Why do I feel like Stephanie Rice has already been on it?
Extended trailer aired tonight in between Seven News and AFL finals coverage.
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Craig McLachlan part of the cast this coming season.
Buried alive!
Get ready for another epic season of SAS Australia
The most savage show on TV, SAS Australia, returns to Channel 7 and 7plus in October; with a new group of star recruits descending on one of the toughest environments faced by Special Forces operatives: the Middle East.
From being buried alive to launching live hand grenades and chaotic near drownings, this year’s recruits grapple with their biggest fears deep in the desert as they face SAS Australia’s punishing DS team led by Ant Middleton. Ant’s advice to the new recruits is simple: “If you are weak, easily offended or physically unfit, leave now!”
Former world boxing champion Anthony Mundine, ‘Cocaine Cassie’, Olympians Stephanie Rice, Peter Bol and Matthew Mitcham, Balinese princess Lindy Klim, Thai cave rescue hero Dr Craig Challen and Brownlow medallist Jason Akermanis are just some of the 14 Aussie celebrities who have volunteered for the toughest test of their lives: a series of physical and psychological tests from the real SAS selection process.
For the first time on SAS Australia, these men and women will travel offshore to a secret base in the Middle East, where they will eat, sleep and train together in punishingly hot and arid conditions, with no allowances or exceptions made for their celebrity status or gender.
The star recruits set to take on SAS Australia in 2023 are:
Abbey Holmes, 32 – AFL Field Commentator
Anthony Mundine, 47 – World Champion Boxer
Boyd Cordner, 30 – Retired NRL Star
Cassie Sainsbury, 28 – Convicted Drug Smuggler
Dr Craig Challen, 57 – Thai Cave Rescue Hero
Craig McLachlan, 57 – Actor
Jason Akermanis, 46 – AFL Hall of Famer
Lindy Klim, 45 – Balinese Princess
Mahalia Murphy, 29 – International Rugby Star
Matthew Mitcham, 35 – Olympic Gold Diver
Peter Bol, 29 – Olympic Runner
Stephanie Rice, 34 – Olympic Gold Swimmer
Tim Robards, 40 – OG Bachelor
Zima Anderson, 25 – Actor
SAS Australia is produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group company, based on a Minnow Films format. The new season premieres in October on Channel 7 and 7plus.
Golden girl fights for redemption
Stephanie Rice takes on SAS Australia
Twelve new celebrity recruits will attempt to pass selection on SAS Australia’s gruelling Middle Eastern desert course when the hit series returns to Channel 7 and 7plus in October.
Taking on the epic course is Olympic Champion Stephanie Rice, who says she wants to be the “best,” adding there’s no way she would go out without a “big strong fight.”
Rice is no stranger to challenges, having endured a Twitter scandal in 2010 that changed her life overnight.
“Winning three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she says. “I was the golden girl of swimming; I could do no wrong. Overnight, that completely shifted. That tweet in 2010 definitely changed my life.”
For the first time on SAS Australia, the new celebrity recruits will travel offshore to a secret base in the Middle East where they will eat, sleep and train together in punishingly hot and arid conditions, with no allowances or exceptions made for their celebrity status or gender.
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“I ain’t afraid of too much”
Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine takes on SAS Australia
Twelve new celebrity recruits will attempt to pass selection on SAS Australia’s gruelling Middle Eastern desert course when the hit series returns to Channel 7 and 7plus in October.
Former three-time rugby league premiership player and three-time boxing world champion Anthony Mundine will face his toughest test yet when he takes on the unforgiving desert course.
Anthony admits he isn’t “afraid of too much” and is determined to dominate the course and pass selection.
“Yeah, you’re going to fail. But it’s not about the setback. It’s about the comeback. If I set out to do something, I’m going to do it. Period,” says Anthony.
For the first time on SAS Australia, the new celebrity recruits will travel offshore to a secret base in the Middle East where they will eat, sleep and train together in punishingly hot and arid conditions, with no allowances or exceptions made for their celebrity status or gender.
Looks like SAS Australia’s new season will start on Monday, October 9. My Kitchen Rules is on October 3, followed by The Voice finale five days later.
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October 9 confirmed by Jason Akermanis just now on the AFL coverage.
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“This is the chance to show Australia who I am”
Peter Bol takes on SAS Australia
Twelve new celebrity recruits will attempt to pass selection on SAS Australia’s gruelling Middle Eastern desert course when the hit series returns 7.30pm Monday, 9 October on Channel 7 and 7plus
Career suspended. Reputation trashed. Accused of being a drug cheat.
He was cleared of doping, but is the damage done? Two-time Australian Olympian Peter Bol says he’s taking on the SAS course to restore his reputation.
“The only way you stay strong is by understanding what you stand for. This is the chance to show Australia what that is and who I am. The doping scandal has motivated me to be the best in the world.”
Peter is determined to finish the course and pass selection, and with the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in August, the risk of injury on the course is a gamble he’s prepared to take.
For the first time on SAS Australia, the new celebrity recruits will travel offshore to a secret base in the Middle East where they will eat, sleep and train together in punishingly hot and arid conditions, with no allowances or exceptions made for their celebrity status or gender.
TV’s toughest test is back!
Who will pass selection when SAS Australia returns 7.30pm Monday
The most savage show on TV, SAS Australia, returns to Channel 7 and 7plus on Monday, 9 October with a new group of star recruits descending on one of the toughest environments faced by Special Forces operatives: the Middle East.
Former world boxing champion Anthony Mundine, ‘Cocaine Cassie’, Olympians Stephanie Rice, Peter Bol and Matthew Mitcham, Balinese princess Lindy Klim, Thai cave rescue hero Dr Craig Challen and Brownlow medallist Jason Akermanis are just some of the 14 Aussie celebrities who have volunteered for the toughest challenge of their lives: a series of physical and psychological tests from the real SAS selection process.
For the first time on SAS Australia, these men and women will travel offshore to a secret base in the Jordanian desert where they will eat, sleep and train together in punishingly hot conditions without allowances for their celebrity status or gender.
Chief Instructor Ant Middleton is once again joined by Ollie Ollerton and two new Directing Staff, Jamie “Jay” Morton and Anthony “Staz” Stazicker.
With a combined half-century of Special Forces experience between them, their mission is to break down each recruit and rebuild them to be the best versions of themselves, determining who, if any, have what it takes to be selected as a fellow SAS soldier.
Over 10 brutal days and nights, the recruits will live in grim camp conditions. Drop toilets, one bucket of cold water to shower with daily, unappealing rations and stretcher beds over a sand floor. Sleep-deprived and missing the comforts of home, they’ll endure scorching desert heat across the day and the freezing cold of night.
Each day, they’ll suffer through two tasks that will push them to their limits physically and mentally and beyond what they thought they were capable of. If the pain is too much to bear, they can voluntarily withdraw from the course. Some will sustain injuries and be medically withdrawn, and some will last 10 days.
Throughout the course, each recruit will tell their story behind the headlines and open up to their personal and emotional struggles, learning more about themselves and leaving behind the pain of the past.
SAS Australia is produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group company, based on a Minnow Films format.
The star recruits set to take on SAS Australia in 2023 are:
- Abbey Holmes, 32 – AFL Field Commentator
- Anthony Mundine, 47 – World Champion Boxer
- Boyd Cordner, 30 – Retired NRL Star
- Cassie Sainsbury, 28 – Convicted Drug Smuggler
- Dr Craig Challen, 57 – Thai Cave Rescue Hero
- Craig McLachlan, 57 – Actor
- Jason Akermanis, 46 – AFL Hall of Famer
- Lindy Klim, 45 – Balinese Princess
- Mahalia Murphy, 29 – International Rugby Star
- Matthew Mitcham, 35 – Olympic Gold Diver
- Peter Bol, 29 – Olympic Runner
- Stephanie Rice, 34 – Olympic Champion
- Tim Robards, 40 – OG Bachelor
- Zima Anderson, 25 – Actor
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“I’m not Cocaine Cassie. I’m just Cassie.”
Cassie opens up about her trauma and Jason Akermanis VWs after mystery foot injury
Tonight on SAS Australia, convicted drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury relived her Columbian prison hell and shared her desire to leave the “Cocaine Cassie” moniker behind, while AFL Hall Of Famer Jason Akermanis was the first recruit to VW after a mystery foot injury.
The 14 new celebrity recruits were sandblasted by a hovering Black Hawk helicopter on arrival before being buried alive for 45 minutes, triggering a traumatic reminder of prison life for Cassie, who tried to stay calm by repeating the phrase: “you’re not in prison."
“This is all so similar to jail,” said Cassie in tears as the reality of base camp hit home. Sensing her distress, the DS called her in for questioning.
“I spent three years in a Columbian jail, and it’s all just very triggering,” explained Cassie. “I’m trying to deal with it as it comes. But it’s not easy. I feel like I’ve entered back into one of the yards there. Even the way that we eat food, the way we sleep. The guards there are very much the same. They yell at us, we’re a number.”
After recounting her days at Colombia’s El Buen Pastor prison, Cassie shared her dreams of a new life with the DS, saying she wanted to leave the “Cocaine Cassie” moniker behind.
“I finished my sentence; I did my time. I paid the price. And I’m trying to move on with my life. I’m not the same person I was nearly seven years ago. I’m not Cocaine Cassie. I’m just Cassie.”
In their first task, paired recruits boarded a moving train to recover a mission-essential item hidden inside a military cache. Once secured, they escaped the train to a designated extraction point. To pass the task, all had to be completed within three minutes.
As the recruits recovered from day one on the course, AFL hall of famer Jason asked to see chief medic Doctor Dan, complaining of pain in his foot. After a thorough examination, Dr Dan said there was nothing he could see that warranted a medical discharge. Without a medical discharge, Jason was left with only one option and voluntarily withdrew from the course.
“I’ve got out exactly what I would hope to get out of it. I didn’t leave injured, ah, that injured. I’m a bit sore but not that injured. And I don’t need to come on a course like this and prove anything else to anyone else”.
Actor Craig McLachlan was next to take his place in the mirror room for interrogation. DS Ant Middleton and Jay Morton questioned the actor over the 16 criminal charges laid against him in 2014 for his role as Dr Frankenfurter in the Rocky Horror Show.
After describing the “fetishy” nature of the stage show, Craig told the DS: “As a performer, when you sign on for that show, you’re signing up for the fetish nature of it, the comedy. During the rehearsal process, you’re in close quarters, you’re trying out new gags, you’re touching each other, not inappropriately, not within the parameters of what that show is."
“I was found not guilty of any wrongful behaviour. It’s because I was f*cking innocent,” yelled the actor before being urged by DS Ant to calm down. “I’ve been profoundly hurt. So, you know there’s always going to be some residual anger,” he continued.
“People who only months before looked me in the eye and said ‘you create the most wonderful work environments imaginable’…abandonment, total abandonment. A tiny handful of courageous people I’ve had friendships with over thirty years were always there, but the vast majority, gone.”
Tomorrow night on SAS Australia: A sickening submerged pipeline task almost ends in disaster. A leap of faith takes a heavy toll on one recruit and Thai cave rescue hero Dr Craig Challen tells his story.
and I’m just Ken
That would be Boyd Cordner, who tore his pectoral muscle on his right side after he tried to jump to catch a rope dangling off a helicopter. There was an exclusive photo in The Sunday Telegraph on the weekend.
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Three recruits bite the dust
Cassie and Lindy VW, while injury shatters Boyd’s SAS dream
Tonight on SAS Australia the gruelling course claimed three recruits, with Cassie Sainsbury and Lindy Klim voluntarily withdrawing, while retired NRL star Boyd Cordner suffered a devastating medical withdrawal.
After a scant breakfast of porridge and boiled eggs, the 13 remaining recruits faced a dangerous run-and-jump extraction drill, jumping into coastal waters before scaling 10 metres to a hovering Black Hawk helicopter.
During the task, retired NRL star Boyd Cordner suffered an excruciating pectoral tear before revealing the anguish of early retirement to thwart the onset of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).
“I had days there where I’d break down crying. Just being in the media nearly every day at that time and everyone knowing your business, it was, yeah, it was all a bit too much for me.”
“At the end of the day it was my decision. I didn’t know what the next head knock would bring. It’s quite a scary thought when you think about the long-term effects that concussion or TBIs [traumatic brain injuries] could have.”
Boyd was medically withdrawn from the course after news from Dr Dan that his injury would soon require surgery and further tasks could cause permanent damage.
Feeling the rigours of the course more than most, Balinese Princess Lindy Klim decided to VW, admitting she didn’t have the physical strength to pass the course.
“I did think I would really struggle being completely out of my comfort zone. I hate being dirty, and I hate sand and I hate camping. I feel quite chuffed that I managed to get through two days, so yeah I feel good.”
During a sickening test to control panic in a 30-metre network of submerged pipelines, convicted drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury was unable to commit to the task and was the third recruit to VW.
“It is probably one of the first times in a long time that I feel proud of myself in the sense of facing everything I didn’t ever want to see again.”
“When I leave the SAS course ‘Cocaine Cassie’ dies there. That’s it. She doesn’t follow me around anymore.”
With more experience in tight, submerged tunnels than anyone on the course, Thai cave rescue hero Craig Challen was last to enter the pipeline. Despite his qualifications, he made the fatal mistake of going face down in the tunnel rather than face-up to find the air pocket.
Later, during an interrogation with the DS, Craig recounted the story behind the historic saving of 13 lives and how it made him feel.
"To get all of them out at the end, yeah, it’s just like the weight of the world has been lifted off your shoulders. To have a one hundred percent success rate and all of them out alive, even as I sit here today, I still can’t really believe that it worked out that well.”
Tomorrow night on SAS Australia: It’s high-rise panic as recruits repel down an abandoned air traffic control tower, then experience live ammunition training, where one mistake could prove fatal.
“I really struggled”
SAS recruit Stephanie Rice opens up about life after swimming
Tonight on SAS Australia, Olympic Champion Stephanie Rice suffered a painful injury that threatened to end her time on the course, while Anthony “The Man” Mundine revealed his heartbreak about missing out on selection for The Kangaroo Tour.
In the first task of the day, the 10 remaining recruits confronted their fear of heights to rappel 50 metres from an abandoned tower before infiltrating a window to complete a rescue.
Unimpressed by Anthony Mundine’s performance during the task, the DS called him in for questioning, where he opened up about his disappointment of missing selection for the Kangaroos squad and the system that tried to silence his outspoken views.
“I was an NRL player and NRL is a brutal sport. I debuted in 1993 when I was 18 years old. I was only a skinny kid. And I was carvin’ up, but I felt like I wasn’t getting the accolades. If I was a white fella …”
DS Ant Middleton asked Anthony if he believed his non-selection came down to race.
“One hundred per cent!” said Anthony. “1999 was one of my best years. At the end of that year, they were taking a tour to England. Don’t know if it was the World Cup. But they were taking 42 men to go on this tour. I was the best player in the league. No doubt.”
“The Australian coach said I didn’t get picked because of my ‘off-field characteristics’. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, never took drugs in my life. But I’m very outspoken. They just wanted to show me they were in power. You do what we say and then you’ll see some fruits.”
“They didn’t pick me and that crushed me. Devastated me. Ripped my heart out, basically. I was playing from a young age. I should have been picked. You ask any of my peers who played in 1999. Should I get picked? One hundred per cent of them would say yes.’’
In the second task of the day, the recruits went through live grenade training, infiltrating a building under heavy fire.
Diving awkwardly into the sand during the task, Stephanie dislocated her shoulder and was seen on course by a medic who popped it back into place before she was taken to hospital for X-rays.
Medically cleared and determined to return to the course, Stephanie opened up about the disappointment of the 2012 London Olympics and her current sense of loneliness and lack of purpose in life.
“When I think about failure. I think about the London Olympics. Everything went wrong, I got injured. I tore the tendon in my shoulder eight months before the London Olympics. I didn’t have time to repair it. I just trained on it torn for eight months. I was disappointed things didn’t align the way I knew they could have.”
“I really struggled. I felt really lost after I finished swimming. I didn’t feel like I had any purpose or any direction. And I didn’t feel like anybody understood.”
Monday night on SAS Australia: A night beasting claims another withdrawal. The recruits come under attack and capture before facing each other in hand-to-hand combat.
“I wasn’t going to celebrate my innocence”
Peter Bol opens up on doping scandal heartbreak
Tonight on SAS Australia: Heartbreak for Olympic champion Stephanie Rice as a medical withdrawal ended her time on the course, while Olympic runner Peter Bol opened up about the trauma of being falsely accused of blood doping.
DS Ant Middleton made the tough decision to medically withdraw Stephanie Rice. For the first time in SAS Australia history, Ant acknowledged her resilience by dismissing her from the course with her #11 armband.
The fifth recruit to exit the course, Stephanie broke down in tears, saying she wanted more time on the course but was also proud of her performance.
“I just felt like I could’ve kept going. Like, I don’t feel like I’ve learnt [enough] about myself. But being able to leave with my number feels special. I’m really proud of that. I think the lesson for me is knowing that there will be more opportunities and be okay with this moment right here, right now.”
For their first task of the day, the recruits were divided into two teams, with Zima Anderson captaining Team Alpha and Abbey Holmes leading Team Bravo. The teams had to work together to free a vehicle laden with survival equipment. As part of the task, both teams were then ambushed by the Jordanian Royal Air and Armed Forces.
Escaping capture, Peter, Matthew Mitcham, Tim Robards and Dr Craig Challen were the only recruits to pass the task.
Showing strength and cunning in the task, the DS summoned Peter to the mirror room, curious to know more about him.
The Olympic runner revealed how he came to live in Australia, via Egypt, from a war-torn Sudan. He described the heartbreak and injustice of being wrongly accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs.
“I knew sport would finish eventually. I couldn’t care less. But your integrity tested is a different story. When the news did come out that the A sample didn’t match the B, I didn’t know how to react. I wasn’t excited.”
“Like, I wasn’t going to celebrate my own innocence. I was more angry and disappointed in how I was treated by the people who are supposed to look out for you.”
“But I figured I can’t focus on that. I might as well go and break a few more records. People are always gonna question your innocence. You still Google my name and there’s more articles about drug allegations than anything about Tokyo. So that’s gonna be there for life. There’s always gonna be a cloud over your head. But you have to keep pushing and stay strong when you need to as well.”
Tomorrow night on SAS Australia: The nine remaining recruits learn about drone warfare the hard way and a mountain rappel almost ends in disaster. The course claims another victim and two recruits’ painful pasts are revealed.
“I made it halfway through and I’m grateful for that”
Anthony “The Man” Mundine exits SAS Australia
Tonight on SAS Australia: Abbey Holmes cheated death in a near-miss cliff fall, while Anthony “The Man” Mundine voluntarily withdrew from the course.
At the halfway point, the nine remaining recruits had bonded, but their trust in each other was tested with a suburban warfare drone task.
In teams of two – a drone operator as the eyes in the sky and the other, a lone ground soldier – the teams worked to navigate a series of buildings and exfiltrate to safety.
Showing reckless behaviour in the task and a questionable attitude, the DS summoned Olympic diver Mathew Mitcham to the mirror room.
During questioning by the DS, Matthew shared the torment of his drug addiction, his devastatingly low self-esteem and how he used self-harm as a coping mechanism.
“When I got overwhelmed with feelings that I couldn’t keep on the inside, I used to cut myself out of anger. Because I felt like then the problem was dealt with, it was some sort of release for me. And after one particular episode, I went far too far, and I, I had to call my grandma to take me to hospital.”
He also talked about how diving gave him a sense of self-worth, saying: “It was my ticket to being special, basically, because I knew I could do it really well. And that’s all I kind of wanted.”
For the second task of the day, the recruits paired up, with one person rappelling down a mountainous cliff face while the other had full control of the rope to break their teammate’s free fall.
Breaking too late and with no control of Abbey’s free fall, international rugby star Mahalia needed DS Jay to step in and save Abbey from hitting the ground.
Shaken and disappointed by her performance in the task, Mahalia was called in to talk with the DS.
Speaking with the DS, Mahalia opened up about the heartbreaking accident that put her mother in the hospital for over a year.
“She’s still with us gratefully. But she did die three times on the table. She spent a year and a half in hospital.”
Mahalia’s older sister moved away and faced with the responsibility of looking after the family and with no one to guide her, her other sister spiralled into drugs.
“My sister had to take responsibility, but she was going through that phase where, because she didn’t have a figure around her to lead, she kind of just took the wrong path, got involved in drugs.”
Tragedy hit the family again when Mahalia’s older sister passed after suffering a heart attack.
“To lose my sister when I was 13 had a massive impact on my family, again experiencing grief at a young age. I went into a shell and isolated myself from everyone. It was painful. The fact that I will never see her or hear her voice again give her one more cuddle, really hurts.”
Lasting five punishing days, Anthony “The Man” Mundine handed in his number. "Walking away, I feel great. I feel that I’ve changed, and something has pushed me out of my comfort zone,” he said.
“Doing a task, even though I didn’t pass a lot of them, I actually learned there are certain things for certain people. So, I’m like one of the best athletes ever. I didn’t say I was the best SAS fella; I just came to enjoy the experience. I made it halfway through and I’m grateful for that.”
Monday night on SAS Australia: An aggressive game of murderball pushes the recruits to their limits before a shock VW and a back-breaking grunt task results in an unlikely hero.
The star recruits remaining on SAS Australia in 2023 are:
Abbey Holmes, 32 – AFL Field Commentator
Dr Craig Challen, 57 – Thai Cave Rescue Hero
Craig McLachlan, 57 – Actor
Mahalia Murphy, 29 – International Rugby Star
Matthew Mitcham, 35 – Olympic Gold Diver
Peter Bol, 29 – Olympic Runner
Tim Robards, 40 – OG Bachelor
Zima Anderson, 25 – Actor
SAS Australia Continues 7.30pm Monday on Channel 7 and 7plus