Tonight on SAS Australia, 18 celebrities volunteered to put their privileged lives behind and embark on the toughest test of their lives – a condensed, but very real, version of the Special Forces selection course.
Under the direction of Chief Instructor Ant Middleton and the DS (Directing Staff) Mark “Billy” Billingham, Jason “Foxy” Fox and Ollie Ollerton, these star recruits were forced to endure a shocking tear gassing exercise before even entering the compound, the first step in stripping them of their egos.
“Everyone thinks they’re hardcore until they get f*cking gassed,” said Middleton.
Surprised by the biggest recruit reacting so strongly to the tear gas, the DS brought #16 Sam Burgess into the Mirror Room for questioning, where he proceeded to come clean about the personal events which brought him there.
“I just completed 28 days of rehab because my last 18 months have been crazy,” said Burgess. “Everything I’ve touched turned to sh*t, I’ve lost it all.”
The recruits’ world of pain and suffering continued, with a dangerous test of endurance – a helicopter ladder crossing high above a lake – which proved too challenging for some.
One of the few to successfully complete the task, recruit #17 Alicia Molik, received a brutal dressing down from Middleton after a blatant display of showboating. As punishment, all recruits faced their first beasting back on the Parade Square.
Collapsing under the pressure, #3 Brynne Edelsten became the first recruit to VW (voluntarily withdraw) from the course, stating: “Even though I’m disappointed I’m leaving, I know that I need to because my body is not strong enough to keep doing these things.
“But I have no regrets about this, if anything it encourages me to keep going and see what I can do in the future,” said Edelsten.
