SAS: Who Dares Wins is back on Channel 4 and, as they head into the Jungle Hell of Vietnam, we’ve got a look at this year’s contestants!
The Directing Staff will take 20 ordinary people through the tough jungle conditions of Thung Ui, North Vietnam.
Billy Billingham will take on the role of Chief Instructor this year, with new DS Chris Oliver and the return of Foxy and Rudy Reyes.
Who do you think will survive Jungle Hell to the end?
Meet the recruits here…
Jungle Hell Contestants: Amelia
Amelia, 28, is Recruit Number 1 from London.
Amelia is a Software Account Executive who describes herself as “loud, bubbly, chaotic, and excitable”.
Until the age of 18, Amelia was a competitive swimmer, but she was bullied in school for her muscles.
Amelia now wants to compete in SAS: Who Dares Wins to prove her confidence and that she can care for herself after the breakdown of a long-term relationship.
She described her SAS experience as “life-changing, healing and empowering”.
Recruit 2: Grant
Recruit Number 2 is Grant, 37, from Edinburgh.
Grant is a bin man who lives in Edinburgh with his fiancée and their two dogs Lola and Lucky.
He previously worked as a fitness instructor on cruise ships and in hotels across Europe.
Grant was bullied in school for his love of performing arts, and struggled with his mental health throughout his life.
Last year, Grant was finally diagnosed with ADHD after being prompted by his mum and wants to take part in SAS: Who Dares Wins as a rebirth after his diagnosis.
He said he decided to apply because he “wanted to demonstrate to myself that a number of difficulties I faced could be overcome in an incredibly unnerving and physically challenging environment”.
Joshua on SAS: Who Dares Wins
Recruit Number 3 is Joshua who is a 24 year old from Ilford.
Joshua is an up-and-coming professional boxer who grew up in London with his mother and three siblings.
Joshua was charged with possession of an offensive weapon before the age of 26, but he found boxing which helped turn his life around.
He says he has struggled to show emotions, but now wants to show it’s good to talk and get rid of your demons.
Joshua says Jungle Hell is his “greatest personal achievement to date.”
Recruit Number 4: Hilary
Hilary, 31, is Recruit Number 4.
She is a personal trainer who lives with her two-year-old daughter in Barnet.
She grew up in a traditional Columbian household and competed in athletics when she was younger.
When she was four months pregnant with her daughter, her relationship broke down and she left the baby’s father and suffered from post-natal depression.
She’s now proud to be a single mum but is on SAS to prove she is more than just a single mum.
She said: “I saw SAS as something that would push me and connect me with my true self, by facing fears, finding limits and pushing through barriers.”
SAS: Jungle Hell Contestants: Becky
Becky, 35, is Recruit Number 5.
A housewife and mum from Essex, Becky lives with her husband and son.
When her son was two years old, Becky gave birth to a baby daughter named Darcey.
But when Darcey was just two and a half years old, she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and sadly passed away three weeks later after several attempts to save her life.
Becky says her son is the reason she gets out of bed in the morning, and she wants to prove that she can motivate herself through something without her son.
She said her SAS experience was “so much harder than anyone can ever imagine”.
Stevie is Recruit Number 6
Stevie, 38, is Recruit Number 6.
He is a professional wrestler, from Swansea, Wales.
He goes under the stage name Stevie Starr and was previously signed with WWE in America. When he’s not wrestling, he works as a doorman in a cocktail bar.
Outside of his wrestling, he describes himself as shy. His parents split when he was young, and he hasn’t seen his mum in 18 years.
Stevie says it’s easier to go into the ring and be Stevie Starr than to be his true self in real life. He wants to take on the course to try and gain more self-confidence.
SAS: Jungle Hell contestants: Faye
Faye, 43, is Recruit Number 7.
Faye lives in Leeds with her husband and two sons, where she works as a visiting professor and Director of Operations at an international electronics firm.
She grew up in an abusive household and went into care at age nine, then she moved between 50 different emergency placements.
After leaving the care system at age 16, Faye moved into a council flat where she got her GCSEs through night school.
Faye is currently studying for her pilot’s licence and a PhD.
Despite her achievements, Faye struggles with her confidence and wants to take part in SAS to keep proving herself.
She said she joined the show to “test my resilience and see how I could personally adapt to the brutal conditions that would lie ahead”.
Rosie is Recruit Number 8
Rosie, 22, is Recruit Number 8.
She works in cyber security sales and lives in Basingstoke.
Rosie had a tough childhood with her parents battling substance abuse and mental health issues.
Despite her tough childhood, Rosie is a European jiu-jitsu medallist and multiple-time English and British champion.
She is considering a career in the military and wants to do SAS to see if she is capable of being pushed to her limits.
Rosie said this about her SAS experience: “There were lots of different challenges that I never imagined experiencing and it was ten times harder than it looks on TV.”
SAS: Jungle Hell contestants: Daniel
Daniel, 29, is Recruit Number 9!
He is a professional ballet dancer who lives in Cheshire.
He has danced since the age of six when his sister’s ballet teacher made him join a class while waiting for his sister.
At 15, Daniel got a place at the world-renowned Bolshoi ballet school in Moscow, Russia.
He was only allowed to go home twice a year and had to learn Russian to communicate. He is only the second British person to ever fully graduate from the school.
Daniel wants to take on the SAS course to prove that stereotypes of male ballet dancers aren’t always true.
He said this about the experience: “It was all expected and more. I was excited about all the physical and mental tests to come, and I certainly got them.”
Read more: SAS: Who Dares Wins: Everything we know about Jungle Hell as Channel 4 announces start date
Danica is Recruit Number 10
Danica, 36, is Recruit Number 10.
She is a yoga teacher and health and wellness coach who lives in London.
Danica was very close to her father, who she lived with after her parents split up when she was young.
Her father sadly killed himself last year and, due to covid restrictions, she was unable to see him before he died.
Danica said that she “thinks she has been put on this earth to live a free life and the closer she is to danger, the more alive she feels”.
She is hoping the Jungle Hell course will be the thing that really challenges her.
SAS Jungle Hell contestants: Zac
Zac, 27, is Recruit Number 11.
He is a head chef at a restaurant in Woolacombe, North Devon.
Zac describes himself as someone who struggles with authority figures, as he had a tough family life after his dad left when he was young.
He wants to go on the show after he was sexually abused by a man, which led to years of therapy.
He wants to find purpose in his life, and he says he still has very dark thoughts but exercise helps.
Zac shared: “I wanted to try and conquer my inner demons and unlock my full potential..”
Aliyah joins SAS: Who Dares Wins Jungle Hell
Aliyah, 26, is Recruit Number 12.
Originally born in South Africa, Aliyah moved to the UK when she was a baby and now works as a social media influencer in London.
She has over 175,000 subscribers on Youtube, and says she “fell into” influencing and hasn’t looked back since.
Aliyah recently suffered a miscarriage six months into her pregnancy and documented the experience on her social media.
She became pregnant again but sadly miscarried again at the exact same stage.
She wants to raise awareness of miscarriage and thinks the SAS experience will “heal me in the most twisted of ways, and I want to get my spark back”.
Pete is Recruit Number 13
Pete, 33, is Recruit Number 13.
He is a firefighter from the East Midlands, and has worked for the fire service for the last 15 years.
Pete struggled from being bullied when he was younger and, in an attempt to get stronger, he began to take steroids.
As the habit escalated, he was eventually thrown out of his family home at 18 because his parents found needles in his room.
Pete has now given up steroids and hosts a podcast for the firefighter community where he openly discusses its damaging side effects.
He shared: “We can all be guilty of becoming stale and I want to strip that growing level of comfort and place myself around other passionate, driven and exceptional people who hold themselves to a higher standard.”
Recruit Number 14 is Ross
Ross, 41, is Recruit Number 14.
He is a security manager and former firefighter who lives in Kent.
Ross grew up as a Romany Gypsy, where he was home-schooled in a traditional Gypsy lifestyle without running water or electricity.
He says his parents faced a lot of hatred from the local community and councils and as a result moved around a lot.
Ross sadly lost his father to Covid last year, after he unknowingly gave it to his parents.
He said he wants to do the course to live a “little closer to his childhood dream of being in the Army”.
Scott joins Jungle Hell as Recruit Number 15
Scott, 35, is Recruit Number 15.
He was born in Zimbabwe, but now lives in London with his fiancée.
Scott had a tough upbringing and was moved around a lot as a child.
His family finally settled in Botswana, but he had to cross the border to Zimbabwe every day to go to school.
He eventually went to boarding school where he suffered emotional and physical abuse.
At the age of 18, he moved to the UK for university and finally secured an internship at a bank, where he was the only black trader working on his trading floor.
Scott now works alongside a charity to encourage and support diversity and inclusion in investment banking.
He shared: “I can’t imagine a more fitting experience than SAS to push me past my limits, and act as a catalyst to personal change.”
Jordon is Recruit Number 16
Jordon, 28, is Recruit Number 16.
She is a professional boxer and physical therapist from Newcastle.
Jordon was raised in the travelling community, living in a caravan and spending long periods not going to school.
When she did go to school, she struggled to fit in but knuckled down and achieved good grades.
After coming out as gay when she was 16, Jordon was ostracised by her community.
This dark period caused Jordon to turn to substance abuse and violence, resulting in her waking up one morning with the police at her door investigating a fight that Jordan couldn’t even remember.
Four years ago, Jordan discovered boxing and it became a healthy outlet for her energy and emotions.
She is now a professional boxer and lives with her wife and one-year-old baby.
She said: “I wanted to realise how far I could really push myself and take that into the boxing ring in the hope to one day become world champion.
“I push myself every single day but felt SAS would give me that extra bit of spice and drive.”
SAS Jungle Hell contestants: Jamie
Jamie, 32, is Recruit Number 17.
He is a footballer and model from Bretforton, Worcestershire.
Jamie was born deaf and is the only deaf member of his family.
He was given a cochlear implant when he was six years old and found it overwhelming to hear sounds for the first time.
Jamie now prefers to not wear it as he often prefers the peacefulness of silence.
Jamie began playing for Worcester and was scouted by England’s Deaf Football Team which he now captains.
He has played in major tournaments such as the World Cup, Deaflympics and Euro Champs. He is the highest goal scorer in the GB Deaf team’s history.
Jamie wanted to do the SAS: Who Dares Wins course because he wanted to be taken further out of his comfort zone.
He also wanted to prove that deaf people are just as capable as anyone else.
SAS Jungle Hell contestants: Levi
Levi, 34, is Recruit Number 18.
He is an HGV driver from London.
Levi has previously worked as a ballet shoemaker, a shop assistant and a lighting technician.
He now lives at home with his mum and 16-year-old sister.
Levi was extremely close to his brother Joshua but in 2013 he came home to find him dead in the bath, as he had died of a brain haemorrhage.
The traumatic event led him to start drinking every day and he was in an extremely bad place mentally.
Levi decided to move to the Middle East to stop drinking, and focused on Ju Jitsu as a force for self-discipline.
He recently got rejected from the paratroopers, something that he had wanted to do since he was a child, because he has a tattoo on his face in memory of his brother.
Levi wants to celebrate how far he has come since his brother’s death and show himself how strong he really is.
Anne is Recruit Number 19
Anne, 41, is Recruit Number 19.
She lives on a farm in Rugby with her husband and two children where she works as a horse riding coach.
She says being a farmer’s wife means she is constantly providing for others and often forgets about what she wants for herself.
Anne also often feels guilty about wanting to do things for herself.
Anne wants to take on the course to regain more of her own identity and prove to herself that she doesn’t have to feel guilty for doing things that are just for her.
She shared: “You only live once, my motto is to ‘take every opportunity’.
“For me, it was the excitement, the challenge and the journey. Also to push my own boundaries to test my own self-doubt.”
Charlotte is Recruit Number 20
Charlotte, 27, is Recruit Number 20.
She lives in Leeds where she works as a lifestyle nutritionist.
Charlotte was born into a very competitive family, with three sisters who excelled at swimming. Charlotte preferred 10m diving and running ultra-marathons.
Three years ago, Charlotte was raped and subsequently suffered severe panic attacks and depression.
As a result, she has major trust issues and wants to break this down and move forward.
She wants to take on the course to expand her horizons and also looks forward to being surrounded by people and knowing that they’ll have her back.
SAS: Who Dares Wins Jungle Hell begins on Monday, January 23 at 9pm on Channel 4. Episodes are available on All4 after airing.
So, what do you think of these contestants? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.