WE are used to seeing him battling nature in some of the most inhospitable places on earth, so how was Bear Grylls going to tackle a near-packed theatre of scouts, dewy-eyed females and blokes wearing serious outdoor gear?

Descending down on to the stage after negotiating some seriously high stage rigging (“doors are boring” he said), we thought we were in for an evening of thrills and spills.

Thanks to the big screen showing clips of his massively successful Born Survivor series and his previous adventures (SAS Reserve, conquering Everest) Bear fans could see the gutsy adventurer as they knew him best.

However, the man on stage was a different beast: Quieter, more humble, more reflective.

The evening morphed into a sort of chat show meets This is Your Life, punctuated by him inviting the audience to eat live maggots, make fire, and meet an 11-ft Burmese python.

Massively motivational, humorous and occasionally moving, Bear constantly eluded to the importance of family and the fact that life is not about being the strongest or the fastest, but about never ever giving up.

It’s easy to see why this bloke has been voted the seventh coolest man in Britain.