04 March 2023 , 19:39
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Reality TV star Spencer Matthews is “furious” that the release of a documentary about his tragic mountaineer brother has been delayed because it shows dead bodies.
Disney pulled the plug on Friday’s launch of Finding Michael at the last minute.
The feature-length show follows the ex-Made in Chelsea star’s mission to bring home the body of brother Michael, 22, who vanished on Everest in 1999 – just three hours after he became the youngest Brit to scale the world’s highest peak.
More than 200 of the 310-plus adventurers to die on Everest are still on the deadly slopes. And Spencer’s documentary, which took two years to film, is now being re-edited to cut scenes showing the bodies of climbers on the mountain.
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Spencer Matthews and Nimsdai Purja at Everest Base Camp (PA)Sources said Spencer, 34, who appeared on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 show on Friday, was angry about the sudden decision.
One said: “This was a real disaster. After endless viewings, two official screenings and a entire campaign building up to a release on March 3 it was decided with hours to go that footage of bodies might be deemed insensitive.
“Everest is often too dangerous to recover those who died in the death zone, and the film reflects that.
The documentary was pulled at the last minute (PA)"The fact this was only raised with hours to go before the release – and public screenings – is astonishing.
“So the premiere date was just dropped . Meanwhile, Spencer is doing interviews in which he has to fudge the date.
“He was absolutely furious and there have been some very heated conversations this week.
Michael Matthews who died climbing Everest in 1999 aged just 23 with his brothers James and Spencer“This has been two years of Spencer’s life and it isn’t just a documentary for him – it’s his brother.”
Spencer, 10 when Michael went missing, was determined to retrace his steps and bring home his body for mum Jane.
Michael was left behind in the mountain’s death zone at 8,500m after being caught in a storm.
Spencer watched footage of his older brother Michael for the first time since he disappeared on Mount Everest (PA)In Finding Michael, produced by TV adventurer Bear Grylls, Spencer is joined by Canadian climber Dave Rodney, who was on the tragic expedition.
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Spencer – whose other brother James, 47, is married to Pippa Middleton, the Princess of Wales’s sister – spoke of the moment he watched Dave’s footage of the trek and heard his brother’s voice for the first time since the horror.
Michael Matthews became the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest
Spencer at the premiere of the documentary at the Dolby Cinema At The Cinema In The Power Station (PA)The moving interview was one of a series of appearances this week, including at a premiere at Battersea Power Station on Tuesday.
On Friday, Spencer posted: “Apologies to everyone trying to watch Finding Michael on Disney+. The debut has shifted and we’ll update you as soon as we have new timings.”
Disney wrote on Instagram : “We are shifting the debut of Finding Michael and we will update the release date soon.”