Bear Grylls Meets President Zelenskyy review: TV action man eager to set the world to rights

But under the facial fuzz, it’s still the same Grylls Irish viewers will recognise from Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Bear Grylls Survival Story and other dollops of small-screen derring-do. He remains, in other words, the light entertainment equivalent of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, bounding into the danger zones relying on nothing beyond a stiff upper lip and a nose for trouble. That nose starts to twitch pretty early in Bear Grylls Meets President Zelenskyy (Channel 4, Tuesday, 8pm), when his advance party in Kyiv reveals the capital is expecting a barrage of Russian bombing. He does, moreover, and to his credit, appreciate that travelling to Ukraine with a missile strike imminent isn’t quite the same as climbing a mountain in nasty weather. “I’ve served with the military and spent a life working in survival, but now I’ll be learning from Ukrainians what it takes to survive in a war zone,” he says. Instead, Grylls and Zelenskiy strike up an impromptu bromance strolling through Kyiv. Zelenskiy, meanwhile, comes across as quietly resolute. He doesn’t have the sort of sunny-side-up charisma you might expect of, say, an American politician in his position – soundbites aren’t his thing. “Ukrainians,” he says, “have adapted to a new wave of living.” Grylls already knows this. Touring Kyiv, he takes in the burnt-out Russian tanks that stand in the centre of the city – a symbol of defiance and also a warning to Moscow of what lies in store if it presses on with its barbarism. But if the president and survivalist seem to click, they really don’t have much time to bond. Grylls, for his part, goes set out to meet ordinary Ukrainians. She, for her part, goes about daily life knowing a missile strike could hit at any moment. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2023/03/29/bear-grylls-meets-president-zelenskyy-review-tv-action-man-eager-to-set-the-world-to-rights/