Former Love Island star Dani Dyer has candidly revealed that Celebrity SAS: Who Dare Wins was one of the "hardest things" she has ever had to do ahead of her debut airing on TV
19:00, 04 Jan 2026
Dani Dyer has admitted that Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins was one of the "hardest things" she has ever had to do. The former Love Island star, 29, is one of the latest famous faces to sign up for the military-style reality show and will be seen alongside singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Neighbours legend Ryan Moloney and rugby star Ben Cohen, amongst a host of others.
But in a candid update just before the new series goes to air on Channel 4, Dani admitted that it was a struggle for her to film, although she is still looking forward to her fans getting the chance to see how she gets on in the brutal competition.
Speaking in a new video posted to her Instagram Stories, the TV star explained: "SAS is obviously on tonight at nine o'clock. This is one show I’ve been absolutely really excited for you all to see, but also petrified because it was one of the hardest experiences of my entire life."
Despite this, the reality star, who was forced to quit Strictly Come Dancing after sustaining an injury and was replaced by West End star Amber Davies, would be keen to do it again. She added: "I'd love to do it again, this is one of those things I'd love to do again and be a lot more headstrong, and a lot more...not a wimp. But do you know what? It was great and, yeah, I hope you all enjoy it."
In the first episode, celebrity recruits are made to go head-to-head in a boxing match with one another. Mum-of-three Dani takes on Married At First Sight Australia star Jessika Power in a match, and despite the protective headgear, the star is left with a bloody nose.
After punching Dani square in the face, Jessika is declared the winner by chief instructor Mark 'Billy' Billingham. Dani told The Mirror that her experience on the show was "brutal".
Dani, who is the daughter of EastEnders legend Danny Dyer, has been married to footballer Jarrod Bowen since May, and they have twins Summer and Star together. She admitted that prior to agreeing to take part in the series, it was her sports star husband who gave her some valuable advice.
She told The Sun: "Jarrod told me to up my training before I went in. We went up to his family in the Midlands. I was training in potato fields with my dad, running up and down. I said to Jarrod, ‘I can’t believe you do all your training outside, even if it rains. I’ve always loved being indoors doing the gym stuff. To go outside was the nitty-gritty of it all. I’m really glad I did it.”
Dani will also be seen alongside Special Forces staff in South Africa with cricketer Graeme Swann, Love Island’s Gabby Allen and rugby player Ben Cohen this series. She said: "I knew it was going to be hard, and I didn’t go in there thinking, ‘It’s just a TV thing,’ but it was just as hard, if not harder. You just never switch off, whether you’re back in your dorms or out on a challenge. You’re constantly second-guessing and never knowing what’s next. It was brutal - but I really enjoyed it.”
The reality star did admit that her husband and her dad both thought she was “nuts” for doing it. She said: “I’ve always been petrified watching it, but I never get to push myself out of my comfort zone,” she says. “In the job I do, I get so many amazing opportunities, and when this came around, I thought, ‘When am I ever going to be able to test myself?’ My dad thought I was absolutely nuts because he’s not a fitness person at all. When he does Soccer Aid, he has a fag just before he goes on the pitch. He was really proud of me, but we went, ‘I’d never do that. I don’t know how you’re my child!"
While it proved to be a gruelling experience, Dani learnt that she’s “a lot stronger” than she thought. She admitted: “I do find things hard in life. I beat myself up a lot and put a lot of pressure on myself In there, you can do anything life throws at you. With the Directing Staff, they scream and shout at yo,u but they want to get the best out of you.”
In fact, being interrogated by the intimidating instructors ultimately helped her to cope with her insecurity about not being liked. She said: “They wanted to know what my weaknesses were and make me deal with them. With the job that I do, it comes with a lot of s**t thrown at you and people saying you’re talentless. You get a lot of that.
"I stick up for myself a bit more now. I’ve always worried what everyone thought of me. If someone didn’t like me in school, I hated it and thought, ‘What have I done wrong? What can I do to prove myself?’ But the Directing Staff tell you that the people in your life are the ones that matter.”
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins airs Sunday at 9pm on Channel 4.
Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News, TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage.