I just had to bite my lip, put my heart into it and I'd get through. It warn't going to kill me, and compared to the kinds of things I usually do, that was a bonus." Escape To The Legion, Mon, 9pm ——————————————————————————————————7/7—— channel4gujde@teletext.co.uk GET UP TO SPEED: MOTORING NEWS p701 Film TV today Sport on 4 Cinema