John Barrowman leads cast of Celebrity SAS as 2024 line-up is confirmed

The line-up for the 2024 series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins has officially been confirmed, with John Barrowman among those leading the cast.

When celebrities choose to take part in the Channel 4 programme, they find out very quickly that they’re not going to have a smooth-sailing time, as they’re barked at by special forces experts and take part in gruelling military-worthy training drills.

Strictly Come Dancing 2024 star Pete Wicks learnt this the hard way when he took part in the show, but was forced to drop out in the second episode after sustaining an injury.

Joining them as they head to New Zealand for an unforgettable experience will be journalist Rachel Johnson, who’s the sister of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Love Island star and professional basketball player Ovie Soko, ex-professional boxer Anthony Ogogo and former Geordie Shore star Marnie Simpson.

Former Olympic gymnast Ellie Downie will also be taking part, as will reality TV star Bianca Gascoigne and former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw, among others.

Here’s the lowdown on the cast of the programme as the launch of the new season approaches.

Who’s in the cast of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins for 2024?

John Barrowman

Torchwood star John will be making his TV return on Celebrity SAS, explaining that he’s ‘always somebody who’s up for a challenge’, which is why he ‘just wanted to give it a whirl’.

He previuosly hit back at claims that he walked away from the show after less than an hour of filming.

Addressing the claim in July last year, he urged people to ‘watch the show and see the truth’ and to not spread ‘unsubstantiated information’ when they ‘don’t know the facts’.

Pete Wicks

Strictly star Pete suffered broken ribs when he jumped out of a helicopter into a lake, knocking himself unconscious with his backpack as he hit the water face-down at full speed.

Speaking about his return to the show two years later, the reality star and podcaster said: ‘After being medically withdrawn in Jordan, I felt like I hadn’t given it my best, and that bothered me.

‘So when I got an opportunity to go back, I jumped in, and I would do it again.’

Bianca Gascoigne

TV star Bianca Gascoigne has previously appeared on TV shows including Celebrity Big Brother, the 2006 series of Love Island and in 2012, she auditioned on The X Factor.

The daughter of Sheryl Gascoigne and the adopted daughter of former footballer Paul Gascoigne, the 37-year-old said that doing Celebrity SAS gave her a chance to ‘really show people what I’m made of’.

Ovie Soko

In 2019, Ovie gained a new legion of fans when he took part in Love Island, finishing in third place with his then-partner India Reynolds.

The professional basketball player, 33, said that doing Celebrity SAS ‘blew him away’.

‘You kind of see what to expect on TV, but you don’t really know until you get there. You don’t know how bad it is, the bad things that you have to do, you just don’t know the reality of it. But it was incredible. Absolutely incredible. I had one of the best experiences I think I’ve had in my life,’ he said.

Rachel Johnson

Journalist Rachel Johnson, the sister of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, compared Celebrity SAS to other TV shows, stating: ‘This experience was much more than I was expecting. I mean, given how ghastly reality television can be, this was top notch. Really top notch.’

The TV presenter has appeared on programmes including Question Time and The Pledge in the past, and in 2018 the 59-year-old became the second contestant to be eliminated on Celebrity Big Brother.

Shazia Mirza

Comedian Shazia Mirza revealed the huge impact that the Channel 4 show had on her life, making her realise that she can take on other big challenges outside of the programme.

‘On Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins I learned that if I can do this, I can probably do anything…’ she said.

Anthony Ogogo

Former professional boxer and professional wrestler Anthony Ogogo is no stranger to a challenge, having competed in the ring for the majority of his life.

The 35-year-old, who took part in Strictly in 2015, said: ‘Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is one of the best shows on telly. I wanted to push myself…and it was life changing.’

Chris Robshaw

Former rugby union Chris Robshaw might have to put his scrum skills back into practise with this latest venture

The 38-year-old said: ‘I wanted to see how far I could push myself…and how far I could go…it was just absolutely amazing.’

Bobby Norris

Former The Only Way Is Essex star Bobby Norris explained that for so long, he’s let his ‘many fears and phobias’ take control of his life.

So, he made the choice to take action by joining Celebrity SAS.

‘I decided that if I could try and even tackle one of them, I’d be happy,’ he said.

Ellie Downie

Just last year, Ellie Downie announced that she had retired as an artistic gymnast, after making history in her field.

The now-25-year-old has revealed that while she knew that Celebrity SAS was going to be hard, the degree of its severity really took her by surprise.

‘Everyone told me it would be difficult; the challenges are really hard and the DS are really strict. I thought it can’t be that bad, surely. It was! It exceeded my expectations…’ she revealed.

Georgia Harrison

Georgia Harrison has appeared on several TV shows over the years, including The Only Way Is Essex, Love Island, The challenge and Celebrity Ex on the Beach.

After returning to the villa for Love Island: All Stars last year, she’s said that doing Celebrity SAS ‘completely lived up to her expectation’.

‘It was like something off a movie…it was just brilliant…and as much as there were times that I had to overcome the challenges I had to overcome, I wouldn’t change it for the world,’ the 29-year-old said.

Marnie Simpson

Marnie Simpson first rose to prominence in 2011 when she joined the cast of Geordie Shore, going on to star on reality TV shows including Celerbity Big Brother, Ex on the Beach and Single AF.

The 32-year-old admitted that she ‘didn’t comprehend how tough’ Celebrity SAS was actually going to be before participating.

Tez Ilyas

Tez Ilyaz, 41, revealed that being on Celebrity SAS ‘surpassed’ all of his expectations.

The stand-up comedian, best-known for shows including Man Like Mobeen and The Tez O’Clock Show, added: ‘It was harder and more fun than I could have possibly imagined. It was uncomfortable. It was awful. It was brilliant.’

Cherry Healey

TV presenter Cherry Healey, who has hosted documentaries over the years including Cherry Healey: Like a Virgin, Cherry’s Body Dilemmas and Cherry Healey: How to Get A Life, admitted that found it ‘impossible’ to prepare herself ‘mentally, physically and emotionally’ for this experience.

‘It’s more than you could ever prepare for,’ the BBC star said.

‘It was everything. It was the most amazing, awful experience of my life.’

Lani Daniels

Professional boxer Lani Daniels, 36, found that the Channel 4 programme ‘exceeded her expectations’.

The athlete, who hails from New Zealand, shared: ‘It’s been one of the best experiences I’ve done in my life. It’s something that I will forever be grateful for.’

All of the famous figures taking part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins will be pushing their bodies to the limit with every mentally and physically draining task.

In contrast to other challenge-based TV shows, the contestants are not eliminated and are instead culled by the directing staff or able to withdraw themselves, with those who remain at the end declared the winners.

Chief instructor Billy Billingham will be returning with his team of directing staff Foxy (Jason Fox), Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver, and they will also be joined by former Special Forces psychologist Dr Alia Bojilova.

The show will see contestants exposed to constant cold and wet as they undertake an array of SAS training exercises.

Speaking about the new series, Billy said: ‘As our course progresses, the standards expected will never falter.

‘From the very first second, the recruits will be expected to give 100%.

‘Anyone not doing so will be gone before they have time to make their excuses. Our time is invaluable – we will not waste it on anyone not worthy.’

Series 6 of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins will air on Channel 4 every Sunday and Monday from September 22, at 9pm.

Strictly Come Dancing also returns on Saturday, September 14 at 7:20pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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