Bruce Miller: BBC star in life-threatening condition after hospitalised with brain damage from fall while climbing Avon Gorge in Somerset

Bruce Miller worked as a wildlife expert for the broadcaster, until a climbing accident saw him hospitalised with brain damage last summer. Bruce, 28, was a researcher for the BBC’s Natural History Unit, and was out exploring at Avon Gorge in Somerset on July 13, 2024. Tragically his climbing equipment broke, leaving him to fall 30 feet from a cliff.

The TV researcher’s companions called paramedics and tried to help Bruce with first aid, but after the emergency services abseiled down to him he was quickly airlifted to hospital, where he was placed in an induced coma for 17 days and underwent emergency surgery. A GoFundMe has been set up for Bruce by his panicked loved ones.

They are concerned that he might be waiting for help from the NHS for three months with his stay in a Brain Injury Unit coming to an end. On the fundraising page, which has a target goal of £45,000 for Bruce’s vital care, his friends and family describe: “Bruce spent four weeks in ICU (17 days of which in a coma) and a total of 11 weeks at Southmead Hospital, enduring multiple surgeries — including the placement of a VP shunt to relieve pressure caused by hydrocephalus.

“It was a long and challenging road just to reach medical stability. His journey toward recovery has been fuelled by unwavering determination, and on October 2nd, he was admitted to the Brain Injury Unit (BIRU) at Frenchay, where he began receiving the specialist rehabilitation care he needed.”

The fundraiser’s creator Scott Abraham explained that Bruce is currently in a wheelchair and “can even sit up on his own”, but adds: “While he has made progress, his mobility and communication remain very limited, and he relies on support for much of his daily life. The road to recovery is slow, and his future remains uncertain.”

In a harrowing turn for Bruce's rehabilitation, Abraham revealed: "His stay at BIRU is coming to an end, and there’s likely to be at least a three-month gap before NHS-funded community rehabilitation becomes available. These therapies are a crucial part of his continued recovery, and a long break could risk slowing the progress he’s worked so hard to achieve."