Reality TV star Gabby Allen described her time on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins as ‘hardcore’
Former Love Islander and fitness trainer Gabby Allen is absolutely glowing (a radiance she credits to Fenty’s Hydra Vizor Huez Tinted Moisturizer, £22.50) and full of effervescence when we sit down on Zoom in the wake of her admirable win on Channel 4’s gruelling show Celebrity SAS: Who Dares wins – a lovely contrast to the gloom of winter on a cold Thursday morning in January.
Swapping her cargo pants and sweat wicking tees for White Fox sportswear, the 34-year-old declared without hesitation: ‘I’d do it again’, reflecting on the ‘hardcore’ course which sees celebrities undergo a condensed, high-intensity version of Special Air Service (SAS) selection.
Tackling a series of tasks over eight days, it aims to push the limits of mental and physical strength. Recruits had buckets of ice-cold water tipped over them, climbed mountains with ammo strapped to their backs, endured interrogation by the show’s DS and much more.
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“It gave me so much respect for anyone who’s done the course properly,” she said, recalling one brutal task in particular – eight hours of noise torture, during which the remaining celebrities had to lie down and withstand loud, repetitive and disorienting sounds. “They do like 36 hours of that with no sleep or anything.”
But it gets worse. She explains: “It wasn’t like we were just lying down listening to it. Your toes had to be facing the ceiling, your hands had to be slapped by your sides [stress positions]. There were moments where I’d think ‘I’m just going to rest a minute here’, and they’d slap your foot back or poke you with something.
“You’re in absolute agony. The effect it had on [me]… it was hardcore.”
Having passed the rigorous selection course alongside Dani Dyer and Emily Seebohm – an all female line up – in the finale, Gabby was in a state of shock upon being crowned.
“When they told me I’d passed, I was numb. We all just stood there not moving. I was like: ‘I don’t know what I’m celebrating here’.
“I think I was just in shock of what we’d just been through. I was in awe… but also just horrified. It was only after I got back and slept that I was obviously buzzing. But at that moment in time, there was not one ounce of energy left in me to be like ‘yay’. I was like ‘What have you just put me through?’”
Gabby Allen is perhaps best known for her debut on Love Island in 2017, following which she appeared on a number of shows including Love Island All Stars (which she also won), Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Ghost Hunt – in amongst her day job. But going on Celebrity SAS, the professional fitness trainer explains, gave her an opportunity to prove herself as more than just a Love Island girl.
“I knew that it was going to strip me back to nothing. It was the opportunity for people to see me in a different way from Love Island,” she explains. But more than that, it was a chance for her to demonstrate her own abilities – being more than a media personality, celebrating her strength and her career.
“As a fitness professional, it is what I pride myself on. Being able to showcase myself in that way was something really important to me, because I knew that, even though it was going to be hard, this is my opportunity to show: I am who I am and I can do what I can do.”
One particular moment stands out for Gabby, where she did exactly that during a physically tough challenge: “I’ll never forget this one day where we were literally free-climbing up a mountain, carrying this ammo, and I got to the top of it and I was like ‘I can’t believe we’ve just done that’. I was completely in awe of all of us because it was really, really tough.
“Even being a fitness girl, I’m only small. I’m 5’2 and we’re all carrying the same weight. I was just so proud of myself as I was literally seen as able as the guys were.”
As for her most difficult time on the show? “In moments of exhaustion and being at the end of your tether, there were certain tasks I wouldn’t normally think I’d be afraid of… Like the Postman’s Walk.
“I hadn’t been afraid of heights. I wouldn’t have said it was my biggest fear. But the anticipation as you’re going up to the top of a mountain and you’re faced with a crater that’s 100m wide, and you’re thinking ‘I’ve got to go across that. I’ve had barely any sleep, I’m physically exhausted, how am I going to do this?’ There were moments where fear got the better of me.” Although it taught her a good lesson: “I think the main thing that I took away from it was composing myself.
“You don’t really have a choice. And it kind of brings out of you what you didn’t know was already there.”
One thing some viewers might not realise is that the show is entirely immersive. Unlike shows like Love Island (where there is crew interaction), there’s no down time or breaks: “It’s very real. You’re there to be in that moment.”
For those who haven’t seen the show, celebs are also completely stripped of little luxuries–like their favourite skincare products. Some of the items Gabby ‘loves’ include the Medik8 Daily Radiance Vitamin C SPF30 Day cream, £48, Obagi Rejuvenating Eye Gel Cream and Medik8 Crystal Retinal, £36. Her go-to makeup buys include her ‘unreal’ and ‘fresh’ Maybelline Sky High Mascara (£12.99).
“The lid just comes off,” she explains of the vulnerability having been put through this, especially during the Mirror room. An intense, psychological interrogation phase, the recruits are stripped of their public personas and forced to face personal traumas, insecurities, and criticisms from Directing Staff (DS).
“It was very apparent to me when I got in there that I wanted to prove myself. But I also wanted the DS to understand why I was behaving in certain ways. It was my moment to explain why I am the way I am. And it was quite liberating, in a way, because I’ve never had that opportunity before, and it’s not something I do on social media. It was eye opening for me too.
“At the time it was really troubling, but when I came out afterwards, it felt good,” she said, adding: “It feels good that people know more about me.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
