Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins

The content creator is one of 14 famous faces taking part in the latest series of Channel 4’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins star Jack Joseph has opened up about a devastating health battle that left his parents checking on him “every single hour” fearing he would die in his sleep.

The 25-year-old content creator is one of 14 famous faces appearing on the Channel 4 reality show which sees celebrities put through back-breaking SAS training guided by Billy Billingham MBE, Jason Fox, Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver.

This year’s series – made up of eight one-hour episodes – sees UK celebrities competing against Australian stars, with former Love Island contestants Dani Dyer and Gabby Allen, social media personality Cole Anderson-James and MAFS Australia’s Jessika Power among the cast.

The opening episode aired tonight (January 4), in which Jack opened up about a health scare that motivated him into taking part in the show. The star, who comes from a family who are passionate about fitness, said he took a legal steroid which had a devastating impact on his body when he was just 19 years old.

“I went to a bodybuilding gym and I hear a lot of talk of this supplement which is like a legal steroid so I bought this supplement from a website and after six weeks I had liver failure. I went all yellow, pupils all yellow, my brain completely went south. It’s a hard thing to describe,” he shared on the show, visibly emotional.

“I had to go into hospital every day for about nine or 10 months to give blood everyday and I had to be under supervision. So the way you pass away with liver failure is, I was told, that you just go to bed at night and you don’t wake up.”

He remembered: “It was hard because every night, every single hour, my parents came in my room to check if I was dead, basically. That broke my heart.

“It’s hard to see your parents with that kind of emotional weight when you know you’ve caused it. Since then I’m quite an anxious person and that’s why I came on this course. I hide my emotions a lot.”

Channel 4’s synopsis for the series reads: “The celebrities will have no entourage, agents, filters or social media followers to rescue them. Instead, they’ll face sweat, physical endurance, sand, tears and the truth they’ve been avoiding – all in the blistering North African heat.

“The DS don’t care how famous the recruits are, how many social media followers they have or what they have done before this. As soon as they enter the selection process, their celebrity status and luxuries are stripped away and there will be no room for mistakes.”

You can watch the latest episode of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4’s catch-up service

The former Islander was left ‘panicking’ just seconds into the first task of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins season eight

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins star Gabby Allen was left furious after failing the show’s first challenge within seconds.

The thrilling Channel 4 programme kicked off its eighth series on Sunday (January 4), featuring 14 celebs braving a modified version of the gruelling SAS (Special Air Service) training.

In a series first, the contestants are split into two international teams: seven Brits and seven Aussies.

Team UK boasts Love Island favourites Gabby and Dani Dyer, social media influencers Jack Joseph and Cole Anderson James, rugby hero Ben Cohen, Gladiator Toby Olubi, and cricket star Graeme Swann.

The first mission of this year’s series was an emergency evacuation drill, where one participant from each team was strapped into a plane and submerged underwater, reports OK!.

Once under, they had to hold their breath for 30 seconds before being given the signal to escape. Gabby was up first, alongside Olympic swimming champ Mack Horton.

The risk of drowning was acknowledged prior to the stars being plunged into the water, but things quickly took a horrifying turn as Gabby began to panic just seconds into the task.

She was swiftly rescued by the crew who recognised her “panicking”. The reality star “failed” the test as she couldn’t hold her breath for the necessary duration.

The 33-year-old appeared visibly annoyed following the challenge. Looking back on it, she remarked: “I weren’t scared about the height, I weren’t scared about the water. And then I f****** didn’t take a big enough breath. What the f***? !”

Ex-Islander Dani similarly fell short in completing the emergency evacuation challenge. “Instantly, I failed,” she vented afterwards.

Ahead of the episode going to air, the 29-year-old had shared her thoughts with followers regarding her time on the gruelling military programme.

In an Instagram Stories video, Dani revealed: “SAS is obviously on tonight at nine o’clock. This is one show I’ve been absolutely really excited for you all to see, but also petrified because it was one of the hardest experiences of my entire life.”

She went on: “I’d love to do it again, this is one of those things I’d love to do again and be a lot more headstrong, and a lot more…not a wimp. But do you know what? It was great and, yeah, I hope you all enjoy it.”

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins continues tomorrow night at 9pm on Channel 4