PR disaster time for the Discovery Channel. It turns out Man vs. Wild was largely faked, with host Bear Grylls regularly staying at hotels during filming and off-camera assistants staging many of the show's most dramatic moments. Shocking: reality television faking the reality.

On an episode filmed in the Sierra Nevadas, Grylls went from biting the heads of rattlesnakes during the day to staying at a luxury cabin at The Pines Resort on Bass Lake. The same episode also featured Grylls coming across wild mustangs in a meadow ... But the horses were actually bought in by trailer.

In another episode that took place on a deserted desert island, well ... it was actually filmed in Hawaii with a motel located nearby. The episode also featured Grylls making a Polynesian-style raft from spare materials located around him; show advisor Marc Weinert said he actually led a team of builders to construct the raft.

The Discovery Channel has confirmed the allegations.