{"id":30607,"date":"2023-02-27T01:01:35","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T00:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1790998"},"modified":"2023-02-27T10:46:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T09:46:23","slug":"spencer-matthews-didnt-consider-documentarys-detrimental-effect-on-family","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/spencer-matthews-didnt-consider-documentarys-detrimental-effect-on-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Spencer Matthews didn\u2019t consider documentary\u2019s \u201cdetrimental effect\u201d on family"},"content":{"rendered":"

The reality TV star says he didn’t consider how his family would feel if he was unsuccessful in bringing his brother home in new documentary, Finding Michael. <\/p>

By Grace Henry\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 27 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Spencer Matthews set off on one of the toughest journeys of his life with the hope of recovering the body of his brother Michael, who passed away in 1999 at the age of 22 while descending Mount Everest.<\/p>\n

In the new Disney Plus<\/a> documentary, titled Finding Michael<\/a>, former reality star Spencer will return to the place of his brother\u2019s death along with record breaking mountaineer Nims Purja.<\/p>\n

Despite the risk and lack of success from other mountaineers, including British Adventurer Bear Grylls who led a secret mission to find Michael\u2019s body which wasn\u2019t successful, Spencer told RadioTimes.com<\/a> that he didn\u2019t consider the \u201cdetrimental effect\u201d the documentary could have on his family if he wasn\u2019t successful in his search.<\/p>\n

Asked if he felt pressure to bring back good news to his family during the trip, Spencer said: \u201cYeah, one thing I hadn\u2019t considered at all was if we were unsuccessful, that it might have a kind of detrimental effect to some people in my family. I hadn\u2019t given that a single second thought because I just thought that we would find him because that\u2019s the way I\u2019m put together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Michael and Spencer Matthews<\/span><\/figcaption> Disney+<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Spencer said he started to feel the \u201cpressure\u201d when the search began, adding: \u201cThe pressure of that certainly became something to wrangle. When people watch the film they\u2019ll see that recovering a body after 23 years on Everest is a difficult thing to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course there\u2019s doubt that begins to crack through the optimism, and then you begin to think, \u2018I\u2019ve just put my whole family back into gear with the whole Michael situation and undoubtedly dredged up a bunch of old feelings about his death.\u2019 To return empty handed would be a crying shame.\u201d<\/p>

Spencer has spoken about the impact Michael\u2019s death has had on his family, writing in his 2013 autobiography that his other brother, James Matthews, struggled to deal with the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis loss was devastating for the family and over time this became worse because the circumstances surrounding Michael\u2019s death have never been fully explained,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames took the news badly. With just a year-and-a half between them, he and Mike were the closest of friends. The loss was heartbreaking for James.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bear Grylls and Spencer Matthews<\/span><\/figcaption> Disney+<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

In Finding Michael, Spencer first seeks advice from Bear Grylls, who first climbed Mount Everest successfully in 1998, and calls upon Nims Purja \u2013 the world record holder for climbing all 14 mountains over 8,000 metres the fastest \u2013 to lead the search.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all the planning, the time and the amount of people involved in making the project, we\u2019re certainly hoping for a positive result,\u201d Spencer added.<\/p>