Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has no regrets about Celebrity Bear Hunt appearance despite near-death experience
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is glad he "tried and overdid it" on Celebrity Bear Hunt after surviving a brush with death on the Netflix reality show.
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has no regrets about his approach to Celebrity Bear Hunt.
The 60-year-old interior designer had a brush with death after getting trapped under water for several minutes during filming for the Netflix reality show but is glad that he gave his all on the programme – which saw stars try and evade being captured by survival expert Bear Grylls.
Asked what he learnt from the show, Laurence told HELLO! magazine: "No matter how fast the speedboat is going, no matter how many explosions are around you, no matter how loud the James Bond theme tune is in your head, be aware that you are a 60-year-old grandfather who lives in the Cotswolds and who should have a pocketful of Werther's Originals in your wetsuit. That's where I went wrong.
"However, I'm much happier with the fact that I tried and overdid it, rather than being that guy hiding behind the sofa. Jackie (his wife) has this great expression, which is: 'As you age, you should never stop being brave.'
"But we're at that age when there's a lot that can go wrong – we're in Sniper's Alley – so you have to take full responsibility for your physical housing. You need to spend more time being philosophical."
The Changing Rooms star continued: "Previous generations of 60-year-olds would have spent most of the day looking at shapes in the fire. We don't. We listen to podcasts and paddleboard and do this and that. I'm not sure all these distractions are a good thing."
Laurence joked that his wife has forbidden him from doing any more reality shows following his near-death experience on Celebrity Bear Hunt.
He said: "Jackie says I'm not even allowed to do The Great British Bake Off in case one of the cherries falls on my head."
Laurence is set to return with a new series of Channel 4 show Outrageous Homes and is also planning to launch his own YouTube channel in the coming months and explained that he isn't interested in slowing down.
He explained: "The world has decided I'm not going anywhere.
"From the early days, I didn't want to be a bore or do shows that would p*** people off.
"You need to understand who you are, be true to who you are and enjoy doing what you do. That's what I've always done. And maybe that's the legacy I'm leaving for my tribe now."
