The season finale of SAS Australia storms onto screens Tuesday, 12 October at 7.30pm on Channel Seven and 7plus. Eighteen Aussie celebrities volunteered to put their privileged lives behind and embark on the toughest test of their lives, and now only five remain.
Under the direction of elite ex-Special Forces soldiers Ant Middleton, Mark “Billy” Billingham, Jason “Foxy” Fox and Ollie Ollerton, recruits have faced a series of physical and psychological tests from the real SAS selection process – on the most gruelling course ever seen in the UK or Australia.
Faced with extreme challenges in unforgiving terrain, the famous faces have eaten, slept, and been tested in punishing conditions, with no allowances or exceptions made for their celebrity status or gender.
Surviving extreme physical endurance, sleep deprivation, interrogation and psychological testing, the remaining men and women will need to push past their fears and their limits in the hope of passing SAS selection.
Entering the SAS selection process was:
Alicia Molik – Tennis Champion
Bonnie Anderson – Singer / Actor
Brynne Edelsten – Socialite
Dan Ewing – Actor
Emma Husar – Former Politician
Erin Holland – TV Presenter
Heath Shaw – AFL Star
Isabelle Cornish – Actor
Jana Pittman – Dual Olympian
Jessica Peris – Sprinter
Jett Kenny – Ironman
John Steffensen – Olympic Medallist
Kerri Pottharst – Beach Volleyball Olympian
Koby Abberton – Bra Boy
Manu Feildel – Celebrity Chef
Mark Philippoussis – Tennis Legend
Pete Murray – Musician
Sam Burgess – NRL Star
Remaining for the final test are:
Dan Ewing – Actor
Jana Pittman – Dual Olympian
John Steffensen – Olympic Medallist
Mark Philippoussis – Tennis Legend
Sam Burgess – NRL Star
In the final day before deciding who makes it through, the remaining five recruits had to dive into the water and swim against the hazardous downdraft of a chopper to a flimsy ladder, before hauling themselves up a terrifying 15 metre climb weighed down by their wet clothes and boots. Worse still, the task was to be complete in just 90 seconds without the safety of a harness.
All five recruits passed the strenuous task, including Jana, who became the first female ever to successfully complete the Ladder Troop Extraction on SAS selection.
In a grim test of the heart, recruits had to write death letters to their loved ones, and were overcome with emotion reading them out to each other.
Finally, recruits then had to muster every ounce of strength for an extreme test of endurance – a merciless two kilometre assault course featuring several obstacles on water and land, designed to push them beyond their capabilities.
Who will pass the selection? “It all comes down to one question,” says chief instructor Ant Middleton. “Would I have this person by my side on the battlefield?”