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sas who dares wins

SAS: Who Dares Wins is a British quasi-military reality TV series where ordinary people (and later celebrities) attempt a condensed version of UK Special Forces selection, facing extreme physical and psychological tests in harsh environments.

What is “SAS: Who Dares Wins”?

  • The show launched on Channel 4 in the UK in October 2015 as a reality training format inspired by the ethos and selection style of the Special Air Service (SAS).
  • Recruits undergo a shortened, highly demanding course designed to mirror elements of real UK Special Forces selection, including sleep deprivation, cold exposure, and intense combat-style tasks.

Key format and challenges

  • There are no standard weekly eliminations: each recruit wears a numbered armband and can “VW” (voluntarily withdraw) by handing it in, or be removed by staff or medics.
  • Series typically culminate in a capture-and-interrogation phase overseen by a former senior intelligence officer, simulating resistance to questioning and psychological pressure.

History and spin‑offs

  • The original civilian series began in 2015; a celebrity version was introduced in 2019 in aid of Stand Up To Cancer and later became the main focus after 2023.
  • Locations have changed each series, ranging from Wales and Scotland to more extreme environments like Ecuador, Morocco, Chile, Jordan, and Vietnam.

Directing Staff and instructors

  • Early series were fronted by ex-Special Forces operator Ant Middleton as chief instructor, with directing staff including Jason “Foxy” Fox, Mark “Billy” Billingham, and Matthew “Ollie” Ollerton.
  • Middleton departed the show in 2021 after controversy, with former US Recon Marine Rudy Reyes later stepping in as chief instructor and Chris Oliver joining as part of the directing staff in later series.

Motto “Who Dares Wins”

  • The title comes from the SAS motto “Who Dares Wins”, commonly credited to SAS founder Sir David Stirling and now strongly associated with elite special forces culture.
  • The phrase has older roots in European and Middle Eastern sources, but in modern popular culture it is most widely known through the SAS and related media such as this series and the 1982 film “Who Dares Wins”.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.