Spencer Matthews was just 10 when his brother went missing
Spencer Matthews has opened up on what it was like working with Bear Grylls to help recover the body of his brother on Mount Everest.
In 2023 the Former Made in Chelsea star featured in Disney documentary Finding Michael which saw him travel to Everest to try and locate the body of his brother, Michael Matthews, who went missing on the mountain in 1999.
Aged 22, Michael became the youngest Briton to summit the peak, though his body was never found. Spencer was just 10 when he lost his brother.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast last week, the 36-year-old admitted that Michael’s death ‘never affected me in the way that it could have done’.
“Had I been more [of a] logical thinker, which children aren’t usually, even at his memorial service I was reading but there was no body,” he said.
“So to me I was like ‘well what’s this all about’ type thing.
“And I was told by then, very clearly, that ‘you know Michael’s never coming home?’
Spencer Matthews was just 10 when his brother went missing. (Disney Plus)
“And it took me a while to process that I would never see him again.
“Then we went to make Finding Michael and the realisation that I might see him again became quite a stern realisation because, again, I hadn’t fully processed that.
“I’m sat there at base camp, was there for five weeks, and I was thinking if we’re successful, I’m going to come face to face with my brother’s body, which would be probably perfectly preserved.
“So like I’ll be his older brother now he’s frozen in time. He died 12 years older than me, I’d now be 12 years older than him, the whole thing would would have been a bit of a mind f***.”
He added: “We didn’t find him in the end ‘spoiler alert’.”
The Former Made in Chelsea star featured in Disney documentary Finding Michael. (Disney Plus)
When asked about what his parents thought of the whole thing, Spencer explained: “They were quite supportive of it providing we were considerate of risk to other human life and operated with care and proper people basically.
“You know Bear Grylls was very kind to executive produce and come on board quite early and put us in touch with great people.
“And I think when around the time that Disney became interested, I think everyone was a bit more relaxed about the whole thing.”
In a previous talk at the Oxford Union Society, Bear said he warned Matthews about the mission, explaining: “It is the reality of high-altitude mountaineering, as people pay the ultimate price up there.”
Finding Michael is available to watch on Disney Plus now.
Featured Image Credit: Ben Simms/NBC/NBCU Phhoto Bank/Getty Images/YouTube/High Performance Podcast
