WASHINGTON — If you had to go on a survivalist adventure in the wild with a celebrity, who would you choose?
Adventurer Bear Grylls has his pick of the litter when it comes to helping A-listers rough it in his new NBC show, “Running Wild with Bear Grylls.”
In the reality TV show, Grylls — the star of the Discovery TV series “Man vs. Wild” — takes celebrities into remote locations in the U.S. for 48 hours to get a taste of life as a survivalist.
Grylls says Mother Nature doesn’t give celebrities the star treatment, but the participants learn and grow along the way.
“Just trust me and we’ll have fun,” 40-year-old Grylls said of his famed companions on WTOP. “There will be a little pain and some discomfort, but it won’t last forever and you’ll be proud of yourself in the end.”
On the episode that airs Monday evening, Grylls is joined by actor Ben Stiller. The men travel to a Scottish island known for its “brutal weather” that climbers often use to train for Mount Everest expeditions.
During the episodes, the stars help find food, make fires, establish shelter and perform dangerous maneuvers alongside Grylls.
In Stiller’s episode, a preview shows a panting Stiller using a rope to climb up the side of a mountain. Doubtful he can finish, Stiller says it is the “physically hardest” thing he has ever done.
“You don’t have any water, do you?” a danging Stiller asks while Grylls encourages him.
Grylls says the horrendous weather in Scotland took a toll on Stiller.
“It’s easy to be cheerful for 10 minutes when you’re soaking wet, but 48 hours into it, you get to know the real person, and [Stiller] was amazing,” Grylls said.
The usually solo Grylls says it took some readjusting to get used to having well-known guests traveling with him.
“The second you have Ben Stiller on the other end of [the rope], it’s like time to double check your knots a little bit.”
Watch Grylls and Stiller’s outdoor adventure on NBC at 8 p.m. EST.
Watch a preview of Stiller’s episode:
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