Celebrity SAS 2024 lands on Channel 4 later this month and there’s a tough twist for the 15 game celebrities who’ve been recruited to the latest edition of the reality show.
Here’s everything we know…
Celebrity SAS 2024 release date
Series 6 of Celebrity SAS 2024: Who Dares Wins is due to air on Channel 4 every Sunday and Monday from 22 September at 9pm. It will also be available to stream on channel4.com. Season 6 will be the longest series in the show’s history with 8 hour-long episodes.
Celebrity SAS 2024 line up
Famous faces from the worlds of entertainment, sport and journalism have agreed to take part in what is being billed as a “unique version of the Special Forces selection.”
The C4 press release also says: “This year’s course will be physically demanding and psychologically gruelling; all but a few who take part will fail, but who will make it to the end and eventually pass?”
The 15 celebrities are:
Actor John Barrowman (56)
“I'm always somebody who's up for a challenge, and I just really wanted to give it a whirl,” says Doctor Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman.
Journalist Rachel Johnson (57)
“This experience was much more than I was expecting. I mean, given how ghastly reality television can be, this was top notch. Really top notch,” says Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel.
DJ and reality TV star Bianca Gascoigne (36)
“This was a chance for me to really show people what I'm made of,” says Bianca, the daughter of former England footballer Paul Gascoigne. “It was literally life changing.”
TV personality - and returning Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins recruit - Pete Wicks (34)
“After being medically withdrawn in Jordan, I felt like I hadn't given it my best, and that bothered me,” says reality star Pete Wicks. “So when I got an opportunity to go back, I jumped in! And I would do it again!” (More on this below).
Former England Rugby Captain Chris Robshaw (37)
“I wanted to see how far I could push myself and how far I could go - it was just absolutely amazing,” says Chris Robshaw.
TV presenter Cherry Healey (42)
“It's impossible to prepare yourself mentally, physically, emotionally for this. It's more than you could ever prepare for,” reveals Cherry Healey. “It was everything. It was the most amazing, awful experience of my life.”
Ex-Professional Boxer Anthony Ogogo (34)
“This is one of the best shows on telly,” says Anthony. “I wanted to push myself…and it was life changing.”
Love-Islander and campaigner Georgia Harrison (28)
“It completely lived up to my expectations. It was like something off a movie…. it was just brilliant,” says Georgia Harrison. “As much as there were times that I had to overcome the challenges I had to overcome, I wouldn't change it for the world.”
Reality TV star and radio host Bobby Norris (36)
“I've got so many fears and phobias, and I've let them control my life for so long,” reveals Bobby Norris. “I decided that if I could try and even tackle one of them, I'd be happy. This was a once in a lifetime experience.”
Influencer Marnie Simpson (31)
“I definitely didn't comprehend how tough it would be,” confesses Marnie Simpson. “It was very raw and very real!”
Former Olympic Gymnast Ellie Downie (23)
“Everyone told me it would be difficult, that the challenges are really hard, and the DS are really strict,” reflects Ellie Downie. “I thought it can't be that bad, surely. It was! It exceeded my expectations.”
Comedian Tez Ilyas (40)
“Being on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins surpassed all expectations,” says Tez Ilyas. “It was harder and more fun than I could have possibly imagined. It was uncomfortable. It was awful. It was brilliant..”
Pro Basketball Player Ovie Soko (32)
“It blew me away,” admits Ovie Soko. “You kind-of see what to expect on TV, but you don't really know until you get there. You don't know how bad it is, the bad things that you have to do - you just don't know the reality of it. But it was incredible. Absolutely incredible. I had one of the best experiences I think I've had in my life.”
World Heavyweight Champion Boxer Lani Daniels (34)
“It’s been one of the best experiences I've done in my life,” says Lani Daniels. “It's something that I will forever be grateful for. I think it exceeded my expectations.”
Comedian Shazia Mirza (51)
“I learned that if I can do this, I can probably do anything,” says Shazia Mirza, who took part in Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls, another C4 survival series which both Pete Wicks and Anthony Ogogo have taken part in at different times.
Celebrity SAS 2024 — Special Forces experts
Season 6 of Celebrity SAS 2024 is run by four ex-Special Forces soldiers:
Chief Instructor Billy Billingham and his team of Directing Staff (DS), Jason ‘Foxy’ Fox, Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver.
Commenting on this year’s group of celebrity recruits, Chief Instructor Billy says: “As our course progresses, the standards expected will never faulter. From the very first second, the recruits will be expected to give 100%. Anyone not doing so will be gone before they have time to make their excuses. Our time is invaluable - we will not waste it on anyone not worthy.”
DS Foxy says: "For the celebrities who think they know what they're in for and think they know what they're going to get, their arrogance will be their undoing. Once these celebrities are dehooded and into the course they are going to be slapped in the face with uncertainty. They're not going to know what is around the corner, but I can guarantee them it will be pain and suffering. It's going to be brutal from the onset all the way to the very end and the celebrities this year are going to have to dig deeper than they've ever dug before if they want to get to the end.”
DS Rudy comments: “We demand the raw materials of toughness, durability and discipline in our recruits. Just as our Selection demanded of us during our long walk. The New Zealand terrain, below zero temperatures and, finally, the DS ourselves will make this evolution the most severe of schools for these celebrities. Who has the fire in the heart to combat the brutal cold and pain of winter warfare? We will soon find out.”
DS Chris adds: “As a former Royal Marines mountain leader, I know first hand what it takes to operate in a cold weather environment where temperatures plummet below zero in a flash. Even the most basic tasks drain every ounce of your energy, you cannot operate alone. Teamwork will be essential for survival. New Zealand is like Wales on steroids. It’s got it all, making this the most challenging course to date. It will truly test the celebrity’s determination to succeed.”
Former Special Forces psychologist Dr Alia Bojilova is also joining the team this year.
Celebrity SAS 2024 — filming locations
This time the DS are taking the celebrities even further away than they have in the past. Halfway across the world in fact. The famous 15 undergo winter warfare training in the South Islands of New Zealand.
From C4: “The New Zealand landscape might look breathtaking, but looks are deceiving for this year’s group of celebrity recruits who will experience the brutal mountain environment and weather conditions used to prepare the UK military for winter warfare operations. There will be no glamour and no luxuries for these privileged celebrities. These famous faces will abandon their glamorous lifestyles and will be exposed to constant cold and wet in a punishing one stop shop of Special Forces training environments.”
Twists and turns...
The DS plans to pile on the pressure with a new approach. Celebrity SAS 2024 will see the fearsome foursome abandoning the approach of previous series where they whittled down the contestants by culling the weakest recruits. This time round the DS wants all of the celebrities to (and we’re quoting from the press pack here) “suffer optimal punishment by staying through to the end of the hellish eight day course, far, far away from home comforts, families, agents and social media!”
This series sees a new weapon in their arsenal with the addition of former Special Forces psychologist Dr Alia Bojilova, who will provide them assistance as they attempt to get as many of these celebrities over the line as possible.
TOWIE star Pete Wicks returns to the format after being forced to withdraw from Celebrity SAS 2022 after breaking his ribs during a challenge in episode 2 season 4.
Season 6 is the longest series in the show’s history with 8 hour-long episodes.
Is there a trailer?
Yes, here you go...
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins season 6 — episode guide
Episode 1
DISCOMFORT
Celebrities who think they have what it takes to pass the SAS selection are pushed to their limit, and beyond, by an elite team of ex-special forces operators. Fifteen recruits from the worlds of entertainment, sport and journalism have signed up to take part in the hardest course yet, as Chief Instructor Billy and his team take them halfway across the world for winter warfare training on New Zealand's South Island.
For their first task, the celebs must traverse the Trainasium: parallel metal bars suspended 335 feet in the air. After that, the recruits' mindsets will be tested under extreme pressure when they must stage an intense hostage rescue mission. It's all too much for one contender...
John Barrowman who began the programme saying: "This course is going to help me push through this, and I want people to see the kind of person that I really am... if I pass this course, it will mean the world to me," sadly, feeling very unwell, called it quits approximately 32 minutes into the show explaining: "I'm done. It's not for me. I know who I am, I know what I'm about, it's not for me."
Episode 2
DISCIPLINE
This episode focuses on the Special Forces' high levels of discipline. In the first task, a terrifying feat tests the celebrities both mentally and physically as they race in a forward abseil down a 300-foot working dam. Then, under cover of darkness, the recruits must perform one of the most feared tasks: the backwards dive.
Episode 3
OPPOS
In this episode, attention turns to 'oppos': Special Forces lingo for partners who are expected and needed to support each other during moments of hardship. The first task is the ultimate test of strength and endurance as the pairs have to pull heavy equipment across icy mountain terrain. But next, the recruits must each face their oppo in hand-to-hand combat. Can they look beyond the bonds they've built and drive through with pure aggression? For some it's too much...
At the beginning of the first challenge Marnie Simpson calls it quits after a wardrobe malfunction in tough terrain overwhelms her, leaving Anthony Ogogo partnerless. Some time afterwards Tez Ilyas is kicked out, meaning Pete Wicks must undertake the remainder of the task alone.
In the combat challenge Chris Robshaw is removed by the medical team after a shoulder injury, while the remaining candidates stay to fight another day.
Episode 4
NERVE
The remaining recruits are put through the ultimate test of their nerve. For their first task - one of the most terrifying the directing staff have ever devised - they'll have to escape from a simulated helicopter crash in near freezing water. And then two of the recruits must keep their composure as they're selected as team leaders in a high-stakes race across a lake.
The helidunk task proves much for Ellie Downie, who becomes the fifth recruit to leave. For the second challenge everyone else is split into two teams for the 'race to base,' and spells the end of Rachel Johnson's time on the challenge show.
Episode 5
CONTROL
As the course reaches its latter stages, the directing staff are pushing the recruits even further. This time, the celebs are given the task of protecting a VIP travelling through the New Zealand wilderness.
The intensity of the course ramps up with a beasting, and after days of being pushed extra hard, one recruit reaches breaking point and falls dangerously behind. Can they align their mental and physical capabilities, or will they have to accept defeat and hand in their armband?
After being put through their paces until either one recruit quits or is removed Shazia Mirza was withdrawn from the process.
Elsewhere, Ovie Soko was pushed to the edge over a comment over his clothing and considered walking away, but ultimately stayed.
Episode 6
SURVIVAL
The remaining eight recruits are physically and mentally exhausted. Will their survival instincts help them make it to the next phase?
They must plunge into freezing cold water in the New Zealand mountains, and then channel their aggression to take down the Redman.
Finally, after a day of physical exhaustion, their emotional resolve is tested as the directing staff get them to read death letters for their families.
After a tough 2km trek, the Winter warfare icebreaking drills training proved to be a step too far for Pete Wicks, who walked away from the process.
Episode 7
The remaining celebrity recruits are now entering the penultimate phase of the course and must work in teams to move equipment and ammunition over treacherous and physically draining terrain.
To further exhaust them, the directing staff make them wrestle in the mud. One recruit is deemed the king of the ring but for another it's the end of the road.
Finally, the celebs are ambushed and sent out on escape-and-evasion, where they go on the run in the dead of night pursued by the hunter force. Who will survive and what will be left of them?
Episode 8
In the series finale, the four remaining celebrity recruits are ambushed behind enemy lines and handed to the feared interrogators for questioning. The recruits must then face the most intense phase of the course as they attempt to recall their cover story and hide their true mission from a specialist team with over 30 years of experience in war zones.
The interrogators put them through psychological and physical punishment designed to break their will and force a confession. The end is in sight, but will any of the recruits have what it takes to finish?
Additional information
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is a Minnow Films production for Channel 4. The Executive Producers for series five are Liam Humphreys and Joe Wildman, the Series Producer is Freddie Foss-Smith and Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for Science and Adventure is Jonah Weston.
