SAS: Australia is arguably the most gruelling and challenging reality shows the country has ever seen, and the celebrity recruits aren’t afraid to admit it.
Seventeen famous faces have volunteered to take on the intense SAS selection course run by an elite team of ex-special forces soldiers known as the Directing Staff.
However, unlike your typical reality show, no one was voted out or nominated for elimination at first – there won’t even be an outright winner. Instead, the recruits can choose when they want to throw in the towel.
“You are all volunteers here,” Chief Instructor Ant Middleton told the celebrities in the premiere episode.
“Anytime you want to leave, you say two letters – VW, you voluntarily withdraw yourself from this course. You take your armband off and you hand it to myself or one of the DS, is that understood?”
“There’s no shame in quitting because ultimately if you quit on the battlefield, it’s gonna cost a life.”
With challenges that would terrify even the fittest and strongest individuals, it didn’t take long for the VWs to happen.
However as the show entered the final stages, the DS started to cull those who they feel doesn’t have the attitude of a special forces recruit.
“A culling isn’t personal, you might get all the way to the end of the course and be cold, and it’s just that you don’t fit the mould,” Ant explained.
“At the end of the day, it’s about ‘Would I have this person stood next to me in a war zone?'”
Here’s who has left SAS: Australia so far.
Roxy Jacenko
She was only there for six hours, but “Number One” PR maven and entrepreneur Roxy became the number one to go due to an ongoing injury.
Roxy, 40, explained via social media that she’d fractured her hip and pelvis after a horse riding injury six weeks before filming started but had decided to go on the show regardless. However, when the pain became too much, the businesswoman knew she had to go.
“What a disaster!” she mused after leaving.
“I’ve always had the mindset of take every opportunity that comes your way but people think that I can’t or won’t, or wouldn’t expect it and that’s been every single thing I’ve done.
“But for me, it doesn’t matter what everybody else thinks, it doesn’t matter if you get to day 12 or day two, the fact that I’ve actually taken the punt to do it with determination and grit no matter what, that’s enough for me.”
Arabella Del Busso
Glamour model Arabella laid all her scandals out in front of the DS but left after feeling rattled by the intense interrogation.
The ex NRL WAG, 30, had a night to sleep on her decision but ultimately chose to VW and return to the real world.
“I’ve had to survive, I’ve had to make mistakes along the way to be able to realise ‘You know what you can’t do that in life.’ But it is what it is, I can’t take it back – it’s just a matter of moving forward now,” “Number Four” Arabella admitted.
Schapelle Corby
She became an unexpected fan favourite in the first episode when she refused to be defined by her drug smuggling past.
But a tearful Schapelle, 40, decided she’d “had enough” on SAS during a brutal running challenge where she struggled to keep up with the other recruits.
Also known as “Number Nine”, the convicted drug smuggler confessed that though she has good mind control, her endurance hadn’t been pushed that far in her life.
“It’s time to create a new life for myself,” she added before leaving.
Mitchell Johnson
Our hearts broke when ex cricket player Mitchell Johnson (or “Number 15” as he’s better known on the show) decided to end his time as a recruit after a team log-carrying challenge.
“I just thought mentally I’d be a bit stronger,” a tearful Mitchell said when he called his wife at home after handing over his number.
However, we also saw a softer side to chief of directing staff Ant Middleton gave the former athlete a kind hug and praised him for his “amazing effort” adding that he was absolutely gutted a front-runner was going.
“I trained so hard and it just got in my head,” Mitchell confessed.
Eden Dally
Faced with his fear of heights and a past trauma when he tried to save a drowning man, Eden couldn’t complete the rope crawl across a rocky chasm over the ocean.
The former Love Island contestant, known as “Number 17”, was disappointed at the hurdle that he just “couldn’t get over” but admitted he gave it his 100 per cent best.
“I’ve given it my best shot and I just want my son to smile and be proud of me,” dad-of-one Eden confessed ahead of his departure.
Shayna Jack
“Number 13”, swimming superstar Shayna Jack, was tested during the rope crawl challenge and intense interrogation about her career scandal but after being pushed to her physical limits during the beach beasting, she couldn’t take any more.
“I’ve still got to think about the fact that I’ve got my swimming career and I won’t stop fighting and I will clear my name. That’s all that matters to me,” she said.
Ali Oetjen
She endured brutal physical beastings on top of an interrogation around her highly-publicised love-life, but “Number 16” Ali didn’t end up making it to the end.
When tasked with jumping out of a helicopter into a freezing cold lake, Ali VW’d in tears but remarked that she was very proud of what she had achieved.
“I feel like all that pain and suffering and the growth that I’ve had is absolutely immeasurable,” she confessed after leaving the show.
Jackson Warne
Drained by an intense pack march, “Number 3” Jackson Warne was given the option to VW by Ant Middleton when he couldn’t keep up with the rest of the group.
Although Ant said that Jackson made the right decision to hand over his number, he added: “You are so far behind but yet personally you have come so far. This nightmare is over for you, well done.”
“The course has physically and mentally broken me and I can’t do anymore,” the 21-year-old admitted before sharing a tearful video call with his cricket legend dad, Shane Warne.
“I’m walking away knowing that I gave everything I’ve got.”
Firass Dirani
He caused his fellow recruits a fair amount of grief with his cheeky attitude, but Firass Dirani became the first recruit to be culled by the DS.
Known as “Number 11”, the actor still received praise from chief instructor Ant Middleton who called him “louder than life” and admitted he saw a lot of traits in Firass that he also saw in himself.
“I’m feeling relieved because I really did put everything I had out there. I’m quite stubborn and I’ve been a clown all my life – there is no way I can change myself you know, so be it,” Firass admitted as he walked out.
And in his trademark, fun-loving way, the 36-year-old left Base Camp singing: “Free at last, God almighty I’m free at last!”
Candice Warner
She was something of a front-runner at the start but “Number Two” Candice Warner was culled with Firass by the DS for showing weakness, particularly after the trek through the snowy mountains.
“I think realistically today was my limit, it was tough,” Candice told her husband David Warner on the phone after she was eliminated.
“What I’ll take from this is how far I can actually push myself,” she stated, adding that she knew David and her children “will be super proud.”
“I chose to sign up to SAS to mainly show my three daughters that if you put your mind to something and you really want to achieve something, you can.”
Erin McNaught
Former Miss Universe Erin McNaught voluntarily withdrew from the process after she was pushed to her limits and couldn’t keep up with her fellow recruits in a beasting.
In fact, it was they who had to be punished as a result by being made to hold 20kg sandbags over their head whilst “Number Seven” Erin caught up.
“You’ve done the right thing, believe it or not, because they’re going to stop suffering now,” Ant told Erin after she handed in her number.
Following her VW, Erin confessed: “I’m not going to be disappointed in myself because I was crippled by worrying about not living up to other people’s expectations and now I’ve finally stopped caring so much about what other people think and I feel like now I’m finally ready to realise my full potential.”
Shannan Ponton
In an out-of-the-blue move, former Biggest Loser trainer Shannan Ponton decided to VW after a night of sleeping on his decision, admitting he couldn’t continue one more day on the course in the freezing temperatures.
“Not only that, all of a sudden I get the same f***ing crazy vision that I got when I had hypothermia. I was shaking like s*** and as we go into this course I’m going to become more of a burden, I just can’t work in the cold,” he admitted.
0Shannan, who was known as “Number Eight” added: “I honestly believe at 46 this is reset time for me. I’ll be able to show my kids that the process was more important than just winning at the end.”
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