Celebrity SAS star Rachel Johnson revealed she was left horrified when finding out that co-star Marnie Simpson was competing just 10 months after having a c-section.
Ex-Special Forces soldiers Billy Billingham, Foxy, Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver put the celebrities through gruelling regimes and punishing weather – leaving them to question why they left the comfort of their homes.
This year, fans will be gifted eight exhilarating hour-long episodes, with the celebrities going the furthest in show history as they undergo winter warfare training in the south islands of New Zealand.
There will be no eliminations this year, with all celebrities remaining until the bitter end of the eight-day training course.
Taking on the challenge this year is Anthony Ogogo, Bianca Gascoigne, Bobby Norris, Cherry Healey, Chris Robshaw, Ellie Downie, Georgia Harrison, John Barrowman, Lani Daniels, Marnie Simpson, Ovie Soko, Pete Wicks, Rachel Johnson, Shazia Mirza, and Tez Ilyas.
As usual, the celebrities face the toughest challenges, but Johnson was left stunned when she realised that Channel 4 production had allowed Geordie Shore star Simpson to compete whilst recovering from major surgery.
Discussing why she thought it was the wrong time to go on the show, Simpson told GB News and other press: “I think I had two to three weeks before going in that I found out.
“If I had more time then I would have mentally and physically prepared to go in there because I definitely wasn’t mentally right either because, just after having a baby I wasn’t right, my baby had colic so I wasn’t in a good head space.
“My c-section was still quite sore, my boobs were sore, but yeah it wasn’t the right timing. I just think I got to a point where the mental side was affecting us, it wasn’t doing us any good being there, physically and mentally.
“I just said this is not the right timing, it was doing us more bad than good to stay. If I had not had surgery and not just had a baby, I think I definitely would have stuck it out.
“One of my wounds on my boobs had opened up and got infected and the more that I was going in and out of the water and drying my body it was getting worse, and I thought I love this show but I don’t think it is worth my health…”
Johnson interjected and admitted: “I was absolutely horrified you were there, I felt so maternal towards you. I felt you were my daughter and when you went down the damn I thought NO!”
“The pain that put on my c-section scar, I was just in agony, weeks after I left I genuinely thought it had damaged my scar, it had only been 10,11 months and I had a bad delivery so that was just,” Simpson added.
“I was surprised that the production allowed you to do the show,” Johnson said before Simpson defended the show bosses: “To be fair I was probably like I’ll be fine.
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“You can’t prepare for what it is going to be like. I just did not think it was going to be that raw and tough. I would have rather waited and done it in full health.”
Similarly to previous years, the episodes will air every Sunday and Monday concurrently, leaving one formidable SAS star as the champion.
