OK! TALKS TO THE CELEBRITY STARS OF SAS: Who Dares Wins AS THEY BRAVE BOOTCAMP
THESE 12 STARS BRAVE BOOT CAMP IN AID OF CANCER CHARITY
Five-star hotels and Michelinstarred meals are the type of luxuries to make most celebrities feel at home. But there was no red carpet treatment for the dozen who headed deep into the Chilean Andes to take part in SAS: Who Dares Wins in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.
The toughest challenge in TV puts contestants through a condensed version of the special forces selection process.
Those brave enough to take part were presenters Jeff Brazier, Andrea Mclean and AJ Odudu, reality stars Sam Thompson and Camilla Thurlow, footballer Wayne Bridge, rugby players Ben Foden and Heather Fisher, cyclist Victoria Pendleton, Radio 1 DJ Dev Griffin and actor Jeremy Irvine.
Here, we catch up with some of the contestants to get the lowdown on their epic adventure…
JEFF BRAZIER
Chief instructor Ant Middleton admits Jeff was the hardest celebrity to crack. The 39 year old is dad to sons Bobby, 15, and Freddie, 14. Last month marked the tenth anniversary of the death from cervical cancer of their mum, reality star Jade Goody.
Ant explains: ‘Jeff’s used to doing everything by himself. But ultimately, you need to pass that around. If not, that ball’s going to crush you.’
Here, Jeff, who married PR director Kate Dwyer last year, shares what he’s learned from the show…
What made you sign up?
I wanted to find out who I was. For a long time I’ve had to be a certain version of myself in order to do the job I’ve had to do with the boys. But underneath those layers, who am I really? I was desperate to answer that question. It was the perfect situation to put myself in to find out so many unexpected truths about myself.
What did you find out?
I was very supportive of the group but I never actually fully allowed myself to be a part of it. I sat on the edge. I was so focused on what I was there to achieve but I was missing out as a result of that. Since that was brought to my attention, I’ve applied it to my life and my relationships, even as a parent.
How did your fitness levels fare?
You know where you think your limits are. You might think, right, I go to Crossfit so that means I can do a bit [laughs]. But after a couple of days, you realise you’ve gone way beyond that expectation.
Are your boys impressed by all the tough things you’ve done on the show?
They’re yet to see it. They only listen to a certain amount of my waffle [laughs]. But I think when they watch it they’ll be like: ‘We had no idea you were doing things like that!’