Celebrity SAS' Conor Benn considered suicide after drugs ban
The boxer's battle to clear his name clearly took a huge toll on his mental health
Conor Benn was left distraught amid doping allegations a couple of years ago
(Image: Getty Images)
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is back on our screens for another series this week, with a number of household names set to be pushed to their limit in one of the most gruelling reality shows on the planet.
As well as testing the physical and mental endurance of the celebrity line-up, the show also gives viewers a raw and honest glimpse into the personal lives
Among those taking part is boxer Conor Benn, who is no stranger to pushing his body to the limit, due to his career in the ring.
However, his time in the world of professional boxing has also taken a huge toll on his mental health at times.
Back in 2022, weeks after his planned fight with Chris Eubank Jr was cancelled, Benn twice tested positive for women's fertility drug clomifene.
He gave up his licence under the threat of a lengthy ban, but fought his case.
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For 24 months Benn protested his innocence to the UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) and the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), before his provisional suspension was lifted in 2024.
The experience clearly caused Benn to spiral, and he candidly revealed it had even caused him to consider taking his own life.
"It's hurt me," said Benn in an interview on Piers Morgan: Uncensored. "I didn't think I was going to make it through this period. I didn't think I was going to make it through."
Asked if he was talking about taking his own life, Benn replied: "Yeah. Yeah, I'd say so - and it upsets me now because I don't know how I got so bad. I got in a really bad way about it.
"I was shamed for something I hadn't even done. It's hard because I felt like I was on death row for something I haven't even done.
"If I had done something wrong, I'm human. I'd raise my hands to it, 'I made a mistake', whatever it is, I raise my hands. Never this.
"I felt seven years of hard work and sacrifice, and leaving my family and the image I maintain, was just ruined by somebody else's incompetence. It's been hard for the family."
When he was eventually "cleared of any wrongdoing" the welterweight reiterated he was always "an advocate for clean sport".
"This past 24 months has unquestionably been the toughest fight of my life," Benn wrote in a statement published on X.
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"[It has been} a rollercoaster period within which the WBC had already decided that I was innocent and the NADP decided in the first instance that there was no case to answer and I was free to fight."
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