TV’s toughest show or are the celeb contestants not tough enough? Experts says showbiz SAS: Who Dares Wins recruits might underestimate how gruelling show is after SIX ‘were forced to drop out’
Daily Mail Online
PR experts have said that the celebrities taking part in SAS: Who Dares Wins might be underestimating just how gruelling the show is after a spate of contestants including rugby player Gareth Thomas, Towie star James Argent and The Wanted‘s frontman Siva Kaneswaran were all reportedly forced to pull out of the reality quasi-military training show on medical grounds.
The fifth series, which is currently being filmed in Thailand and due to be broadcast in the UK next year, is thought to have been plunged into chaos after six stars quit with serious injuries.
Three of the famous cast members – Kaneswaran, former Liverpool footballer Jermaine Pennant and Paralympic cyclist Jon-Allan Butterworth – were all reportedly rushed to hospital on the same day after they passed out while marching in the tropical heat while carrying heavy bags under the instruction of the SAS team led by ex-US Navy Recon Marine Rudy Reyes.
And former Love Island star Montana Brown was said to be left in tears after dislocating her kneecap, Thomas was left in agony after pulling a hamstring and Argent – who agreed to take part after losing 14 stone following his lifesaving gastric surgery – contracted trench foot and jungle rot. Insiders claimed that medics discharged the six stars from the programme after they fell ill.
Other contestants in the upcoming series include pop star Gareth Gates, former pin-up Melinda Messenger and Boris Johnson’s ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Speaking to MailOnline today, experts said that Channel 4 bosses will likely ‘stop and think about the legal and reputational implications’ of the injuries, and that ‘negative publicity’ has come at a ‘bad time’ for the broadcaster as Liz Truss’s Government reviews the case for selling it off. They also suggested that the celebrities who were forced to quit the show ‘may not have fully understood’ how physically and mentally demanding the series is – adding: ‘It’s not like Strictly Come Dancing’.
Rochelle White said: ‘I think that this show is one of the hardest shows for reality TV stars. It’s physically and mentally tough. I think that there could be an element of contestants not fully understanding what is needed and expected.
‘Before the show had reality TV stars, it used real people and some of those people had previous experience in something similar. This show isn’t like a Strictly or Dancing on Ice, it’s a lot harder.
‘I feel that there could be pressure to take part and do it and last as long as possible to show how tough they are. But if you haven’t trained like that before or been in that situation it’s a lot to deal with and handle.
‘Looking at the line-up for this year, I feel that some could have gone on the show to boost their brand and maybe pivot how they’re seen, not fully taking into consideration what they’ve signed up for.’
Mark Borkowski added: ‘This is all about due care. The Middletons of the world have these big ideas about what it would be like to put people through difficult challenges in the real world, and in this case it’s clear that it’s not gone to plan. It’s led to a number of serious injuries and I would think it will have caused Channel 4 bosses to stop and think about the legal and reputational implications of what’s happened.
‘Who knows if they’ve received proper training. There could be budgetary concerns and people in television can tend to just rush ideas through, even when they’re not well-formed or even bad. In this case they’re stress-testing the idea that a regular person can become an Army or SAS man on the hoof. This is an idea conflicting badly with the real world.
‘I think this has come at a bad time for Channel 4 too, who don’t want to be getting negative publicity about their programmes at a time where people are talking openly about selling them off. They will want to keep their heads down and hope this blows over. But in the meantime, they should be seriously rethinking how far they want to push people just to entertain their customers. They ought to be making safe, regular programming.’
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