The new recruits for the upcoming series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins has been revealed. They include former footballer Ashley Cain, soap star Maisie Smith and Love Island winner Amber Gill.
The gruelling Channel 4 show is returning next month with its biggest line-up featuring 14 famous names being put through their paces in the heat of the Jordanian desert. The series will also be the longest yet with seven 60-minute episodes.
The original SAS: Who Dares Wins sees civilians put through military training exercises to test their physical and mental strength, and the celebrity spin-off launched in 2019. Cain, whose daughter Azaylia died of leukaemia in April last year at the age of eight months, said: "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."
Former EastEnders star Smith said: "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." Also taking part are Brookside actress Jennifer Ellison, TV personality Calum Best, javelin Olympic gold medallist Fatima Whitbread and The Only Way Is Essex cast member Pete Wicks.
Reality TV personality Ferne McCann, Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard and his former Love Island contestant brother Curtis, Olympic sprinter Dwain Chambers, taekwondo Olympic gold medallist Jade Jones, boxer Shannon Courtenay and Paralympic high jumper Jonathan Broom-Edwards will also feature. McCann, who appeared on The Only Way Is Essex, added: "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." Former US Marine Rudy Reyes, 50, is also returning as chief instructor to lead the training course, after replacing Ant Middleton.
Reyes 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."
Channel 4 severed ties with Middleton, 41, in March last year over his "personal conduct" and confirmed he would not be taking part in further series. Middleton said it was his decision to quit the programme because it had become a "reality show".
