First look at Matt Hancock on SAS: Who Dares Wins as he crawls through swamp, walks tightrope & sobs at interrogation
SHAMED Matt Hancock grimaces as he is bundled over while wrestling on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins — and appears near to breaking point during an interrogation.
The former Health Secretary was flattened while wrestling and his unshaven face looked haunted when a hood was pulled off his head before instructors began to grill him.
Viewers will relish seeing him put through hell after he broke his own Covid lockdown rules by getting caught in a clinch with former aide, now girlfriend, Gina Coladangelo.
Hancock, 44, who quit the health role in 2021 but is still an MP, had a rough ride last year on I’m a Celebrity but admits his stint in the Vietnamese jungle — which begins with the instructors telling the 16 recruits, “Welcome to your worst nightmare” — was far tougher.
He 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.
“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!”
A TV insider said: “Anyone who enjoyed seeing him eating grubs and kangaroo anuses in Bushtucker Trials on I’m A Celebrity will love these scenes. Australia was uncomfortable for him but this trip is agonising.”
Other contestants include Towie’s James Argent, singer Gareth Gates and model Danielle Lloyd.
All three are seen weeping during the show.
Chief Instructor Mark “Billy” Billingham, a former SAS man, is joined by ex-Commando Jason Fox and former US marine Rudy Reyes, plus new instructor Chris Oliver, who is ex Special Forces.
Billy said: “The SAS selection course follows the ethos of the regiment — self-motivation, self-discipline, pursuit of excellence.
“Recruits will be pushed emotionally, physically and mentally beyond anything they’ve experienced. The standards won’t drop but most of them will.”
The Channel 4 series starts on September 26.