Zelensky’s security team feared Bear Grylls was trying to assassinate him with poisoned chocolate
Bear Grylls’ attempt to break the ice with President Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t go as he planned, as the Ukrainian leader’s security team feared he might attempt to assassinate him.
The survival expert traveled to Ukraine to meet Zelensky and interview him as they were walking around Kiev, but when Bear, 48, tried to offer Zelensky, 45, a piece of Cadbury chocolate , his security team swung into action.
He revealed the security team refused the offer, fearing the chocolate was poisoned, as he discussed his new Channel 4 documentary ‘Bear Grylls Meets President Zelensky’ on Good Morning Britain.
“One of the ways you thought of as an icebreaker was to give her some chocolate,” GMB host Susanna Reid told her. “Let’s just sit on a park bench like two friends and have a chocolate bar.”
Bear said he understood their actions, adding: “Normally when I’ve done this before with world leaders, nature does half my job for me, he’s a great leveler, he’s a great icebreaker, you are in the mountains”.
Bear told the story of offering Zelensky, 45, a piece of Cadbury chocolate which saw his security team spring into action
He discussed the awkward encounter with GMB presenter Susanna Reid, telling her he had hoped it would break the ice
Bear opened up about the unusual experience on GMB as he discussed his new Channel 4 documentary ‘Bear Grylls Meets President Zelensky’
Bear has previously shared food with other world leaders, including salmon that was caught by a bear with former US President Barack Obama in Alaska.
Bear has previously shared food with other world leaders, including salmon that was caught by a bear with former US President Barack Obama in Alaska.
The survival expert also spoke about the incident with Zelensky in a previous interview with Radio Times.
“When I offered it to Zelensky, one of his guys stepped in and said he shouldn’t eat it,” he said. “I said, ‘Okay, I’ll go first, to show that I don’t want to poison him,’ and we all laughed,” he said.
“I gave some to the security guys, because everyone likes a little square of Dairy Milk, right?”
Elsewhere in the interview, Bear opened up about a conversation he had with the president about his family. Since the start of the war, Zelensky has been separated from his family; his wife Olena, daughter Oleksandra and son Kyrylo.
The survival expert traveled to Ukraine to meet Zelensky and interview him as they wandered around Kyiv
Bear said the show was about getting to know “the real guy behind the podium, actually doing what he [Zelensky] is like a man.
British Hollywood star Orlando Bloom traveled to Ukraine to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and children and families affected by Vladimir Putin’s invasion
He said the show was about getting to know “the real guy behind the podium, actually doing what he [Zelensky] is like a man.
“He said, ‘Like all of Ukraine, we put everything on hold, our life, our ambitions, our families, our work, our future, our dreams,'” Bear said. “All for one purpose, to defend our country. »
“And there’s a power to that and it’s very clear: ‘I’m doing what everyone else is doing, putting everything aside, we’re defending our home. “”
While visiting Ukraine for the documentary, Bear saw firsthand the destruction wrought by the Russian invasion and subsequent war.
He described him as “really humble, down to earth and totally focused”.
‘Everyone I met in Ukraine, even though I said to them ‘what do you think of Zelenksy?’ and they say, ‘It doesn’t matter what I thought before, whether I like it or not. The whole country is together and we are all behind him.
Bear is one of many celebrities who have been invited to Ukraine to show their support.
The most recent was Pirates of the Caribbean star Orlando Bloom, who praised the “incredibly stoic nature” of the Ukrainian people and encouraged Zelensky to “win” the war.
The couple were seen in footage from the presidential palace in the capital, where they discussed humanitarian projects and reconstruction efforts to help Ukrainian children. In addition to kyiv, Bloom visited Irpin and Demydiv.
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