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Controversial athletes and a former politician: Everything you need to know about SAS Australia.

SAS Australia is returning to Channel Seven for a second season this Monday, and if ever there was a time Australia needed to see celebrities pushed to their limits, it would be now.

The show will see 18 celebrities put to the test in a series of physical and psychological challenges plucked from the real SAS selection process. 

Cut off from the outside world, the contestants will eat, sleep and train together in incredibly tough conditions: extreme physical endurance, sleep deprivation, interrogation and psychological testing.... to name a few. 

Watch the trailer for the last season of SAS Australia. Post continues after video.


Video via Channel 7.

The contestants are put through the course by an elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers, including Chief Instructor Ant Middleton and his DS (Directing Staff) Mark 'Billy' Billingham, Jason 'Foxy' Fox and Ollie Ollerton, who are all back from season one. 

Recruits arrive with absolutely no possessions and are issued everything they need to survive the Snowy Mountains in their "Bergen". 

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That includes: 

  • helmet 
  • chest harness 
  • sleeping mat 
  • tarp 
  • towel 
  • water bottle
  • knife
  • mess kit
  • mug
  • toilet roll
  • sanitising wipes
  • sunglasses
  • head torch
  • notebook
  • pencil
  • toothpaste
  • toothbrush
  • belt
  • armband
  • whistle
  • watch
  • sleeping bag
  • compass and 
  • two sets of kit (clothing)

Here's everything else we know:

The SAS Australia air date. 

SAS Australia premieres 7.30pm Monday, September 13 on Channel Seven.

The SAS Australia contestants:

SAS Australia: Mark Philippoussis

Former Tennis Player, Mark Philippoussis is looking to "get out of his comfort zone, and get pushed to the limits."

"I'm feeling excited, anxious, a touch scared," he said.

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"It's the same feeling as walking onto those [tennis] courts. It's exciting because I haven't felt that in a very long time."

SAS Australia: Brynne Edelsten

Socialite, Brynne Edelsten has joined the SAS lineup to prove she is "more than just Geoffrey Edelsten's ex wife."

"I'm scared of everything," she said.

"I'm not a gold digger, I can get through anything."

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SAS Australia: Manu Feildel

Celebrity chef and reality star, Manu Feildel will be joining the SAS Australia lineup.

"In the kitchen you need to stay calm and handle the pressure. It's pretty much like this," he said of SAS Australia. 

"I'm doing this to challenge myself, and I'm equally excited and scared."

SAS Australia: Jana Pittman

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Dual Olympian, mum-of-four, and doctor Jana Pittman is a serious contender in the SAS Australia course.

"I think I'm tough, but you know, I had a baby six months ago," she said.

"I've lost the olympics, I've lost babies, I've lost marriages... I wanna make my beautiful children proud."

SAS Australia: Pete Murray

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Musician, Pete Murray will be joining the recruits in the 2021 season of SAS Australia.

"I'm 51 now, I'm not sure whether my body is going to get there, but I'm going to give it one hell of a go," he said.

"What's going to make me proud of myself is just to push myself as far as I can... I've gotta find out how I'll go."

SAS Australia: Heath Shaw

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Professional AFL player, Heath Shaw is looking forward to challenging himself in the SAS Australia course. 

"I'm doing this to prove to myself I can go over and above what I've done in the past," he said.

SAS Australia: Alicia Molik

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Former tennis champion, Alicia Molik is looking to "completely test [herself]" in SAS Australia. 

She believesthat it will be "the toughest test".

"It’s resilience, mental fortitude, patience, belief, not second guessing, all tied into each other in an instant," she said to TV Blackbox.

"I gave this course every ounce of my energy, planning and dedication leading up to it."

SAS Australia: Dan Ewing

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Dan Ewing is best known for his role as tough guy, Heath on Home and Away. 

"I am obsessed with growth and chasing the best version of myself," he told TV Blackbox on why he applied for the show.

"I came to the course in a very good place. I sought to not only test that state of being in the ultimate pressure cooker, but to take my perspective on life to a whole new level."

SAS Australia: Emma Husar

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Former politician and educator Emma Husar joined SAS Australia as "a way of overcoming the issues [she] faced in 2018 at the end of [her] Parliamentary career and 'prove to Australia' that [she] is not what [she] was accused of."

"I think I learnt more about myself than in the last two years of therapy," she said to TV Blackbox.

We can't wait to see how she fares.

SAS Australia: Erin Holland

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Former Miss World Australia and TV presenter, Erin Holland will be taking on the SAS Australia challenge to prove herself as more than a "beauty queen".

"I don't think people expect a lot of me, and I really want to prove them wrong," she said.

SAS Australia: Isabelle Cornish

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Isabelle Cornish is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Puberty Blues and Home and Away.

"I like to seek opportunities that will help me to grow," she said to TV Blackbox.

"The SAS selection course was a new challenge to throw myself into."

SAS Australia: Jessica Peris

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Athlete, Jessica Peris enlisted for the SAS Australia course to see how far she could push herself, physically and mentally.

"I'm most afraid of failure," she said.

"I accomplished challenges that I thought were not humanly possible for me. I learnt more about myself as a person in 10 days than the 31 years on this earth," she said to TV Blackbox.

SAS Australia: Bonnie Anderson

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Musician and actress, Bonnie Anderson is looking forward to "pushing [herself] in ways she's never pushed [herself]."

"My experience on SAS was mind blowing, I felt a lot of highs and lows, achieving and overcoming fears I didn’t even know that I had and also pushing my mind and body beyond my means," she told TV Blackbox. 

"It was an extreme experience, physically and mentally, and for me I felt that it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done emotionally. It really stripped me down and forced me to deal with emotions I have suppressed in the past."

SAS Australia: Jett Kenny

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Lisa Curry's son, Jett Kenny is doing the SAS Australia course to try and "better himself" as a person.

"I'm most afraid of being the weak link," he said.

"I'm doing this to try and see what that wall is for me, mentally and physically, and seeing if I can get past that wall."

SAS Australia: John Steffensen

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Former track and field athlete, John Steffensen is most afraid of the cold on the SAS Australia course.

"It was the worst and best experience of my life," he told TV Blackbox. 

"I was able to delve back into the mindset I used as an athlete and grow and refine it to help me, post-show, to be a better human."

SAS Australia: Kerri Pottharst

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Three-time Olympian, Kerri Pottharst is joining the SAS Australia lineup for her next challenge. 

"I wanted to do something most women wouldn’t do and would think was crazy, especially at my age, to show what’s possible when you let go of your fears and doubts," she told TV Blackbox. 

"Nothing can compare to the tasks we completed and the daily 'grind' of being ready for anything, at any moment."

SAS Australia: Koby Abberton

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Bra boy, Koby Abberton joined this season's lineup of SAS Australia because, as he told TV Blackbox, he likes "easy money, and enjoys training."

"14 days training in the dirt with celebs and hard men sounded alright to me."

But, he was in for a bit of a shock.

"It’s hard, it’s cold, and it’s no joke. Expect to be ridiculed and made a fool. The DS want you to learn through pain, fatigue and anxiety! They strip away the layers and want you to be the best you."

SAS Australia: Sam Burgess

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NRL star, Sam Burgess signed up to SAS Australia because he wanted to see if he "still had that winning mentality," he had prior to retiring from sport.

"There was a moment when I thought I genuinely believed it was too much, but I broke through," he told TV Blackbox.

"You have to learn to enjoy the pain of it. I enjoyed the team tasks as I have spent a lifetime working in teams. The in between moments were really great. I have formed strong bonds with some of the other recruits."

Feature Image: Instagram / @manufeildelofficial , @brynne_edelsten, @samburgess8

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