Biography

His enthusiasm for his subject, combined with his broad knowledge of survival and the uses which may be made of plants, trees and other natural materials found in woodland, forest or desert, have made him a popular figure in TV broadcasting in the UK and endeared him to various generations of lovers of the outdoors. He has travelled extensively across the world for his various TV series and is always willing to learn survival techniques from indigenous peoples he meets. His knowledge of the wild and his ability to teach others how to find food from seeds, berries, roots and other growing things, and to survive by constructing temporary shelters, fires and even making canoes (all from natural materials), have earned his programmes a wide viewing public and, in the eyes of some, elevated Mears to almost cult status.

He is particularly interested in the survival of groups of Resistance fighters and partisans for extended periods during World War II, such as the Norwegian Telemark heroes (see The Real Heroes of Telemark) and the Bielski Brothers in Belarus (Extreme Survival). In a 2006 TV tribute to fellow BBC broadcaster David Attenborough, Ray Mears confessed that much of his passion for his subject was fostered by Attenborough's nature documentaries.

Mears founded Woodlore, School of Wilderness Bushcraft, in 1983. The company, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2008, has since expanded to running UK and overseas courses on the subject of Bushcraft, as well as stocking outdoor equipment and clothing in their online shop.

Mears' The Survival Handbook was published in 1990, and his first TV appearance was in 1993 in the BBC Two series Tracks. In his most recent series, Wild Food, Mears worked alongside the University College of London's Professor of Archaeobotany, Gordon Hillman.

   In September 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University, and later the same year he gave a series of public lectures across the UK on his experiences in front of and behind the lens.
   Mears is currently working on his latest television and writing project, a four-part series set in the Australian outback called Ray Mears Goes Walkabout. In a TV interview on the BBC One The One Show on 19 May 2008, Mears confessed that this had been one of his toughest survival challenges to date. The television series is due to be broadcast on BBC Two later in 2008, with an accompanying hardcover book published in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton in March 2008.

Several of Mears' popular TV series are currently (April 2008) being repeated on the UK digital TV channel Dave.

TV programmes

• Wild Tracks - BBC (1994)
• Tracks - BBC (1994 - 1997)
• Ray Mears' World of Survival - BBC and Discovery Civilization Channel (1997 - 2002, 2 seasons with 6 episodes)
• Country Tracks - BBC (1998)
• The Essential Guide to Rocks - BBC Education (1998)
• Ray Mears' Extreme Survival - BBC (1999 - 2002, 3 seasons with 6 episodes)
• Ray Mears' Adventure Special - BBC (2001) Ray Mears takes Ewan McGregor into the Honduran jungle on the trail of the Prehistoric People of the Mosquito Coast.
• Ray Mears' Country Tracks - BBC (2002 - 2003)
• Ray Mears' Real Heroes of Telemark - BBC (2003)
• Ray Mears' Bushcraft - BBC (2004 - 2005, 2 seasons with 5 episodes)
• Ray Mears' Wild Food - BBC (2007)
• Ray Mears Goes Walkabout - BBC (2008) (External Link))

  Guest Appearances:

• Blue Peter - BBC (03/03/2004, 03/11/2004)
• Trips Money Can't Buy (With actor Ewan McGregor) - BBC (2001)
• The Disco and Weatherman Show - BBC Education Channel (2006)
• The New Paul O'Grady Show - Channel 4 (11/01/2007)

• Richard & Judy - Channel 4 (21/08/2007)

• Long Way Down - BBC Two (28/10/2007)

• Saturday Live - BBC Radio Four (26/04/2008)
• The Paul O'Grady Show - Channel 4 (29/04/2008)
• The Wright Stuff - five (1/05/2008)
• The One Show – BBC One (19/05/2008)

Books