Writer and clergyman Michael Coren expressed his doubts about the sincerity of Brand’s baptism in The i paper, noting that it should be accompanied with humility and contrition – neither in evidence thus far. “The teachings of Jesus aren’t just another form of self-help or the latest wellness technique,” Coren pointed out. Christianity, he added, “teaches less that we should ‘feel’ better about ourselves than that we should ‘be’ better because of belief”.
But Brand is treading a well-worn road: numerous celebrities have had a convenient come-to-Jesus moment to aid their image rehab at the peak of a scandal. Aitken began attending Alpha courses in 1997, just two years before he was jailed for perjury.
Besides, can Brand really believe in a higher power than himself? He called his 2013 tour Messiah Complex, and has 33 tattoos – because Jesus died at the age of 33. A 2015 documentary about him had the knowing title Brand: The Second Coming.
In his current social media profile picture, he wears what looks like a glowing crown of thorns.
His latest public positioning is as a misunderstood martyr who has been unjustly framed by the powers-that-be, simply for speaking the unwelcome truth. Others might characterise this as dangerously spreading conspiracy theories and encouraging his followers not to believe his reported victims.
It’s worlds away from the royally approved establishment figure Grylls, who attended King Charles’s Coronation and Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, and who has collaborated with the Prince of Wales on environmental projects. He also encouraged a then six-year-old Prince George to eat his first ant after Grylls skippered a yacht during the King’s Cup regatta in 2019. Grylls received an OBE in the 2019 Birthday Honours list.
Yet he also has an ego to rival Brand’s planet-sized one. His rather cringe-worthy interview with President Zelensky in 2023 didn’t amount to much, partly because Grylls kept shoehorning in his own courageous exploits and emphasising how brave he’d been to travel to Ukraine – ignoring the many journalists who had spent months on the ground.
There’s also an evangelist quality to his career, as he preaches the doctrine of hardship and personal discipline via his TV shows. Never mind spending 40 days in the desert – Grylls is even tougher.
Does he see it as the ultimate triumph to have brought an infamous sinner like Brand into the fold? That does seem to fit with Grylls’s extremely healthy self-regard.
But how does his seeming acceptance or dismissal of the allegations made against Brand fit with his other causes – for example, his role as Chief Scout? Shouldn’t he be warier of endorsing what is, at the very least, rampant toxic masculinity, when he’s a role model to impressionable young boys? They sound nonplussed, saying in a statement: “We are aware of this. Like all of our 144,000 volunteers, Bear Grylls has private interests and friendships separate to his role with Scouts. This is a personal matter to him.”
Perhaps Grylls will emerge unscathed from this. After all, the public has grown used to his various eccentricities, such as his free-range child-rearing on a remote Welsh island.
But with his star on the rise in America – in 2025 he’s due to front a new Netflix survival reality competition, Bear Hunt, with Holly Willoughby – Brand’s unpredictable antics may not be good for business.
If the virtuous glow of that baptism begins to fade, Grylls may well decide to wash his hands of him.
Grylls has been contacted by The Telegraph for comment.