The couple lived in Eastbourne, East Sussex with her two adult children and married in 2005, after Rachel was diagnosed with breast cancer. Rachel died in 2006, aged 50, and her ashes are scattered in Ashdown Forest near their home. Mears currently lives in Sussex with his second wife Ruth and his stepson. In 2019 he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of York's archaeology department for "...his excellent representation of craft, the wilderness and public outreach". Series Wild Tracks (BBC, 1994) Tracks (BBC, 1994–97) Ray Mears' World of Survival (BBC, 1997–98, 2 series of 6 episodes each) Ray Mears' Country Tracks (BBC, 1998, 2002–03) The Essential Guide to Rocks (BBC Education, 1998) Ray Mears' Extreme Survival (BBC, 1999–2002, 3 series of 6 episodes each) Ray Mears' Adventure Special (BBC, 2001) – Mears takes Ewan McGregor into the Honduran jungle on the trail of the prehistoric people of the Mosquito Coast. Ray Mears' Real Heroes of Telemark (BBC, 2003) Ray Mears' Bushcraft (BBC, 2004–05, 2 series of 5 episodes each) Ray Mears' Wild Food (BBC, 2007, 5 episodes) Ray Mears Goes Walkabout (BBC, June 2008, 4 episodes) – Mears tours the Australian outback. An accompanying hardcover book was published in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton in March 2008. In the series, Mears meets one of his heroes, Les Hiddins (aka "The Bush Tucker Man"). He also heads to the Kimberley region to meet the reputed aboriginal artist and bush guide Ju Ju Wilson. Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (BBC Two, Autumn 2009, 6 episodes) – Mears follows in the footsteps of pioneers who opened up Canada, such as Samuel Hearne, John Rae and David Thompson. Survival with Ray Mears (ITV, Spring 2010, 3 episodes) Wild Britain with Ray Mears (ITV, 2010–2013, 3 series) Ray Mears: Close Encounters (ITV, 2013) How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (BBC Four, 2014) Wilderness Walks with Ray Mears (ITV, 2014) Wild River with Ray Mears (ITV, 2015) Wild Australia with Ray Mears (ITV, 2016) Wild France with Ray Mears (ITV, 2016) Australian Wilderness with Ray Mears (ITV, 2017) Wild China with Ray Mears (ITV, 2021) Books The Survival Handbook (1990) The Outdoor Survival Handbook (1992) Ray Mears' World of Survival (1997) Bushcraft (2002) Essential Bushcraft (2003) The Real Heroes of Telemark: The True Story of the Secret Mission to Stop Hitler's Atomic Bomb (2003) Ray Mears' Bushcraft Survival (2005) Wild