Heat, Pressure and Pride: Celebrity SAS Throws Britain and Australia Into the Fire

Image: Ch4 Press

By Jon Donnis

There is something gripping about watching people who live in the public eye get dropped into a world that cares nothing for fame. The new series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins leans right into that feeling. It arrives on Channel 4 in January 2026 with eight hour-long episodes, and it wastes no time dragging fourteen British and Australian celebrities into the harsh heat of North Africa. The setting is unforgiving. The challenge is even worse. Years of rivalry between the two nations give it an extra bite.

The line-up is a mix of TV personalities, actors, athletes and social media names. Dani Dyer, Gabby Allen and Jessika Power step forward from the world of reality and entertainment. Jack Joseph and Cole Anderson-James turn up without the safety of their online followings. Ryan Moloney and Natalie Bassingthwaighte bring their Neighbours background into a very different kind of drama. Ben Cohen arrives with World Cup glory behind him, while Toby Olubi swaps the arena for something far less predictable. Graeme Swann and Brad Hodge bring international cricket experience, which will only get them so far once the sand hits their teeth. Olympic swimmers Emily Seebohm and Mack Horton, plus actor and musician Axle Whitehead, round out the group. Fourteen people who normally live polished lives, now reduced to recruits with nothing but grit to rely on.

Chief Instructor Billy Billingham MBE leads the Directing Staff, with Foxy, Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver beside him. They are not interested in how well known anyone is. They are not bothered about past medals, follower counts or glossy careers. The moment the recruits step into selection, everything that once protected them is stripped away. No agents. No comfort. No excuses. The staff push them through a condensed version of SAS selection that offers no escape routes. Only sweat, sand, pain and the uncomfortable truth each recruit usually keeps buried.

As the heat builds, so does the pressure. Every mistake is punished. Any weakness is dragged straight into the light. Watching the UK team and the Australian team try to hold themselves together while the staff tear down their confidence becomes a strange mix of tense and compelling. Bonds fracture. Pride takes a beating. People who are used to controlling their own narratives suddenly have no control at all. Some will simply not last. That is part of the pull.

When the final episode arrives, the real question lingers. Will any of them endure long enough to convince the staff they deserve to pass? And once the dust settles on the desert floor, whose flag ends up flying higher? Britain or Australia. The rivalry has never looked quite like this, and by the end, neither side will forget what it cost them.