Seven has confirmed casting details of the first five celebrities who will take on one of the toughest tests of their lives in SAS Australia.
Former Bali inmate Schapelle Corby, comedian Merrick Watts, retired ironwoman Candice Warner, rugby star Nick Cummins and PR queen Roxy Jacenko will endure an extraordinary series of physical and psychological tests from the real SAS selection process.
These star recruits, plus more to be announced including a leading actor, a gold medallist, a model and one of Australia’s best sportsmen, will be cut off from the outside world at a secret base in the Snowy Mountains where they will eat, sleep and train together in punishing conditions, with no allowances or exceptions made for their celebrity status or gender.
Putting the celebrity recruits through the gruelling SAS course is an elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers – Chief Instructor Ant Middleton and his Directing Staff (DS) Jason “Foxy” Fox, Ollie Ollerton and Mark “Billy” Billingham from the UK version of the series.
A key component of the challenge is that the DS don’t know or care who the celebrities are. Each participant will be given a number upon arrival, and this is how they will be referred to throughout the series.
The celebrity cast will be subjected to extreme physical endurance, sleep deprivation, interrogation and psychological testing; these men and women will be pushed beyond their limits.
Some will reach breaking point and withdraw. Who will have the mental strength to tough it out to the end?
Chief Instructor Ant Middleton said:
“There is no set mould for passing SAS selection. You need courage, determination, that never give up attitude but ultimately the strength of mind to carry on, even when faced with your demons and biggest fears.”
SAS Australia is based on a successful UK format where five seasons have already been produced. Seven had initially intended to film the adventure series earlier this year in New Zealand, but COVID travel restrictions led to production moving back to Australia
Seven’s Director of Programming Angus Ross said:
“We have an absolutely killer celebrity cast who are all in for a shock. SAS Australia is no game – it is the toughest test. The course is brutal, and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, there is no special treatment which makes for utterly engrossing television.”
The series is produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group company, based on a Minnow Films format.
