WHICH CELEBRITY HAS THE GRIT TO FINISH SAS TEST?
THE regular version of SAS: Who Dares Wins is widely regarded as the toughest show on television.
Recruits are subjected to several weeks of brutalisation at the hands of special forces instructors seeking to recreate the SAS training programme to find out who would make it through the selection process in the real world.
The exhausting and punishing regime tests their courage, strength, nous, fitness and endurance, as they’re seemingly shouted and sworn at every waking moment.
For most people, the whole experience will look utterly hellish, which makes it even more enjoyable to watch from the comfort of your own sofa.
However, if there’s one thing better than a reality show that knocks overconfident members of the public down before building them up again, it’s a version that features famous faces.
For the second year running, SAS: Who Dares Wins has partnered with charity Stand Up To Cancer for a special season involving celebrity contestants.
Just like in the main series, the team operators, led by Chief Instructor Ant Middleton will put 12 brave celebs through an intensive seven-day course. Travelling to Scotland – the homeland of the SAS
– the recruits will leave their glamorous lifestyles behind and live together in a derelict farmstead on the remote island of Raasay, where they will be exposed to West Scotland’s unforgiving weather, harsh rugged landscape and volatile seas.
The celebrity recruits taking part in the second season are media personality and model Katie Price, TOWIE reality star Joey Essex, TV presenters Anthea Turner and Helen Skelton, former Strictly ballroom dancer Brendan Cole, ex-premiership footballer John Fashanu, Youtuber Jack Maynard, Hollyoaks actress Nikki Sanderson, Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman,
Rudimental’s DJ Locksmith, Radio 1Xtra host Yasmin Evans and former boxing champion Tony Bellew.
Putting them through the ordeal is Ant and his team of Directing Staff (DS), Jason ‘Foxy’ Fox, Matthew ‘Ollie’ Ollerton and newbie former SAS trooper, Jay Morton.
The DS don’t care how famous the recruits are, how many Instagram followers they have or what they have done before in their careers and lives.
As soon as they enter the selection process, their celebrity status will be stripped away during a series of terrifying and brutal challenges in which they’ll be forced to confront surprising truths about themselves.
Former footballer Wayne Bridge was crowned the first winner last year, beating Victoria Pendleton, Sam Thompson and AJ Odudu.
Who out of this year’s batch will have what it takes to make it through SAS selection?
Well, Ant has a stark warning for the candidates should they think they’re going to be in for an easy ride. “If these celebrities turn up with an ego, they won’t last 24 hours,” the former British Army soldier and Royal Marine says.
“There are no short cuts, there are no easy options. They think they know what’s coming but, trust me, they are going to get the absolute shock of their lives.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is on Monday, Channel 4, at 9pm