Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returns to Channel 4 on Sunday 4 September at 9pm, with the biggest celebrity line up and longest series yet, as FOURTEEN new well-known faces are confronted with the most brutal Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins selection course yet across an epic SEVEN 60-minute episodes.
Leaving their glamorous showbiz lifestyles behind in the UK, to be put through a series of gruelling tasks and interrogations in the blistering heat of the Jordanian desert are actresses, Maisie Smith (21) and Jennifer Ellison (39), TV Personality and Entrepreneur, Calum Best (41); Javelin Olympic Gold Medallist, Fatima Whitbread MBE (61); Reality TV Stars, Pete Wicks (33) and Ferne McCann (32); Ex-Footballer, Philanthropist, Ashley Cain (31); Influencer, Amber Gill (25); Professional Dancer, AJ Pritchard (27); Professional Dancer and TV Personality, Curtis Pritchard (26); Olympic Sprinter, Dwain Chambers (44); Taekwondo Olympic Gold Medallist, Jade Jones (29), Professional Boxer, Shannon Courtenay (29) and Paralympic High Jumper, Jonathan Broom-Edwards MBE (34).
There will be no special treatment for the celebrities. Instead, each celebrity recruit will be tested to their physical and psychological limits, as they confront surprising truths about themselves, to discover their true selves. Not everyone will have what it takes to make it to the end of this unique version of SAS selection, in one of the harshest training environments on the planet.
Returning to run this condensed selection course are the elite team of ex-special forces operators from the UK and USA - Chief Instructor, Rudy Reyes and his team of Directing Staff (DS), Foxy (Jason Fox), Billy (Mark Billingham) and Remi Adeleke. The DS don’t care how famous the recruits are, how many social media followers they have or what they have done before this. As soon as they enter the selection process, their celebrity status and luxuries are stripped away.
Reflecting on their Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins experience, the celebrity recruits commented:
AJ Pritchard: “It was enlightening. Everything about the show is so positive. Even in the most dangerous scenarios there’s always a positive to take from it. This was a massive life goal ticked. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.”
Amber Gill: “Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is a massive test of who you are as an individual. I learnt so much about myself that I didn’t expect in such a short space of time, but let me tell you, it’s really f*cking hard!”
Ashley Cain: “Losing my daughter was the most difficult experience of my life. I think to combat trauma you need to step outside your comfort zone and see who you really are. There’s no better way to do that than on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, so when the opportunity came, I took it with both hands!”
Calum Best: “I’ve wanted to do this show since it started. It’s the coolest, most intriguing, entertaining show on TV because it shows people being challenged in a way you never get to see. It looked terrifying but I’d been asking for it for so long, so bring it on!”
Curtis Pritchard: “I’ve always been into pushing myself to the extreme, but let’s be honest, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is the most extreme show on TV. It’s seeing whether you can cope, whether you can go to hell and back and come out the other side stronger and better. I really wanted to see if I had what it takes!”
Dwain Chambers: “I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone, but I didn’t know what I’d let myself in for! It takes you through a series of lows that make you realise who you are. You're either somebody who crumbles under pressure, or you step up. And every single one of us stepped up. I loved every single bit of it. Would I do it again? Hell no! But I’m glad I did it.”
Fatima Whitbread: “As a young woman I was always adventurous and living in a children’s home, I was tough and had a survival instinct, so doing Celebrity SAS: Who Dares is really a knock on from those days. I’d have liked to have done it as a young Whitbread, but I think I’ve flown the flag for older women!”
Ferne McCann: “It just felt like the right time in my life to be challenged. I had no idea what to expect but I wanted to see how tough it really is. You’re stripped of everything, broken down to the point you have no choice but to build yourself back up again. It was the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m so glad I’ve done it.”
Jade Jones: “After losing at the Olympics I wanted to figure myself out, I wanted to see just how tough I really am because I think I’m a bit of a baby when it comes to anything other than fighting! But I had no idea how tough it really is, they make it look easy on TV but when you’re in it, it’s brutal!”
Jennifer Ellison: “Going on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is like labour - you go to hell and back but then you get the most incredible reward at the end which stays with you for life. It changes you and I’ll never be the same again, I’m so thankful for the experience.”
Jonathan Broom-Edwards: “It’s the best experience. I would recommend it to anyone because I came out knowing more about myself and that I can endure much more hardship than I ever thought possible. I’ve taken those lessons into my everyday life moving forward!"
Maisie Smith: "I’ve seen the show before and I really wanted to put my mental strength to the test. I’ve always pushed myself but this was beyond limits I didn’t even know I had. It was the best experience of my life..."
Pete Wicks: “I’m fortunate to have a very pampered life, so to get the chance to test what you're truly made of was an opportunity I just couldn’t turn down.”
Shannon Courtenay: "People only know me in the ring, they don’t know what I’m really like as a person, so I wanted to show the real me, the vulnerable side to me. If any show is going to break you down like that, it’s SAS: Who Dares Wins!"
No allowances or exceptions will be made for this group of celebrities. Talking about this year’s celebrity recruits, the DS commented:
Chief Instructor, Rudy said: “SAS is renowned for having the highest standards. We don’t care where they come from or what their net worth is. We demand full throttle excellence no matter celebrity, title or fame.”
Foxy added: “This is the hardest hit bunch of celebs to date! Fact. In this year’s helping of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, you get plenty of strength, weakness, dark times, easily some of the funniest comments/moments and huge, huge surprises! I’ll leave to you to decide who delivers on which front. Celebrities, you know who you are! They who dare ultimately stand there deservedly!”
Billy continued: “These celebrities will learn quickly that image and egos count for nothing. Many will try, but few will be chosen!!!”
Remi concluded: “They definitely paid the man…IN FULL. There was no holding back on our part, just because they were celebrities.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is a Minnow Films production for Channel 4. The Executive Producers are Alicia Kerr, Benjamin Leigh, Sebastian Grant and Jo Hughes, the Series Producer is Charlotte Gillies and Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for Science and Adventure is Jonah Weston.
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For further information, interview requests and to view the programmes, please contact:
Gail Davidson - gail@gaildavidsonpr.co.uk
Picture Enquiries to:
Carl Palmer - CAPalmer@Channel4.co.uk