20 Facts About Michael Grylls

Sir William Michael John Grylls was a British Conservative politician who was an MP from 1970 to 1997.

Michael Grylls was implicated in the cash-for-questions affair, a political scandal of the 1990s.

Michael Grylls was the father of adventurer and the Scout Association's Chief Scout Bear Grylls.

The Michael Grylls family owned and lived at Winterborne Zelston House, near Blandford, Dorset; the family can be traced back to 17th century Cornwall.

Michael Grylls was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

Michael Grylls's eyesight was not good enough for the Navy, so he joined the Royal Marines, and saw active service, leaving in 1955, and studying Spanish at the University of Madrid.

Michael Grylls turned his hand to business, setting up a wine importing firm called the 'Costa Brava Company'.

Michael Grylls married Sarah Smiles Justice Ford, the daughter of Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher, briefly an Ulster Unionist MP, and cricketer Neville Montagu Ford.

The Gryllses have one daughter, Lara Sarah Grylls, and one son, Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls, the adventurer, TV presenter and the Scout Association's Chief Scout, who is most recognised as the host of Born Survivor.

Michael Grylls was an unsuccessful candidate in the Fulham constituency in both the 1964 and 1966 general elections.

Michael Grylls's seat was abolished in boundary changes, but he was returned to Parliament for the new North West Surrey constituency in the February 1974 general election.

Michael Grylls represented this constituency until his retirement at the 1997 election.

Michael Grylls was knighted in the 1992 New Years Honours List.

For some years Michael Grylls had acted as a consultant to the lobbying company run by Ian Greer at the heart of the Cash-for-Questions inquiry.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Sir Gordon Downey, stated that Michael Grylls had "seriously misled" the select committee on members' interests in 1990 by understating the number of payments he had received for introducing clients to ministers and Michael Grylls' conduct, said Sir Gordon, had fallen "below the standards the House is entitled to expect of its members".

Sir Michael Grylls deliberately misled the Select Committee on Members' Interests in 1990 by seriously understating the number of commission payments he had received; and by omitting to inform them of other fees received from Mr Greer.

Sir Michael Grylls persistently failed to declare his interests in dealings with Ministers and officials over the House of Fraser.

Michael Grylls was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron until his death in 2001; his widow remains an honorary member.

Michael Grylls died at home on 7 February 2001, aged 66.

In Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Bear Michael Grylls said that his father had a pace-maker fitted, but suddenly died of a heart attack two days after his operation while recovering.