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Celebrity SAS winners make history after ‘brutal’ finale
After trekking through the desert, surviving a war zone and crashing a helicopter into water, only three recruits remained after the tense finale of Channel 4’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Fourteen celebrities put their minds and bodies through the ultimate test of resilience, but history was made in the first ever all-female lineup of finalists.
Love Island stars Dani Dyer and Gabby Allen, and former Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm remained right until the end after fellow recruits Ben Cohen and Mack Horton quit.
Airing on Monday night, the last of eight episodes of Celebrity SAS saw the five finalists face one last test.
Over the previous episodes, Chief Instructor Billy Billingham and his Directing Staff, Jason Fox, Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver, had put the recruits through their paces.
But, entering the hardest part of the selection course – the condensed version of SAS training – the group were handed over to interrogators.
Deprived of sleep and put through intense questioning between challenges, former rugby player Ben, 47, and Mack, 29, tapped out, leaving the three women standing.
Delivering the final verdict, Billy, 60, said: ‘Eight days ago you came from both sides of the world. Fourteen arrived. Three stand before us.
‘Just because you stand on the finish line doesn’t mean you’ve passed this course.’
‘It’s a rare moment to say — congratulations to all three of you. You’ve passed this course.’
The series has certainly been tough
Reflecting on her win, Dani said: ‘Every single moment was horrendous. But to hear that I’d passed — it’s the best feeling in the world.
‘If I can do this, I can do anything. I definitely am a lot stronger than what I think I am. I can’t believe I’ve actually been able to do it. I’m really proud of myself.
‘We are strong women. We go through so much as women, mentally and physically.’
Gabby also added: ‘I can’t believe that out of fourteen people, it’s us. Well, I can — because we’re boss b*****s.’
Discussing hers and Dani’s Love Island past, Gabby continued by saying: ‘Two girls from Love Island showing everyone what we can do.’
Emily also said: ‘When we were un-bagged and it was just the three of us standing there, I thought we’d been picked out as the weak ones.
‘I couldn’t have been prouder of the girls. We spent the whole time lifting each other up and reminding ourselves how strong we were.
‘I wasn’t surprised it was the three women, but I was surprised the two guys [Ben and Mack] didn’t make it because they were so strong.
‘Every time I struggled, I pictured my son in his dinosaur pyjamas. I could see him so clearly, and it gave me strength.
This comes after Celeb SAS star Ben revealed his daughter’s devastating heart condition.
The former England rugby player described his ‘horrendous’ past 18 months in a previous episode following his on-off relationship with Kristina Rihanoff.
During tense interrogation scenes, Ben said that he wants to be a ‘pillar of strength’ for his daughters – twins Isabelle and Harriette, 17, and Milena, nine.
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is available to stream on Channel 4.
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