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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Is Celebrity SAS really the hardest show on TV?
Georgia Harrison says it's the hardest thing she's ever done, but Pete Wicks thinks Strictly is tougher - just how gruelling is the Channel 4 show? Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins gets off to a bumpy start for some of the 2025 series recruits, with two dropping out in the very first episode. The Channel 4 show is touted as one of the most gruelling challenges on how tough is it really? The series sees celebrities take on a simulation of the notoriously brutal SAS selection process training, including physical feats and interrogation about their toughest life moments. Some former contestants have called it the most difficult thing they've ever done, whilst others have claimed to have found Strictly Come Dancing much more taxing. From trench foot and broken bones to medical withdrawals and mental pressure, there's no doubt that celebrity recruits should prepare themselves for the worst. But some have said the experience wasn't nearly as bad as expected - here's what the show's former stars have had to say about Celebrity SAS. 'It's just so, so tough' It will come as no surprise to anyone who's watched Celebrity SAS that plenty of contestants have called the show one of the toughest things they've ever done, citing injuries, painful physical challenges and emotional difficulties as the worst parts. Georgia Harrison The former Love Islander was one of just two celebs to pass the 2024 series, but told The Sun she had underestimated how tough it would be: "I really did think the interrogation was going to be easy, because I would watch it on TV and think, 'If that was me, I wouldn't be shaking on the floor', but I really underestimated just so, so tough." "It's awful, excruciatingly hard, degrading, demoralising and one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life," she added, claiming that she had "almost drowned" in one challenge. Rachel Johnson Harrison's castmates in the 2024 series also suffered a number of physical injuries and medical problems - Marnie Simpson withdrew after a wound from a recent surgery became infected from frequently getting soaked and not having the chance to dry out. Meanwhile, Rachel Johnson shared: "I broke a rib. It was a lose-lose situation cos you're in terrible pain and you go to the doctor and you say, 'I can't walk or I definitely can't run. And I definitely can't carry my pack.' And the doctor says, 'Well, you know, there's nothing I can do about a broken rib. I'm not an X-ray machine. Do you want to leave?' So you just have to power on through." Gareth Gates Former Pop Idol contestant Gareth Gates was the only 2023 celebrity to pass the course, but confessed the stress of the experience had a huge effect on his stutter, telling Lorraine his speech had become "possibly the worst it has ever been". He said of the final: "It was definitely the worst experience of my life. I haven't ever felt pain like it. When you are held in those stress positions for hours, it's really is unbearable. It was really horrendous." Matt Hancock Former health secretary Matt Hancock was a controversial finalist in 2023, but left the show with an unwelcome souvenir - trench foot. His fellow finalists had the same problem, with Danielle Lloyd admitting she was still having treatment for it months later. Talking about the show, Hancock said: "Being on SAS was like nothing else I've ever experienced. It's one of the toughest physical and mental things I've ever done. It really opens your eyes and makes you look into yourself. "After coming through the most challenging period as Health Secretary during the pandemic, I wanted to push my limits. It's safe to say the course tested my resilience!" John Barrowman The 2025 series might have seen some early drop-outs, but in 2024 John Barrowman set the record for quitting before even spending one night in camp. Viewers saw him vomiting after one challenge, but Barrowman later told Lorraine that there were other issues at play: "As I kept going through that first day and they were saying things like 'you don't know who you are, you've got to discover who you are, you've got to find out who the real person is'. All the stuff they say to build you back up. I kept saying to myself, 'I know who I am, I know who John Barrowman is. I've made a mistake here,' and that was in the bit where we were having the walk through. "Then when that lightbulb went off, then I started getting sick. I realised I'm in a situation here, I know who John Barrowman is, I'm starting to get sick, I need to make a conscious decision if I'm going to continue here. Then that was it, I just said I'm out, because I didn't think I could do it if I was sick." 'Strictly Come Dancing is far harder' Not everybody found Celebrity SAS the worst experience of their lives - whether through bravado, blanking out the worst bits, or really being as tough as an SAS officer, these former contestants didn't seem to see the big deal. Pete Wicks Ex-Towie star Pete Wicks is something of an authority on Celebrity SAS, as the only recruit to have taken on the show twice. Wicks had to be medically withdrawn early on in 2022, but returned for the 2024 series and made it to episode six. However, Wicks said that taking part in 2024's Strictly Come Dancing, where he reached the semi-final, was a much greater challenge. Asked on Loose Women in October which of his TV contests had been the most demanding, Wicks said: "Strictly. It's the toughest, by far. I did SAS twice. This is harder. It's more intense and it's so far out of my comfort zone." AJ Pritchard Surprisingly, former Strictly pro dancer AJ Pritchard shares Wicks' opinion. He took part in 2022 alongside his brother Curtis, who was culled in episode four, but AJ went on to pass the final. Asked whether Strictly or Celebrity SAS was tougher, he told PA news agency: "It's a really hard one. I think for me, SAS was so therapeutic and so beautiful and I feel like I achieved what I wanted. "But Strictly itself, being a professional dancer you are a life coach, you are the driving force, you are the person that puts it all together and holds it together when it's going wrong so mentally and physically, Strictly is a hell of a lot longer at six months. "And probably if SAS was for six months it'd be hard but Strictly for being six months is harder than SAS. I have to be open and honest about that. You are a life coach through and through – therapist, taxi man, everything else that comes along with it." Jeff Brazier Another celebrity who has opened up on a surprising show he found harder than Celebrity SAS is Jeff Brazier. The TV presenter took part in Celebrity Race Across the World with son Freddie in 2024, but despite viewers feeling envious of the once-in-a-lifetime trip from Brazil to Chile, Brazier claimed it was tougher than SAS training. During the BBC travel series, he spoke about finding it difficult to let go and have fun as a dad, as well as allowing Freddie to make some of their decisions. He told The Mirror: "I actually found it harder [than Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins]. People think I'm being silly by even suggesting that a travel show can be harder than being interrogated, hosed down and screamed at, but it's the five weeks of constant challenge and pressure." Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins will return to Channel 4 this summer.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oasis ‘shocked and saddened' as fan in his 40s dies in fall during Wembley Stadium gig
A man in his 40s has died after falling at Wembley Stadium during an Oasis concert on Saturday night. According to reports, he was understood to be sitting in the upper tier as Noel and Liam Gallagher performed to a sell-out crowd. In a statement the band said they were 'shocked and saddened' to hear of the death of a fan. They added: 'Oasis would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved.' The Metropolitan Police said officers on duty at the venue responded to reports of an injured person at around 10.20pm, alongside medics and the London Ambulance Service. One eyewitness told the Daily Mail: 'It was horrendous. The guy fell from a balcony. Paramedics came rushing over. There was a lot of screaming and shouting. 'It was a big fall. God knows how it happened. It was so tragic. I don't know how on earth it happened. 'It was heartbreaking. He was only young.' One fan, who was sitting in a lower tier in the 90,000-seat venue, described watching medics try to revive the tragic fan after he hit the ground. She wrote: 'I was directly underneath in section 211. At first glance I thought it was a coat falling from the above tier but then I looked and saw the bloke on the concrete. It was horrific to see.' Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys had been at Wembley on Saturday. He caused a social media storm after blaming the death on a 'massive amount of alcohol allowed into the arena'. He alleged on X, formerly Twitter: 'I heard about this last night. It's so sad. Thoughts are with the family. 'The cause was the massive amount of alcohol allowed into the arena. 'I was astounded to see it. It wouldn't happen at a football match. It shouldn't happen at a concert.' Scotland Yard said: 'At around 10.19pm Saturday, August 2, officers on duty at Wembley Stadium for the Oasis concert responded alongside venue medics and the London Ambulance Service to reports that a person had been injured. 'A man - aged in his 40s – was found with injuries consistent with a fall. He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. 'The stadium was busy, and we believe it is likely a number of people witnessed the incident, or may knowingly or unknowingly have caught it on mobile phone video footage.' The fall happened during the latest in a run of stadium shows for the band's sell-out Live '25 reunion tour – their first since splitting in 2009. Wembley Stadium said their concert on Sunday night will still be going ahead. A spokesperson for Wembley Stadium said: 'Last night, Wembley Stadium medics, the London Ambulance Service and the police attended to a concert-goer who was found with injuries consistent with a fall. 'Despite their efforts, the fan very sadly died. 'Our thoughts go out to his family, who have been informed and are being supported by specially trained police officers. The police have asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them. 'Tonight's Oasis concert will go ahead as planned.' Anyone with information should call police on 101, quoting 7985/02AUG.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Billy Joel Reveals His Jewish Family's Harrowing Escape from Germany During World War II: ‘They Were Hunted'
"If my grandparents had been found on the train with the documents that said Jew, they would've been sent immediately to a concentration camp. They got out. A miracle," the musician saidNEED TO KNOW Billy Joel detailed his father's family's harrowing escape from Germany during World War II in the two-part HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes "If my grandparents had been found on the train with the documents that said Jew, they would've been sent immediately to a concentration camp. They got out. A miracle," the singer said Billy said learning about his family's painful history during the war inspired him to wear a yellow star while performing onstage in 2017, to protest Donald Trump's comment about the violence that erupted at the Unite the Right white supremacist rallyBilly Joel is opening up about a painful piece of his family history. In the two-part HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, the 76-year-old musician detailed his Jewish paternal family's harrowing journey out of Germany during World War II. Billy described how his father, Howard (born Helmut) Joel, grew up in a "well-to-do" family who were "very proud to be German" and not "practicing Jews." His grandfather, Karl Joel, meanwhile, operated a successful factory in Nuremberg that made textiles and clothing. "His business was doing very, very well, until the Nazis came to power," Billy said, explaining that his father was 10 when Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany and "things got nasty." "My dad would look over the fence while they were doing all these anti-Semitic speeches. I can't imagine the trauma of watching the SS parade espousing these principles," he continued. "Eventually, he couldn't even go to school." Billy's grandfather Karl soon "realized, 'This is it, I better leave while I can,' " and sold his factory "for pennies on the dollar." The family managed to cross the border into Switzerland without incident. "He was lucky," Billy said. "If my grandparents had been found on the train with the documents that said Jew, they would've been sent immediately to a concentration camp. They got out. A miracle." His family eventually made their way to Cuba in 1939, and then to the United States. Billy recalled learning the disturbing detail that the man who took over his grandfather's Nuremberg factory began using it to produce the uniforms the Nazi prisoners wore. "I didn't know any of that until I was in my mid-20s. There's still a lot I don't know," the singer said. "I didn't know my father at all, from the time I was about 8 years old until I was in my mid-20s. Tried to figure out where he was, how I could contact him, but nobody knew." Billy's parents divorced when he was 8, and his father subsequently moved to Europe. Billy, who was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and grew up on Long Island, said he played in lots of European clubs early in his career in the hopes of tracking down his father. Eventually, Billy learned that his father was living in Vienna and went to visit him at his apartment. There, he found out he had a half-brother. Billy tried to get his father to talk about his past, but he was reluctant. "He had a very strange life. He fought in the U.S. Army under General Patton. They liberated Dachau," he recounted in the documentary. "I tried to get him to talk about it, but he didn't really want to talk about his past, and I heard most of it from my brother." Billy then found out about his father's family, who did not leave Germany during the war. "They were hunted. I visited the graveyard where the Joel family is buried. And I didn't even know I had that many relatives," he said. "They wiped out my family," Billy continued. "I would've liked to have known some of these people." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Uncovering his family's experience during the war moved Billy to make a rare political statement. In August 2017, following the Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., the "Piano Man" singer wore a yellow star on his jacket during a concert at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Billy explained in the documentary that wearing the star was his way of hitting back against President Donald Trump's response to the violent clashes that erupted at the rally. During a press conference, Trump, 79, said, "You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides." "I was angry. And I had to do something," Billy recalled. "But I didn't want to get up on a soapbox onstage and say this is wrong, so I wore the star, basically, to say, no matter what, I will always be a Jew. I am a Jew." Billy Joel: And So It Goes is available to stream on HBO Max. Read the original article on People
