Jennifer Ellison has revealed she suffered a number of injuries while taking part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The former Brookside star joined 14 other contestants in the Channel 4 show, which will air today, Sunday, September 4. The celebs were whisked off to the Jordanian desert to take part in one of the toughest SAS selection courses, reports the Daily Star.
Other stars taking part in the show include EastEnders actress Maisie Smith, ex-footballer and reality star Ashley Cain, TV personality Calum Best, and javelin Olympic gold medallist Fatima Whitbread. But Liverpool-born actress Jennifer revealed why she wanted to take part in the show.
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She said: I wanted to do it because I'd not done anything for so long. I've had this kind of break from what I grew up doing and love doing, and kind of lost my identity a little bit. So the opportunity came along and I just thought, 'I'm going to grab it with both hands and see I can still do my stuff'.
"It was more of a challenge for me personally, to see if I could test myself and kind of remember who I am and the fire I used to have inside of me."
During her time on the show, the 39-year-old suffered from some awful injuries. She revealed she ended up in hospital when she broke two ribs, developed an infection in her lung and damaged her spleen.
The accident actually happened early on. Jennifer added: "After I jumped from a helicopter, I hit my ribs and then I could feel a pain in my side.
"When I got back to the UK it was getting worse, so I went to A&E. They told me, ‘You’ve got broken ribs, blood in your lung and a bleeding spleen’. The infection in my lung was really nasty.”
Jennifer was kept in hospital for three days and given vital intravenous antibiotics so she wouldn’t need an operation. She then had to endure months of recovery.
She said: “It was really painful for a very long time. I was sitting in bed laid flat. I couldn’t take a deep breath, so I had to blow into a machine.”
But despite what she went through, Jennifer said she was glad she want on the tough show. She said: “The only way I can describe this show is inhumane. There were times when I worried about dying.
“I was thinking ‘What they’re doing to us cannot be legal’. It was the worst pain imaginable. But the reward was life-changing. It’s really given me a kick up the backside to sort myself out, so it was worth it for me.
Jennifer is now a regular at the gym and has shed a whopping five stone. She added: “I was in a rut before the show. I gained so much weight. But now I feel like a new woman.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins started on Sunday, September 4 on Channel 4.
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