SAS Australia on Channel 7 – SAS triumph for recruits Tim Robards and Matthew Mitcham. Actor and Olympic diver pass selection on TV’s toughest test.
Tonight on SAS Australia, after completing the brutal 10-day desert course, actor Tim Robards and former Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham passed selection on TV’s toughest test,
The four remaining recruits – Tim, Matthew, Abbey Holmes and Dr Craig Challen – were challenged with a three-phase final mission to test their psychological and physical capabilities, with the DS wanting to determine who was worthy of selection.
Phase one saw the recruits woken by stun grenades before being hooded and held captive by the DS for two hours and forced to suffer the most confronting experience any SAS solider will ever face: filming a death message to their loved ones without showing any emotion.
Tim and Craig controlled their emotions to pass phase one, while Abbey and Matthew failed after becoming overwhelmed and bursting into tears.
Phase two was a punishing physical test of grit and determination: a five-kilometre run carrying their bergens before a 150-metre-high cliff assault with a dangerous vertical ascent to the summit.
With phase two of the final mission completed, the DS delivered the shocking news that one recruit would be culled, missing out on final selection. After deliberating, the DS announced Abbey would not be progressing to selection.
Abbey said: “I’m very disappointed not to get to the end, but what this experience has shown me is that your mind and your body are capable of so much more. I know that I’ve pushed as hard as I possibly could. I’ve been lucky enough to really learn a lot about myself, and I’ve learned not to chase perfection.”
With Abbey gone, the three remaining recruits entered the third phase of the final mission, undergoing one of the most treacherous tests: a hostage rescue.
The recruits were charged with avoiding detection while clearing buildings to find two hostages held in separate locations and transport them to the safety of the extraction vehicle.
Having saved the hostages and escaped to safety, Tim, Matthew and Craig had completed the third phase of their mission and the SAS course.
After deliberation, DS Ant Middleton announced that Tim and Matthew had passed selection.
Tim was thrilled to hear the news and also relieved to know that he had equalled his wife’s (Anna Heinrich) performance on the course in 2022.
“I’m so happy. It’s shown what strength I’ve got inside. I probably doubted that a lot. Now I’m getting teary…” Tim said.
“It was hard work. So many times you just want to stop, and you want to quit, and you’ve just gotta keep pushing and pushing. I can’t wait to call my wife and tell her that I made it.”
Matt was also overjoyed to have passed selection. “I am just so elated,” he said. “This has been the best experience of my entire life. I am so overwhelmed with gratitude.
“I did come in as a survivor and I have definitely thrived throughout this course. I was controlled by my inner saboteur before. But now I feel capable of doing basically anything.”
SAS Australia on Channel 7 and 7plus
SAS Australia on Channel 7
About SAS Australia
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.
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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.
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
Media Release – Seven
SAS Australia on Channel 7
TV Central Seven content HERE
SAS Australia on Channel 7
