FOURTEEN household names undertook telly’s toughest test in this year’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
But just four proved gutsy enough to pass the course.
Maisie Smith, Calum Best, AJ Pritchard and Ferne McCann all passed this year’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins
Viewers saw Maisie Smith, Calum Best, AJ Pritchard and Ferne McCann ace the final test as they underwent ten hours of gruelling interrogation before climbing a mountain in sweltering heat in Jordan.
Chief instructor Rudy Reyes told them: “From day one, we demanded 100 per cent. Into your tasks, into your discipline, into your teamwork.
“Which of you gave everything they had?”
Drenched in sweat on the summit, the four were put out of their misery as he went on: “Congratulations.
“You all passed.
“Job well done.”
Ferne and Maisie join the handful of victorious women – singer Alexandra Burke and Paralympian Lauren Steadman in the celebrity edition and three in the regular version.
Here, this year’s awesome foursome share how passing has changed their lives.
MAISIE SMITH
‘ I feel like I could conquer the world ’
Maisie Smith admits she got ‘really p***ed and slept for 24 hours’ after completing SAS Who Dares Wins
At 5ft 1in, Maisie was an underdog but proved to have huge mental strength
GUTSY ex-EastEnders actress Maisie Smith celebrated in true Walford fashion – by sinking a few drinks.
The Strictly Ballroom star said: “I got really p*ssed and then slept for 24 hours!
“That’s how I celebrated!”
At 5ft 1in, Maisie was an underdog but proved to have huge mental strength.
Now even more confident, she told HOAR: “The directing staff would always say, ‘We’re not looking for the fastest or the strongest.
“We want someone that has the strongest brain and heart’. And I think I did.
“That’s where I won them over, my mentality of never giving up. I’ve never felt more empowered, more strong.
“I’ve had feelings over the years about not being good enough.
“But this got that demon off my shoulder. I came out feeling like I could conquer the world.”
It’s helped Maisie be more open with new boyfriend, The Wanted singer Max George, too.
She added: “Now he really knows me.”
FERNE MCCANN
‘It’s shaped me into a boss and a warrior’
Towie’s Ferne McCann said the experience shaped her into a ‘boss and a warrior’
SINGLE mum Ferne McCann has dedicated her success on the show to her daughter Sunday.
The ex-Towie star framed her recruit armband and hung it in her kitchen.
Ferne said: “It’s a constant reminder of how tough I really am. Sunday was like, ‘Mummy, what’s that?’.
“And I was like, ‘You’ll see, darling’.
“It’s got all the mud on it, it’s very cool.”
Ferne believes the experience will finally prove to the public she is more than just a reality TV personality.
She added: “It really has shaped me into an absolute boss and a warrior. I feel like I can achieve anything now.
“Coming from being a reality star, you get tarred with this talentless brush. Now I’ve proven I’m a bad boss bitch.”
But there was also one slightly less profound take-home for the Instagram star.
She said: “I looked banging when I came out the show!
“(Fellow Celeb SAS recruit) Ashley Cain was like, ‘Girl, you look good. You’ve got abs popping’.”
CALUM BEST
‘Bring on the rest. I’m a tough motherf***er’
Calum Best said completing the course has helped him prove he’s more than just George Best’s son
CALUM BEST has revealed the course has finally helped him feel like more than just “George Best’s son”.
The footy legend’s son turned telly personality, who has struggled to find his own path, said: “I’d think to myself, all these experiences you’ve had in life, all these highs or these lows, whether it be bankruptcy, whether it be drinking every night for years.
“Whether it be losing your dad and pressure from people saying, ‘What are you besides George Best’s son?’.
“Now I’m saying, ‘I am a tough motherf***er who can accomplish anything I want to accomplish’. Bring on the rest.”
Calum was stunned he got through the savage interrogation round.
He added: “You come out of that and there’s three people next to you. You go, ‘We’ve f***ing done it’.
“And then they go, ‘one more thing’.
“And you want me to go climb to the top of that mountain in order to pass this course?
“And then I went, ‘Bring it the f**k on’, and just nailed it.”
AJ PRITCHARD
‘Don’t waste time. Make a decision’
AJ Pritchard said the experience changed him and showed him how short life is
FORMER Strictly pro AJ Pritchard has hinted that the show prompted such a change in his mindset it made him rethink his entire life.
The dancer recently split with long-term girlfriend Abbie Quinnen and is now dating influencer Zara Zoffany.
He said after completing the course: “The experience has changed me.
“Life is very short and lots of people don’t have the opportunity to enjoy life because of illness or it’s taken away from them, life itself.
“So don’t waste time and don’t question if you’re going to make a decision.
“Make a decision, make it happen, because if you’re always pondering, you’re wasting time and energy.”
AJ says he had a strategy for completing the gruelling final.
He added: “I always held on to 20 per cent of my energy, just in case I have to do more.
“I’d just told myself that whatever we were doing next was going to be more painful, more exhausting, more horrible.”
DALES’ PAIGE IS TOP VILLAIN
EMMERDALE’s Paige Sandhu will be crowned Best Villain for the second year in a row at tonight’s Inside Soap Awards for her terrifying performances as serial killer Meena Julta.
Paige, whose final scenes with the ITV soap aired in April, beat fierce competition from Maximus Evans, who plays Corrie’s Corey Brent, Charlie Brooks, EastEnders’ Janine Butcher, and Jamie Lomas, Hollyoaks’ Warren Fox.
Paige Sandhu will be crowned Best Villain at the Inside Soap Awards for her terrifying performance as serial killer Meena Julta
A soap source said: “Paige is thrilled and can’t wait to collect her award.”
Other gongs include Best Actor and Actress, Best Storyline and the much-coveted Best Soap.
At last week’s National Television Awards, Paige lost out to Mark Charnock, who plays Emmerdale’s Marlon Dingle, for Serial Drama Performance.
Inside Soap editor Gary Gillatt told HOAR: “Fans have thrilled to the wild reign of terror of Emmerdale’s murderous Meena – played with great wit and gusto by the peerless Paige Sandhu.”
The star-studded bash at 100 Wardour Street in central London will also celebrate 30 years of the mag.
To mark the milestone a new trophy will be awarded for readers’ All-Time Icon.
Voting for Best Soap remains open via insidesoap.co.uk until noon today.
