.png)
Spencer Matthews has opened up about the moment he was told that his big brother had been 'lost'.
In 1999, aged just 22, Michael Matthews became the youngest Brit to climb to the top of Mount Everest.
Sadly, however, he never made it back down, disappearing on the mountainside during his descent.
Advert
Spencer's new documentary, Finding Michael, sees him head to Everest in a bid to bring him home and finally lay him to rest.
The synopsis for the Disney+ film says: "Over 20 years later, Spencer receives a photo of a body on the mountain - that could be Michael.
"He heads to Nepal and recruits Nims Purja, the world '14 peak' record holder, to lead a team and search Everest's ‘Death Zone’ to try and find Michael.
"Once at extreme altitude at over 8,000m, the team rely on a 10-man search crew, armed with drones and the skillset to go off the summit lines. But as the weather closes in and with time against them, they face a series of unexpected challenges."
Advert
Speaking to LADbible ahead of the release of the documentary, Spencer recalled the moment he was told that his 'superhero' big brother was 'lost'.
At first, he says he didn't really understand what was going on.
"I was young, 10 years old, we were away together as a family, and mum and dad were upstairs, and it was kind of any normal day," he tells us.
"We were expecting a call, because it was 13 May and we were expecting to hear that Mike had summited and was safely at Camp 4. And when that call didn't come, I think my parents knew that there was something in the air.
"They received a call on the following day to say that Michael was lost on the mountain, and they relayed that message to me in that way.
Advert
"I remember coming up to their room and there was something in the air, it just felt wrong, and I actually initially felt that I was in trouble for something, I just walked in and felt like I was in serious trouble."
He goes on: "Mum and dad said Mike is lost on the mountain, and there was extreme sadness in the air, and they weren't themselves at all.
"That word 'lost' didn't sit well with me at all because I was a kid. Mike was a bit of a superhero to me and I couldn't imagine anything stopping him or getting in his way, so I treated it as such, as him being lost. It was a kind of 'let me know when you find him' type thing.
"I wasn't hit in the same way they were because I didn't believe that he was in danger.
"Obviously, at that age, I don't think you have any comprehension of what he's going through on that mountain and how few people can survive the night.
Advert
"That was it really, I left the room and I expected to hear later today or tomorrow that he's back and safe, and that's that."
Recalling the memorial service, Spencer says it made him even more convinced that Michael was special.
He adds: "Obviously, as time went past, you begin to realise that you will never see him again and we had a memorial service in London, 500 people attended, and even at my age I thought that was a pretty big number for somebody of his age.
"And we never had a body to mourn, of course, which is the point behind the film and wanting closure for the family, and that's what led us to making this project."
Advert
Finding Michael will be available to watch on Disney+ from 3 March.
Featured Image Credit: Stills Press / Alamy Stock Photo/ Disney+Topics: TV and Film, Documentaries, UK News