Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews' brother, 22, disappeared and has tragically never been found
Spencer Matthews has shared the gut wrenching story of how his brother disappeared on Mount Everest, and was never found. The former Made in Chelsea star will open up about his brother and the tragedy in the final episode of My Life at Christmas with Anita Rani this weekend, in which he'll be the final guest of the series.
In the episode, Spencer will reveal the details of his Christmases growing up as a child on the Caribbean island of St Barts, as well as the loss of his older brother in 1999 on Everest. Spencer, 36, retraced the steps of his late brother, who disappeared on an expedition to the site more than 20 years ago for a documentary on Disney Plus last year, titled Finding Michael, where he headed to Mount Everest in Nepal in an attempt to recover his brother's lost body.
Michael Matthews lost his life descending the summit of Mount Everest in May 1999, when he was just 22 years old. He vanished just three hours after reaching the mountain’s peak and his body has never been recovered or found, leaving his two brothers and parents struggling to find closure over his death.
READ MORE: Kyle Walker's teammates joined by Annie Kilner for Christmas do after divorce filing
READ MORE: Royal Variety's Amanda Holden shares 1-ingredient breakfast to 'lose the stomach' before Christmas
Michael lost his life in Everest’s notorious “death zone” where he and his team were hit by ferocious gales and heavy snowfall.
Another climber spotted an ice pick some distance from the established route down days after Michael’s disappearance, which lead to speculation that he may have lost his way in the bad weather, or perhaps been swept away by the wind.
There are also several steep drops in the area which experts say could have claimed the life of the exhausted climber.
Michael, who had previously scaled several mountains in the Swiss Alps and Kilimanjaro in Africa, was the youngest Brit at the time to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Spencer has previously described his brother as “brave” and shared that he still looks up to him.
The former Made in Chelsea star was just ten years old when Michael vanished.
For the expedition, Spencer, 36, joined a team led by Nims Purja, an experienced mountaineer who holds the record for the fastest ascent of all eight mountains worldwide that exceed 8,000 feet, to look for him.
Spencer said he was inspired to take the journey after being sent a photo of a body by another climber that he suspects could be his brother and explained that his “heart” was telling him it was time to go and look for Michael.
The former reality star explained that if they're able, they'll also attempt to "bring him home."
The mission was “one of the highest search and recovery missions in history” Spencer said, as the team headed into one of the mountain’s most dangerous areas.
The doc, which was released in March 2023, is executive produced by outdoor expert Bear Grylls, who met Michael a few months before he attempted to climb Everest.
My Life at Christmas with Anita Rani will air on Sunday 15 December at 10.30am on BBC1
