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Spencer Matthews fought back tears as he discussed his attempts to recover his late brother’s body on Mount Everest on The One Show on Thursday.
The former Made In Chelsea star, 34, became choked up as he spoke of how Michael made history as the youngest ever Brit to reach the summit aged 22 in 1999, but tragically died on the perilous mountain.
Spencer was on the show to talk about his new Disney+ documentary, Finding Michael, released on Friday.
The TV star, who was aged just 10 when it happened, retold Alex Jones and Roman Kemp about Michael’s last journey and how he retraced his steps to try to bring him home.
Spencer said: ‘When Michael went missing, by the time some people realised he was missing it was too late. Nobody survives the night, really. A couple of cases maybe.
Emotional: Spencer Matthews fought back tears as he discussed his attempts to recover his late brother’s body on Mount Everest on The One Show on Thursday
RIP: Michael made history as the youngest ever Brit to reach the summit aged 22 in 1999, but tragically died on the perilous mountain
Michael is said to have got in trouble after beginning to make his way down the south descent through the ‘death zone’ on May 13, 1999.
He was the brother of Pippa Middleton’s husband, the racing driver turned hedge fund manager James Matthews, 47.
The experienced mountaineer, who had previously conquered Aconcagua, the Pyrenees and the Swiss Alps, was the 162nd person to die on Everest.
Spencer went on to detail how he made the ‘difficult decision’ to undertake the mission himself.
‘In 2017, the family was sent a photo of a body on the mountain and they claimed that it could be Michael. In fact it did look like it could be, with similar summit suits. It’s the first time really that I thought even a body recovery was possible.
‘It continued to tick away in my head: “What if it is him?”. I’ve certainly grown up with feelings that he’s up there and died and was left there. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a body to mourn for my family?
‘We scrapped together any information we had. Some of the footage of Michael on the mountain I’d never seen before,’ he said, becoming increasingly more emotional as the interview progressed.
‘It was the first time I’d seen him on camera, because as a kid we didn’t do home movies or anything.
Moving: The TV star, who was aged just 10 when it happened, retold Alex Jones and Roman Kemp about Michael’s last journey and how he retraced his steps to try to bring him home
Emotional: Spencer was on the show to talk about his new Disney+ documentary, Finding Michael, released on Friday
Challenge: Ahead of its release, he said: ‘I’m not the most emotional person but the nearer we got to the mountain, the more potent my feelings became. It’s the closest I’ve felt to Mike’
Brothers: Spencer (left) spoke candidly about his elder brother (right) with whom he shares a striking resemblance
‘Retracing his steps and understanding his final days a bit better was quite cathartic for me…’
The former Made In Chelsea star filmed Finding Michael with the help of survivalist Bear Grylls and record-breaking mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja.
Ahead of its release, he told The Sunday Times: ”I’m not the most emotional person but the nearer we got to the mountain, the more potent my feelings became. It’s the closest I’ve felt to Mike since his death.’
‘He’s frozen in time. I’m his big brother now. I was unable to stop thinking about it. I wanted to bring him home for my mum.’
Spencer added: ‘I found the idea unbearable of him being out there on the mountain, alone, with people walking past him en route to the summit.
His story: Spencer also appeared on This Morning on Friday where he discussed the documentary
The trailer for Finding Michael begins with Spencer looking at a picture of his brother wearing a red ski jacket, saying: ‘I hate the picture. All I see is a young man in the process of losing his life.’
He continues: ‘Michael was my big brother. 20 odd years later we are sent this photograph of a body, it looks like it could be Michael.
‘My heart says we should go and find him. And if we can, bring him home.
‘We need the best people possible. We have one of the greatest, Nims Purja. We have to look all over the mountain.’
Spencer can be seen kissing his wife Vogue Williams, holding their new-born baby, who says: ‘God I hope you find him.’
She is later seen getting emotional while on a video call to Spencer who is out on the expedition.
Sad loss: Michael became the youngest Briton to reach the summit of Everest at the age of 22, but disappeared on the mountain just three hours later
Honesty: Spencer said: ‘He’s frozen in time. I’m his big brother now. I was unable to stop thinking about it. I wanted to bring him home for my mum’
Tears: Spencer added: ‘I found the idea unbearable of him being out there on the mountain, alone, with people walking past him en route to the summit
Sad: The trailer for Finding Michael begins with Spencer looking at a picture of his brother, saying: ‘I hate the picture. All I see is a young man in the process of losing his life’
Challenge: World ’14 peak’ record holder Nirmal leads the 10-man search crew armed with drones and the trailer shows the crew as they face unexpected and extreme challenges
World ’14 peak’ record holder Nirmal leads the 10-man search crew armed with drones and the trailer shows the crew as they face unexpected and extreme challenges as well as intense time pressures when the weather closes in.
TV presenter and executive producer Bear says: ‘Stay safe. If you get hold of Mike, I hear his voice screaming that one loud.’
He later added: ‘On average, seven people every year of those attempting Everest will lose their lives.
‘No mountain is worth dying for a second time over.’
Spencer trekked to South Base Camp base camp via Namche Bazaar, a town in north-eastern Nepal, often the staging point for expeditions to and other Himalayan peaks.
He made the journey just five days after the birth of his son Otto after a ‘weather window’ made scaling the mountain feasible.
Spencer would have otherwise been left facing another year of waiting to begin the search, revealing that he had the backing of his wife Vogue.
The South Base Camp is at an altitude of 5,364 metres.
Describing the trek, he said: ‘You don’t have to be superman to do it. You come across this town [Namche Bazaar] in the sky. It’s amazing. It’s above the clouds. It reminded me of Asgard.
‘Part of the film is that we retrace the exact steps that Mike and his friends took. We stay in the same places and do the same path as he did. It’ll be a really powerful and amazing film’.
Finding Michael, directed by Tom Beard, is set to premiere on Disney+ on March 3
Brothers: TV personality Spencer was 10 years old when Michael (left next to sibling James) tragically died aged 22 – after becoming the youngest Brit to reach the peak in 1999
Project: During the film, Spencer undertook a ‘gut-wrenching’ mission to climb Mount Everest to find the body of his brother Michael
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