SIMON Cowell makes a surprise cameo in tonight’s penultimate episode of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The brutal Channel 4 series welcomed another 14 famous faces to tackle intense Special Forces training.
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Simon Cowell makes a surprise cameo on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares wins to support Lucy SpragganCredit: Rex
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Lucy has made it to the final five recruitsCredit: Pete Dadds / Channel 4
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Simon chats to Lucy on a video call as the recruits have their mental resilience tested
Along the way, celebrities have quit, been axed and – last week in the case of boxer Conor Benn – medically withdrawn.
Tonight, the remaining five recruits tackled one of their toughest challenges yet, before having their mental strength tested by having the option to receive calls from loved ones.
While Adam Collard receives his from fiancee Laura Woods, singer Lucy Spraggan is seen taking two calls.
And the first is from her X Factor boss, Simon.
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The 65-year-old appears on a video call to Lucy, who had appeared on The Factor in 2012, sitting outside in a sprawling garden.
“How’s my little trooper?” he asks, causing Lucy to chuckle.
She tells him: “It’s been a lot rougher than I anticipated. Simon, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
Never one to mince his words, he replies: “You do look tired, I’m not going to lie.”
Lucy then quickly fills him on some of the challenges she’s faced, adding: “It’s not a joke Simon. It’s so, so real.
“Like, you know when you said you might think about doing it if I didn’t find it hard? You would not be doing it.”
Celebrity SAS star cries over her sexual assault
As she laughs, she adds: “Although I would pay such money to see you do it!”
Simon replies with a chuckle: “Just imagine it was me, and how long I would last.”
The pair have remained close in the years that followed Lucy being on The X Factor, and he even walked her down the aisle at her wedding to wife Emilia Smith earlier this year.
Lucy previously told The Sun: “He read a poem at our ceremony, which was cute, and he said to me, ‘I love seeing you this happy’.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins 2025
S Club singer Hannah Spearitt
Dancer and TV star Louie Spence
Love Island star and podcaster Chloe Burrows
Love Island and Strictly star Tasha Ghouri
Former footballer Troy Deeney
Peru Two drug mule turned author and influencer Michealla McCollum
Rapper and ex-Loose Women star Lady Leshurr
Love Island lothario Adam Collard
TV & media personality Rebecca Loos
Ex Footballer Adebayo “The Beast” Akinfenwa
Drag Race UK winner Bimini Bon Boulash
Pro boxer Conor Benn
The X Factor star Lucy Spraggan
The Traitors winner Harry Clark
The newlyweds regularly stay with Simon and his partner Lauren Silverman at their homes in LA and the Cotswolds.
But Lucy admitted: “I speak to Lauren all the time, butSimonhasn’t got a phone so I speak to him when she’s on the phone!”
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Lucy fills Simon in on the tough challenges she’s faced
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4, with all episodes available to plus members on Channel4.com.
The second episode aired tonight and within minutes, a further two celebrities ripped off their arm bands and called it quits.
The stars were tasked with trekking up a hill, before taking on the challenge of hanging from a wire over a ravine.
However, Love Island star Chloe Burrows struggled on the climb, having already told her co-stars that she was finding the demands of the show difficult.
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As she was berated by the Special Forces staff for her moaning noises, she ripped off her arm band and told them between gasps for breath: “I can’t do it.”
The DS was furious and yelled: “Can’t do what? We’ve walked 300 metres up a f***ing hill!”
He then told Chloe she was “wasting a massive opportunity” but through her tears, she told him: “I’m done, I’m done.”
After handing over her arm band, she headed down the hill, chucking her water bottle before taking off her backpack and saying: “F*** off, this is the worst thing I have ever done in my whole life!”
But Chloe wasn’t alone for long, as within a minute she was joined by another former Love Islander.
The group continued climbing the hill, and the DS drilled number 5 – Tasha Ghouri – telling her to “dig deep” as she lagged behind.
Hannah Spearritt quits on day one of Celebrity SAS- Who Dares Wins
But an exhausted and struggling Tasha held up her arm band and told the shocked DS: “I’m not mentally here. I’m not mentally here to do this.”
After heading down the hill, the two women reunited and discussed their sudden exits from the course.
Tasha said: “You have to be so mentally strong to do this.”
Chloe replied: “And physically.”
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Hannah Spearritt (left) was the first to quit on Sunday’s episodeCredit: Pete Dadds / Channel 4
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins continues Sunday at 9pm on Channel 4.
Celebrity SAS fans have been left reeling over one ‘celebrity’ as they claim the choice to have a convicted drug smuggler as a contestant on the show is ‘disgusting’
Michaella McCollum is one of the celebrities on this year’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins(Image: PA)
Michaella first made headlines as one half of the so-called Peru Two after she and Melissa Reid were arrested at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, on 6 August 2013.
Fans have been left reeling over one ‘celebrity’ as they claim the choice to have Michaella McCollum as a contestant on the show is ‘disgusting’(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Last week, Michaella appeared on ITV’s This Morning and was met with criticism. Fans of the show took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts on the celebrity lineup. One person wrote: “The bookers for @thismorning #thismorning and #CelebritySAS should hang their heads in shame for booking a drugs mule. How on earth does that give them celebrity status!! And what message does it send to young people? Shocking.”
Another person penned: “Hey, @Channel4, how come this criminal is being allowed to profit from her drugs mule crime on the ‘celebrity’ edition of SAS Who Dares Wins?” While a third added: “#thismorning I don’t consider a convicted drug smuggler to be a celebrity, which is a fair enough reason for Michaella McCollum not to be a contestant on #CelebritySAS”.
Michaella first made headlines as one half of the so-called Peru Two(Image: PA)
Another unhappy fan wrote: “I’ve never missed a series, but I’m sitting this one out. Having a convicted drug smuggler classed as a celebrity is disgusting and sends the wrong message to young kids, plus it’s insulting to the others taking part.”
Ahead of appearing on the show, Michaella opened up on how she has changed and grown as a person. She said that signing up for the show was able to help her take back control of her life.
She told the Mirror: “I feel like in my younger days, I made lots of mistakes, so then I was really cautious of doing things, because I didn’t want to mess up again. I didn’t want to mess up, I didn’t want to make any more mistakes.
Ahead of appearing on the show, Michaella opened up on how she has changed and grown as a person(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
“But we can’t live life like that, because we’re always going to make mistakes, we’re always going to make bad choices, obviously not as bad a choice as I made previously, but it’s okay to make a mistake.
“I had got to the point where I was just refusing to do a lot of things because I was scared. What if I mess it up? What if I take this job and it doesn’t work out? What if I move to this place and it doesn’t work out? I was just a little bit afraid of making those decisions. I felt stuck. So I guess that was the main thing for me, to try and learn to overcome that.
“I was at the point in my life where I was just stuck in my comfort zone, and I thought this is a good way to break those barriers and do the things that scare me, and maybe that will help me in the future with decisions and just different things in life.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is back and bosses have now confirmed the full line-up, including a member of the Peru Two drugs smuggling group and Rebecca Loos
The Celeb SAS 14 include stars from music, entertainment and sport(Image: Pete Dadds / Channel 4)
Celebrities from the world of music, entertainment and sport have lined up to take part in the most gruelling phase of Special Forces selection whilst being filmed so millions of people can watch from the comfort of their sofas.
Channel 4 bosses have chosen a wide selection of stars from football, reality TV and even a woman made famous as one of the ‘Peru Two’ drug smugglers for Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. Michaella McCollum will line up alongside other star names like Rebecca Loos, who had a rumoured fling with David Beckham as well as former Premier League footballer Troy Deeney.
The Seventh series will see the action play out over eight one-hour episodes as the 14 celebrities are put through their paces by an elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers – Chief Instructor Billy Billingham and his team of Directing Staff (DS) – Foxy (Jason Fox), Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver. They take the famous faces to Wales, the home of the first phase of SAS Selection, where they will be stripped of their home comforts, families, agents and social media.
This year’s course will be physically demanding and psychologically gruelling; all but a few who take part will fail, but the question is who will make it to the end and eventually pass?
Commenting on this year’s group of celebrity recruits, Chief Instructor, Billy said: “This course is not an attendance course, the bar is set high and will not waiver. Every recruit is a volunteer who chose to step into our arena. Although many will start, very few will finish and even less will pass. This is not for the weak minded or faint hearted.”
DS Foxy said: “The world is now a complex and dangerous place with threats coming from all angles. Because of that, we as a country need to be ready. We want to show these celebrity recruits what it takes to prepare for war, but do they have what it takes, far away from their privileged lives?”
DS Rudy commented: “SAS: Who Dares Wins is brutal, revealing and a testament to human perseverance. Punishing elements, relentless pace, and standards that make war fighters proud to give these recruits a hard reset to find their true self. And in that truth, an insight into the human experience for us all.”
DS Chris added: “This isn’t just about physical strength; it’s about mental resilience too. The recruits will be pushed to their limits, both individually and as a unit. Trust in each other will be our greatest asset. When the waves are high and the wind is howling, they will need to rely on the training and instincts if they are going to succeed.”
Adebayo “The Beast” Akinfenwa
The Beast getting reading to take on the SAS challenges(Image: Channel 4)
Age: 43
Famous for: Former Wycombe footballer
What they say about challenge: “I’ve asked myself time and time again – am I built for the Special Forces? One of the reasons why I’m doing this is to find out. I would like to think that, put me in most situations, most environments, I’ll be able to put my best foot forward, get out of my comfort zone, hit my responsibilities and do what I need to do! I think that’s what I want to get out of taking part on this course.”
Troy Deeney
Footballer Troy has joined the line-up(Image: Channel 4)
What they say about challenge: “I’m at a crossroads in my life, so I’m hoping the course can highlight the good and bad in me, and hopefully we’ll see at the end that the good outweighs the bad. I’m sure the DS will get me irritated very quickly but they will also know how to nurture and to reshape and probably help me along the way.”
Conor Benn
Conor admits the show will be very different to his day job(Image: Getty Images for AELTC)
What he says about the challenge: “Although boxing is hard, I feel like this is going to be a completely different challenge, and I always want to challenge myself. I just want to see and experience the toughness and the grittiness you need to pass this course.”
Louie Spence
Louie is hoping to challenge himself
Age: 56
Famous for: Dancer, choreographer and television presenter
What they say about challenge: “This course I hope can walk away feeling I’ve actually really achieved something here, that I’ve really pushed myself to the edge of my boundaries and put myself in a position which is beyond something I could have even imagined a year ago. This is a course that is really going to challenge me. This is different to anything I’ve ever been part of before. There’s no fluff, there’s no glitter, there’s no getting myself out of a situation with a quick bit of wit. It’s really refreshing for me to do something like this…and, hopefully, come out a much better person, both physically and mentally.”
Tasha Ghouri
The Love Island star is ‘excited’(Image: PA)
Age: 26
Famous for: TV star
What Tasha says about challenge: “I’m very excited to actually take on the course and just go for it, push myself and really challenge myself. But I also want to show people that having a disability makes you no less able – we can also push ourselves, and do crazy challenges if we put our mind to it.
“I really want to be able to actually walk away from the course feeling like I’ve accomplished what I wanted to do and I want to look back and think, wow, I did that, I’m proud of myself. I’ll be doing this for the people who have doubted me. I want prove to them that they can’t bring me down. I can fight my way to the end.”
Harry Clark
Former military man Harry was inspired by the SAS(Image: Channel 4)
Age: 24
Famous for: Winner of season two of Traitors
What they say about challenge: “Growing up, I’d watch people close to me be in the SAS, which always inspired me. This show was a different experience to what I had imagined but I always love a challenge and it proves you’re always learning new things about yourself.”
Hannah Spearritt
Singer Hannah wants to gain ‘strength’ from her experience
Age: 44
Famous for: S Club 7 star
What they say about challenge: “I hope to take out of this experience, strength. I want to feel stronger again, mentally and physically, because there’s always improvement there. There are always dips that happen along the way with motherhood or whatever but I think when you just experience different stuff, it changes you. I have no idea what to expect, but I do know it will be an experience and it’s something that I will have for life.
“However the experience goes, I am going to learn about myself. Maybe I’ll find out I am a bit of a mess or I might find out that I’m stronger than I think I am…it’s finding out things about yourself that you would never, ever find out. We live in this world where it’s so easy to live in our comfort zone, so this is an opportunity to get outside of that and…for me anyway, growth and expansion is one of the most important things, and that is something that hopefully I can pass on to my kids.”
Rebecca Loos
The show represents a TV comeback for Rebecca who did reality show The Farm in 2004(Image: Channel 4)
Age: 48
Famous for: Yoga teacher who had a rumoured fling with David Beckham
What they say about challenge: “I honestly don’t know whether I am mentally strong enough but one of the reasons I want to do this course is because I want to find out whether I’m able to stick it through mentally. I think it’s going to be really, really tough. This is by far the toughest thing I’ve ever done. But I want to do this course because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to do an SAS training course. It’s going to be really interesting to see how far I can go and how strong I’m able to keep myself.”
Bimini
Bimini is hoping to prove they can do anything(Image: Channel 4)
Age:
Famous for: Drag queen and DJ
What they say about challenge: “I want to do this just to prove to myself that I’m capable of anything I put my mind to. I want to prove to myself that I can do it. No glam, no red carpets, no magazine covers. This is literally just going to be me to my core and I am excited about it but I don’t think the course is ready for Bimini.
“People in the UK love to debate gender like it’s a concept, not a lived experience. It gets reduced to headlines and toilet talk. I’m doing this to remind them that behind every opinion is a human being. The course, the SAS and the Army have got a very masculine stereotype and I’ve got both elements of masculine and feminine and that’s my superpower. Vulnerable, raw, and stronger than ever. This bleached rat tail is gonna f**k it up!”
Michaella McCollum
Michaella McCollum was one of the Peru Two(Image: Pete Dadds / Channel 4)
Age: 31
Famous for: One of the Peru Two drug mules
What they say about challenge: “The level of resilience I learned from being in prison in Peru and knowing how important that mindset is, will definitely help get me through the course, so I’m going to need to use my mental strength to help me along the way. In Peru, I was completely stripped back to the rawest version of myself…and I know in this course, it will have a similar effect. I will get to see the real me again and I want to challenge myself to see how capable I am. I don’t know if I’m physically fit enough to complete the course but I have good mental strength.”
What they say about challenge: “I hope I have the mental grit to get to the end of the course. I have been through quite a lot in my life, and I’ve done a lot of work to navigate what that left behind, and I really hope that I can apply it to the course, and make it all the way to the end.
“I’ve always wanted to do this course, and what I love about this course is the sheer pressure it puts on a human being, that you will just not get anywhere else in life. And I’ve had pressure, I’ve had so many forms of pressure, nothing like this, so I really just genuinely want to see how far my brain can go.”
Adam admits he loves a challenge(Image: Channel 4)
Age: 29
Famous for: Fitness coach and Love Islander
What they say about challenge: “Hopefully during the course, the DS will peel back a few layers because I’m stubborn as hell. And maybe I need to be broken down to then go and sort some stuff out.
“I’m doing it for the little boy who hated himself and couldn’t do anything and was the last to get picked in everything. And from an emotional point of view, I’m hoping that this spits out a better person.
“I love a challenge. And I really think this course is exactly what I want to really tap into my fitness, the mental strength, the resilience, and see if I’ve got the grit to finish and go all the way.”
Lady Leshurr
Lady Leshurr hopes to feel empowered(Image: Channel 4)
Age: 37
Famous for: Rapper
What they say about challenge: “I think this course is not only going to make me become the best version of myself, but it’s going to make me the strongest I’ve ever been. It’s going to make me realise so much about myself that I’ve kept in. It’s going to push, motivate and inspire me. It’s really going to make or break me. But regardless, it’s going to teach me a lesson about myself that I can definitely work on.”
“Doing this course is going to make me regain my strength, my understanding, who I am as a person and just unpack all the trauma that is on my chest…I’m hoping to leave this course feeling empowered, feeling the strongest I’ve ever felt, a beast. I want to walk into the gym the next day, like I own this place.”
Chloe Burrows
Chloe learnt a lot about herself(Image: Channel 4)
What they say about challenge: “On SAS: Who Dares Wins , everything is completely stripped back. You have absolutely nothing. And I want the course to kind of remind me of that, because I’ve got a bit lost in myself and the industry. I want to feel a little bit grounded. I want to get a sense of it. I want to push myself, and I want to get a sense of achievement. I want to feel proud of myself for whatever I put into it.
“I think the course is going to give me a bit of confidence. If I even achieve half of the course, then I can walk out and be like, yeah, guess what? I did that on my own. No makeup, no hot shower. I’m very capable…I would love to come out and just feel really pleased with myself and really confident in myself. I want to feel like I’ve tried my absolute hardest and that I had nothing left in the tank…I don’t want to leave half-heartedly. If I leave, it’s because I physically cannot do anymore, which is fair, but I just want to know that I’ve tried my hardest.”
* Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins can be streamed or watched live every Sunday and Monday from 9pm on Channel 4, starting on 3 August.
A major soap star had been looking forward to putting themselves through challenges as a contestant on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins – only to be forced out of the competition before it even began
10:30, 13 Jul 2025Updated 10:31, 13 Jul 2025
A major star has been forced to quit Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins(Image: PA)
Famous stars have been known to suffer injury while competing on Channel 4’s brutal reality show Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and forced to drop out of the contest. But now one star may have achieved a first for the long-running reality show – by being forced out of the show before they even made it to filming.
Soap icon Patsy Kensit was due to take part in the upcoming new season of the show. However, it appears her training in advance of the physical duration show left her too injured to take part.
Patsy, 57 – famous for playing Sadie King in Emmerdale and Emma Harding in EastEnders – had been taking her involvement in the show seriously and hitting the gym hard in order to get herself prepared for the trials that she would face on the show. Who Dares Wins sees contestants endure physical and psychological tests that the armed forced would experience in order to prove their mettle and determination.
But now it has been revealed that Patsy was sent home when she turned up to take part in the new filming as she had injured herself ahead of the cameras starting to roll. A source has explained that showmakers ordered the actress to return home to avoid any risk of further injury.
A source told The Sun on Sunday: “Patsy had been running at pace on a treadmill while wearing a weighted backpack filled with books and weights as part of her intense training regime. The added weight caused her to lose balance and fall backwards off the machine, bruising her arm and shoulder in the process.”
Patsy Kensit broke her arm – forcing her out of the show(Image: Getty Images)
The source added: “She even flew out to Morocco, where the filming was taking place, but production soon spotted the injury and she was sent home.”
The Mirror has contacted representatives of Channel 4 for comment, while a spokesperson for Patsy said: “The production company Minow who make Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins, were amazing the way they looked after Patsy. Their duty of care was second to none and very impressive. Patsy is on the mend and will of course make a full recovery.”
Earlier this month, Patsy was spotted with her arm in a sling while she attended a gala performance of the Faulty Towers theatre show in London’s West End.
Asked about her injury at the time, the star revealed: “I broke my shoulder in 3 places 3 weeks ago!!! I’m healing and a slight boogie with my besties I’m staying with this week will be a tonic for sure …”
The soap icon has been managing to enjoy herself despite her injury(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
While the star has been enjoying nights out despite her injury, there is one event she has made clear she won’t attend – the Oasis reunion tour dates.
Patsy was married to singer Liam Gallagher, 52, from 1997 until 2000 and they share 25-year-old son Lennon Gallagher together. Appearing on Good Morning Britain recently, Patsty revealed she was pleased to see her ex back on tour as Oasis and that her son would have the chance to see his dad perform with the iconic band – who famously split in 2009.
She told the ITV show: “My 24-year-old son, he’ll be there and he’ll have a lovely time. Great for him to see all of that and I’m happy for his dad, I think it’s a wonderful thing. But I won’t be attending.”
Oasis kicked off their Live ’25 Tour in Cardiff, Wales, earlier this month and this weekend they have been thrilling fans in their native Manchester. Liam and older brother Noel Gallagher, 58, have been singing to 80,000 strong crowds at Heaton Park where they belted out 23 of thier biggest hits.
The brothers – who shocked fans last year by announcing they had buried the hatchet to reform their group and hit the road again – will be on tour until late November. They have 41 dates set over the coming months – with the climax of the tour set to take place on 23 November in Brazil.
The tour has won rave reveiws from fans and critics alike. The Mirror’s Daniel Bird said: “Walking out at Heaton Park, you could never have imagined that there was once a feud between the two siblings. Putting on a united front, the two legends walked out to their 2000 track, F***in’ In The Bushes, to a crowd of 80,000 people, with the atmosphere instantly becoming electric.”
Israel says its settlement expansion is to “prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state” as it announced 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian lawyer Diana Buttu says Israeli officials are daring the world to stop them.
